So much for Urban Meyer's leave of absence having an affect on recruiting.

The University of Florida coach and his staff put together a football recruiting class second to none this year. At least, that's what just about every scouting service and recruiting analyst says.

Everyone from rivals.com, scout.com, ESPN and Super Prep magazine rank Florida's class No. 1. And to think, many wondered how the Gators would fare in recruiting because of the uncertainty surrounding Meyer.

Florida signed 28 players and 11 of them already are enrolled in spring classes at the school. The Gators signed four players who are ranked in the top 26 in the country by rivals.com.

"Maybe Urban Meyer should take a leave of absence more often," said Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting analyst for rivals. "He was supposed to maybe take some time off, but he was very involved in the recruiting process. Urban is the exact opposite of [Joe Paterno]. He's involved in the day-to-day recruiting process and established relationships with a lot of players."

Florida's class is loaded on the defensive line. The Gators landed defensive end Ronald Powell of Moreno Valley, Calif., who is rated the No. 1 player in the country by Super Prep. The No. 3 player in the country, according to Super Prep, is defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd of Washington High in Philadelphia. He also signed with Florida.

Two other Florida recruits have five-star rating in rivals. They are defensive tackle Dominique Easley of Staten Island and defensive back Matt Elam of West Palm Beach, Fla. Wednesday, Florida got four-star receiver Adrian Coxson of Baltimore. Both Coxson and Easley originally committed to Penn State.

"Florida's effort is amazing in the respect that, not only did they have to go through the Urban Meyer debacle, but they also lost defensive coordinator Charlie Strong to Louisville," said Allen Wallace, Super Prep publisher and national recruiting editor for Scout.com.

After Florida, many believe Texas had the second-best class.

"Without a doubt Florida and Texas are 1-2," said Tom Lemming, a national recruiting analyst. "I think USC had a great last day also."

Wednesday night, Southern California landed the top offensive lineman in the country -- 6-foot-8, 310-pound Seantrel Henderson of Saint Paul, Minn. Many thought he might choose Ohio State.

Wallace believes Auburn was one of the biggest surprises in recruiting this year.

"Alabama has been dominating the airwaves of college football, and Alabama still did very well," Wallace said. "But Auburn fought back."

Lemming believes California might have been the biggest surprise this year, along with UCLA. "California has become a team that now recruits nationally," Lemming said.

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