Florida Gators

ESPN RecruitingNation has signing day covered. Follow ESPNU’s coverage, chat with analysts and get breaking news on our Signing Day Live page beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET through 7 p.m. ET. For more on what to expect on signing day, check out the SEC conference breakdown .

Bold Prediction for the SEC:

Ole Miss' class will eventually be ranked in the top five nationally with the addition of No. 1 overall prospect Robert Nkemdiche from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson and possibly ESPN 150 prospects Chris Jones from Houston (Miss.) High and Antonio Conner from Batesville (Miss.) South Panola.

SEC East

Florida
Biggest need: Florida wants immediate help at defensive tackle. Jarran Reed from Scooba (Miss.) East should be able to provide that if he decides to sign with the Gators on national signing day.
Biggest recruit: The Gators have two five-star commitments: cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III from Tampa (Fla.) Wharton and running back Kelvin Taylor from Belle Glade (Fla.) Glades. No other school in the country can say that.

Georgia
Biggest need: The Bulldogs would like to pick up another top offensive lineman. They looked destined to land Laremy Tunsil from Lake City (Fla.), but the competition has heated up for him lately.
Biggest recruit: With 12 ESPN 300 commitments, Georgia has plenty of star power. However, it's impossible to overvalue the commitment of Brice Ramsey from Kingsland (Ga.) Camden, a quarterback the Bulldogs can build around.

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We are just hours away from national signing day. I'm going to need all you readers to breathe and count to 10. It's almost here, which means it's almost over.

And with it being almost over, it's time to take one final look at ESPN's RecruitingNation class rankings. On the eve of the biggest recruiting day of the year, the SEC is still keeping it all in the family when it comes to the top classes in the country. The SEC has 12 teams ranked within the top 40 of the class rankings, with five coming within the top 10.

Florida and Alabama remain No. 1 and No. 2. The Gators have 26 verbal commitments, with 11 being ESPN 150 members and 15 being ESPN 300 members. The biggest members of Florida's class are top-rated cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who is the No. 3 player in the country, and top-rated running back Kelvin Taylor, who is the No. 8 prospect overall. The Gators have a few spots open and are still in the mix to sign defensive tackle Jay-nard Bostwick, junior college defensive tackle Jarran Reed and wide receiver James Clark. Defensive end and current Auburn commit Tashawn Bower is also on Florida's radar.

Alabama received some good news Monday night when top-rated inside linebacker Reuben Foster picked the Crimson Tide over Auburn and Georgia. Foster gave the Tide its 23rd commitment and its 11th ESPN 150 member. Alabama also has 15 ESPN 300 commitments. The Tide could leapfrog the Gators on national signing day with some big names still interested in the Tide. Top defensive tackle and former Auburn commit Dee Liner seems to be a strong lean to the Tide, while four-star defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson, who decommitted from Texas last week, could sign with Alabama as well. Running back Alvin Kamara and safety Vonn Bell, both ESPN 150 members, could also sign with the Tide.

Rounding out the top 10 from the SEC are LSU (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 7) and Georgia (No. 9). Texas A&M and Georgia might have the best chances of the three of moving up. The Bulldogs are still in the mix for a handful of top prospects, including No. 1 offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, four-star defensive lineman Montravius Adams, outside linebacker Matthew Thomas (No. 6 in the ESPN 150) and ESPN 300 defensive end Davin Bellamy. The Aggies are still in the mix for cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who is No. 4 in the ESPN 150, FSU athlete commit Levonte Whitfield, and committed defensive ends Daeshon Hall (Washington) and Torrodney Prevot (USC).

Keep an eye on Ole Miss and Auburn. Tunsil appears to be favoring Ole Miss over Georgia, and top recruit Robert Nkemdiche is all but signed sealed and delivered to the Rebels. Mississippi State defensive end commit Chris Jones could also flip to Ole Miss, and high-profile safety Antonio Conner is strongly considering the Rebels as well. Auburn is battling Georgia for Adams, and could flip Ole Miss defensive end commit Elijah Daniel, after he officially visited Auburn over the weekend.

Here's a complete look at where SEC teams stand in the final class rankings before signing day:

1. Florida -- 26 (11 ESPN 150, 15 ESPN 300)
2. Alabama -- 23 (11 ESPN 150, 15 ESPN 300)
6. LSU -- 26 (6 ESPN 150, 14 ESPN 300)
7. Texas A&M -- 32 (6 ESPN 150, 11 ESPN 300)
9. Georgia -- 30 (5 ESPN 150, 12 ESPN 300)
12. Ole Miss -- 23 (2 ESPN 150, 7 ESPN 300)
14. Auburn -- 20 (3 ESPN 150, 6 ESPN 300)
17. South Carolina -- 21 (2 ESPN 150, 4 ESPN 300)
21. Vanderbilt -- 25 (0 ESPN 150, 3 ESPN 300)
27. Mississippi State -- 22 (1 ESPN 150, 3 ESPN 300)
29. Tennessee -- 19 (1 ESPN 150, 2 ESPN 300)
36. Missouri -- 19 (0 ESPN 150, 2 ESPN 300)

Entering National Signing Day, Florida has the top recruiting class in the nation. The Gators have commitments from an FBS-leading 11 ESPN 150 recruits and are in the running for a number of other undecided players.

If Florida remains the top recruiting class after Wednesday, it will be the fourth time in the last eight seasons that Florida has signed a top-two recruiting class.

The previous three times, Florida played in a BCS bowl in the third season after signing its class (when the players were true juniors).

This year, Florida has signed a class with the potential to fill holes.

Florida stocked up on skill position players in its 2013 class with seven ESPN 300 recruits listed as ATH, WR or RB, including the top RB recruit in the nation, Kelvin Taylor.
Last season, the Gators ran on 65 percent of their plays in 2012, the ninth-highest percentage in FBS.


Florida improved its rush offense in 2012 but is losing its top running back, Mike Gillislee, who was Florida’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2004. The Gators might look immediately to Taylor to replace Gillislee and his hard-nosed style of running.

When the Gators attempted to pass, they rarely looked downfield. The Gators’ average pass traveled 6.6 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, the fewest air yards per pass attempt in the SEC.

Part of Florida’s downfield struggles was a lack of wide receivers to stretch the field. The Gators’ best deep receiver was tight end , who declared for the draft. Reed had just three fewer receptions on passes thrown 15 yards or longer than all of Florida’s wide receivers combined.

To fill this gaping hole, Florida has commitments from three wide receivers ranked in the top 200 of the ESPN 300, including the No. 7 ranked wide receiver, Demarcus Robinson, who has the potential to stretch the field.

In addition to its group of skill position players, Florida has three defensive backs in the ESPN 150, including the No. 3 overall player in the rankings, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III. The Gators are losing both of their starting safeties from one of the top secondaries in the nation.

Florida allowed its opponents to complete less than 16 percent of their passes thrown 20 yards or longer downfield and was the only defense that did not allow a touchdown on a pass of this distance.

The Gators’ 2013 recruiting class elicits thoughts of their previous top classes that included players such as Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Brandon Spikes, and Carlos Dunlap. Florida fans hope that the Gators can build upon a strong 2012 season and again translate their influx of talent into championships.