Florida Gators
Florida Gators The Gators may have lost in the SEC Championship game and head coach Urban Meyer may be taking a leave of absence, but all that did not slow Florida on national letter-of-intent signing day.

Top ranked defensive end Ronald Powell of Moreno Valley, Calif, signed his letter of intent on Wednesday and will be heading to Gainesville. Powell was the the nation's No. one rated recruit in the ESPNU 150.

The Gators also have signed the top defensive tackle in the class, Dominique Easley of Staten Island, N.Y. (No. 3 in the rankings), and the top safety, Jonathan Dowling of Bradenton, Fla. (No. 10 in the rankings).

Running back Matt Elam, No. 9 in the ESPNU rankings, has also signed
with Florida. He was also played linebacker in high school and it appears that he will be headed to defensive side of the ball in college.

"The key to recruiting is a lot like the keys to making a great sale," said Meyer, who has won two national championships in five seasons with the Gators. "The first one is having a great product and we obviously have that here at the University of Florida."

Residing in maybe the most fertile football state in the country, the Gators always load up on homegrown talent. Fifteen of Florida's 27 signees are from the Sunshine State. But Meyer and his staff showed they can reach outside far and wide to pull in top talent.

ESPNU, Scout.com, SuperPrep Magazine and MaxPreps all ranked Florida No. 1.