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RETURN TO PART I OF STEWART MANDEL'S INSIDER

Despite the fact the former Utah coach didn't begin full-time duties in Gainesville, Fla., until after the Utes' Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl game, then lost recruiting coordinator Mike Locksley to Illinois two weeks later, the Gators' class has gone from the brink of disaster to the threshold of greatness in a matter of weeks.

Florida has picked up eight commitments in the past two weeks, most of them from players ranked highly at their positions, to jump into Scout.com's top 20 nationally. Among them were five standouts who had previously committed elsewhere: S Dorian Munroe (Florida State), WRs David Nelson (Notre Dame) and Eric Sledge (South Carolina), LB Ryan Stamper (Auburn) and K Jonathan Phillips (Purdue). Already enrolled at Florida is Josh Portis (Woodland Hills, Calif.), Scout.com's No. 5-ranked quarterback, who switched from Utah to the Gators after Meyer got the job.

The Gators went into the final weekend before signing day with just 15 commitments but still stood a chance of landing several more.

Weis' balancing act

New Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis' continued obligations with the Super Bowl-bound Patriots have cost him at least one recruit. Nelson, according to the Chicago Tribune, ruled out the Irish once it was known Weis would not be able to make an in-home visit. Considering the circumstances, though, Weis seems to be doing an admirable, if seemingly overwhelming job juggling both plates. He's been spending his days working with the Patriots' offense and his nights calling recruits for the Irish.

Weis, who was officially hired Dec. 12, assembled his entire staff, which includes former college head coaches David Cutcliffe (Ole Miss), Rick Minter (Cincinnati) and Bill Lewis (Georgia Tech), within three weeks. After cramming for the NCAA-mandated compliance test, he was able to make in-home visits his first week on the job and during New England's bye week prior to the playoffs, and was in South Bend, Ind., to host prospects the weekend of Jan. 8-9 as well as this past weekend.

Notre Dame lost three of the 11 players who had committed to Tyrone Willingham, but has since brought its total up to 14 and ranks among Scout.com's top 25 classes. Among the standouts are QB Evan Sharpley (Marshall, Mich.), WR D.J. Hord (Kansas City) and CB Kyle McCarthy (Youngstown, Ohio).

Weis is still waiting on several undecided prospects who could boost the class significantly, most notably All-America offensive lineman Brian Roche (Ramsey, N.J.) and DE Lawrence Wilson (Akron, Ohio). Weis sent seven assistants -- the maximum allowed on the road at one time -- to visit Wilson's home on Jan. 16.

Worth noting

Some of the biggest intrigue on signing day will involve Antone Smith (Pahokee, Fla.), the nation's top-ranked running back according to Scout.com. Smith has yet to indicate any order of preference among his four finalists: Miami, Florida, Florida State and Auburn. ... Just a week after supposedly committing to Tennessee, the nation's sixth-ranked linebacker, Eugene Hayes (Madison, Fla.), visited Clemson and declared the Tigers his new leader. He also planned to visit Florida State before making his final decision. ... According to the Boston Globe, BCS bowl officials aren't pleased with FOX's tentative schedule for the 2007-2010 games, which will be the first involving five games spread over four sites. Not only is the national title game scheduled for as late as Jan. 8 in some years, but the other traditional "New Year's" games (excluding the Rose Bowl, which remains on ABC) would be spaced out by as much as five days. "What this is doing is giving us less money, worse dates, with no guarantees of getting even a top-10 team," an official for one bowl told the Globe.