Thursday, February 08, 2001
Florida State has top recruiting haul
LSU surprises with strong class; Irish struggle
The Associated Press
Florida State is No.1 — in Recruiting Wars 2001, that is.
The Seminoles rebounded from their loss to Oklahoma in the national title game with a recruiting haul that blew away the competition, the Sooners included.
Florida State signed three high school All-Americans in quarterback Joe Mauer, running back Eric Shelton and linebacker Chauncey Davis on Wednesday, then rounded out its class of 2005 with three other stars rated among the nation's top 25 players.
“It's a slam dunk for Florida State,” Allen Wallace of Laguna Beach, Calif.-based SuperPrep Magazine said. “They completely dominated the state, and that means they completely dominated the nation. Nobody else comes close.”
Mauer, from the same high school in St. Paul, Minn., as departed Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, threw for 5,528 yards and 73 touchdowns in two years. He also is a star catcher and could be a first-round pick in June's baseball draft.
Shelton, from Lexington, Ky., ran for 1,400 yards and 12 TDs last season.
In addition, the 'Noles signed nine of the top 13 players in Florida.
LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas also can celebrate their recruiting hauls, with the Tigers making a surprisingly strong run to the top of the class. In fact, LSU's class was rated No.1 by Max Emfinger of National Blue Chips based in Covington, La.
Among the new Tigers are four All-Americans.
Also faring well was the Pacific-10 Conference, led by Washington and UCLA.
Among the Pac-10's scores, Shaun Cody, USA Today's defensive player of the year, chose Southern Cal over Notre Dame.
The Irish did not sign many high-profile players and managed a No.13 rating from Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report. Lemming said higher academic standards were the reason.
“They finished 13th, and that's good for anyone else but Notre Dame,” Lemming said. “But they were competing with the Stanfords and Northwesterns rather than the Florida States, Tennessees and Michigans. That's an indication of raised academic standards.”
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Florida State has top recruiting haul