Top NSD stories: Meyer reloads Gators



Florida's Urban Meyer already has rebuilt three programs in his brief head coaching career.

Imagine what he can accomplish once he finally has a roster full of players he recruited.

Meyer never got much of a chance to coach his recruits at Bowling Green or Utah because he only stayed two years at each school. He won a national title his second year at Florida with a senior-laden roster that featured many of current Illinois coach Ron Zook's recruits.

Now that most of Zook's guys have finished their careers, Meyer finally will have the opportunity to put together a lineup that primarily includes his players. He has put together a roster that should leave the rest of the Southeastern Conference feeling very nervous.

Florida signed the nation's top class Wednesday with a haul that included four five-star and 16 four-star prospects. That haul comes one year after the Gators finished second to Southern California in the final recruiting standings.

Consider this recruiting season a perfect storm for Florida, which won a national title the same year that Florida State and Miami went 7-6 and overhauled their coaching staffs.

"They're an up-and-coming team," four-star linebacker Brandon Hicks of Jacksonville, Fla., told GatorBait.net this week. "I think they're stacked with enough talent to keep winning the way they've been."

All that talent should help Meyer build the kind of offense he has wanted to feature since arriving from Utah.

Meyer built his reputation on offense. Utah averaged 45.3 points per game during an undefeated 2004 season that helped turn quarterback Alex Smith into a No. 1 overall draft pick.

But the Gators have relied on their defense during the first two years of Meyer's tenure.

Former quarterback Chris Leak wasn't an ideal fit for the spread option that Meyer employed at Utah, though they adjusted well enough to help Florida win a national title.

The Gators didn't exceed the 28-point mark against a BCS opponent last year until they exploded for a combined 79 points in the SEC title game and the BCS championship game. Florida won consistently because it ranked among the top five teams in the nation in run defense and pass efficiency defense.

Now the Gators should have an offense that's as good as their defense.

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