National champs could possess best class; more notes

	Less than a month after leading Florida to a national title, Urban Meyer is well on his way to compiling America's best recruiting class. Gene Lower/WireImage.com
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By Mike Farrell, Special to SI.com, Rivals.com

Let the chomping begin.

The Florida Gators, following a commitment on Monday evening from the nation's top defensive end, are in excellent position to win the mythical national recruiting title over three-time defending champ USC and a few other contenders.

The commitment from  Fort Dorchester (North Charleston, S.C.)defensive end Carlos Dunlap pushed the Gators to the No. 1 spot in the Rivals.com team rankings for the first time in this recruiting cycle.

Dunlap, a 6-foot-7, 260-pounder, is ranked as the No. 5 player in the nation by Rivals.com and is one of four five-star prospects (on a 1-5 star scale) committed to the Gators. He joins Armwood (Seffner, Fla.)  defensive tackle Torrey Davis, Nease (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) offensive lineman James Wilson and Westlake (Atlanta) quarterback Cameron Newton as blue-chippers set to play next season in Gainesville.

Last year, the Gators finished second to USC in the recruiting race. Florida's 2006 class was led by Rivals.com's No. 1 player, wide receiver Percy Harvin. Quarterback Tim Tebow and linebacker Brandon Spikes were also part of last year's Gators class. This year, the Gators will try to hold off the Trojans as well as SEC rivals LSU and Tennessee.

This Gators class is loaded with players who had formerly committed to other programs. Davis at one point committed to Florida State, as did twin offensive linemen LaShawn and James Pouncey from Lakeland, Fla. Wilson was committed to USC, quarterback John Brantley from Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Fla.) was committed to Texas, cornerback DeMarcus VanDyke was a Miami commitment at one time and Bristol (Conn.) Central tight end Aaron Hernandez was committed to UConn.

Florida head coach Urban Meyer has shown in his first two full recruiting years in Gainesville that he can not only convince players of the advantages of being a Gator, but he can also point out what they're missing when they choose another program.

Notes

Culliver's choice: Five-star WR Chris Culliver will attend South Carolina. The Garner (N.C.) native chose South Carolina because it was the only school that recruited him as a receiver right from the start. Culliver also feels that his play-making style will fit perfectly into Steve Spurrier's gameplan. Culliver's other finalist was Florida, but the Gators were more interested in him as a safety.

Bye-bye, Illini: One of Chicago's top prospects, Hubbard RB Robert Hughes, was rumored to be very close to committing to Illinois over Notre Dame in January. But then Irish RB Darius Walker entered the NFL Draft and Notre Dame hired Chicago native Corwin Brown as its defensive coordinator, and Hughes officially committed to ND on Tuesday.

Austin done with trips: The nation's top defensive tackle, Marvin Austin out of Washington, D.C.'s Ballou, has completed his official visits and will make a decision on Singing Day (Feb. 7). Austin visited Florida State last weekend and told Rivals.com that the Seminoles and North Carolina are his co-leaders with USC still in the mix.

Devine in flux: Running back Noel Devine from North Fort Myers, Fla., was scheduled to take an official visit to LSU last weekend. However, the trip never occurred. LSU has set their sites on John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) athlete Joe McKnight to fill their running back needs. Devine has been contacted by West Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Florida State regarding official visits, but he has nothing scheduled as of yet.