fsu overtaking usc for no. 1 class

an incredibly strong finish late into the night -- looks like fsu could be no. 1.

usc still has a TE out there and fsu has huge OL Matt Hardrick up in the air.

wow.

 

fsu only goes to NO. 1 if hardrick signs. he may be a gator. i've heard that it would take a miracle to get him qualified though.

 

from rivals -- hardrick signed with FSU

In the 2000 Presidential election, the television networks made an early call and declared Al Gore the winner. Everybody knows how that one turned out.

Florida State could end up with the nation's top recruiting class now that Matt Hardrick has signed with the Seminoles.
On Wednesday, Rivals.com declared USC the recruiting national champion for the class of 2005. However, things could get interesting today as No. 2 Florida State has just signed a key prospect and USC still has some others out there that could change things.As a result, we may have a new team as king of the mountain once the smoke clears.

Southern Cal currently sits at No. 1 in the rankings with 2,631 points. The Trojans have commitments from four-five star players, 11 four-star players and five three star players. Their average star ranking is 3.95 and they hold a lead of 123 points over No. 2 Florida State.

However, Florida State just received a signed letter of intent from offensive tackle Matt Hardrick, and his pledge could change things.

Ranked as the nation's No. 41 player overall and a four-star player that is ranked in the top five of his position, Hardrick could easily give Florida State the bounce needed to bypass USC in the team rankings.

Overall, FSU landed three five-star players, 13 four-star prospects and five three-stars, but their average star ranking was slightly lower than USC at 3.81. Then again, those averages obviously would change with a commitment from Hardrick.

So now that FSU has landed Hardrick, it's a done deal for the 'Noles to be No. 1, right?

Not so fast.

USC is still also waiting on a big fish also, Rolling Hills Estates (Calif.) Peninsula four-star tight end Erik Lorig. If the Trojans can reel in Lorig, it might be enough to offset Florida State's addition of Hardrick and keep them at the nation's No. 1 spot. Then again, Lorig heading to USC isn't exactly a sure thing.

Lorig's family told Rivals.com that a decision is still in the works and teams like Cal and Notre Dame were still in the picture. The Trojans have been listed high on his list for quite some time before a visit to South Bend this past weekend.

Then there are the questions with five-star junior college defensive tackle Gabe Long, four-star junior college offensive tackle Kevin Myers and three-star kicker Troy Van Blarcom. Sources indicated that there is a very good chance that Long will not sign with the Trojans because of his academics, and at this point Van Blarcom still has some academic hurdles to clear also before he is signed by the Trojans.

 

I'd qualify that with Rivals has you near #1.

Rivals Top 5

1 Southern Cal
2 Florida State
3 Oklahoma
4 Tennessee
5 Nebraska


Scouts Top 5

1. Tennessee
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. Florida State
5. Georgia

Lemming's Top 6

1. Nebraska
2. Tennessee
3. USC
4. Michigan
5. Oklahoma
6. FSU.


Nice class anyway, regardless.

If we had been able to keep Turner in state, or even just keep Haynes verbal, we would have probably been #1 across the board.

 

Hey Larry, how much longer do you think Bobby will keep coaching? Seems like he has to be pretty close to retiring. Pretty impressive class considering he may not be around in 2009 when these kids graduate.

Or do you think he makes it that long?

What is amazing to me is how many 4 star linebackers they signed. Just this class - not even looking at what they already have. Thta was one of the reasons I thought Nicholson might go to UNC - just for the instant playing time instead of filling out FSU's depth chart for a few years.

 

i think bobby is going to die on the sidelines.

but seriously, jopa will have to quit first.

as soon as paterno goes out, i think bobby will have two years left. if joe goes out right before the season, then bobby takes that one and the next.

bobby should do the farewell tour for a year.

yeah -- plenty of top talent. the LBs are stacked. but when they'll all make a mass exodus and the new crop will have to come in. they'll rotate the heck out of these guys and kevin steele is a great LB coach and recruiter.