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Meyer, Saban battle for top recruits

You could make a strong argument that Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Urban Meyer are the two best recruiters in college football. You also could make an argument that they are the two most intense coaches in college football.

So imagine the teeth-gnashing for the loser when they go head-to-head in recruiting.

Last week, the loser was Saban. His loss: William Green, a defensive end and outside linebacker from Hoover, Ala., within 70 miles of the Alabama campus.

But don't feel sorry for Saban, who might put together a top-five class in his first full recruiting year with the Tide.

Alabama received a commitment Friday from cornerback Alonzo Lawrence, a Parade All-American from Lucedale, Miss. Lawrence's stock rose among recruiters when he shut down wide receiver Julio Jones in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic in December.

Jones, a Parade All-American from Foley, Ala., might sign with the Tide this week, although he is still considering Oklahoma and Florida State.

SEC Recruiting: With several top commitments last week, Florida could be a consensus No. 1 in recruiting for the second consecutive year. Tom Luginbill of Scout.com has Florida, first; Georgia, second; Alabama eighth. Other SEC schools in Scout's recruiting top 25 are LSU (11th) and Auburn (18) and Arkansas (25th).

Florida also is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com.

Questionable Recruit: Defensive end Jarriel King is expected to sign with South Carolina for a second time Wednesday. If he does, he will qualify as one of the riskiest signees of this recruiting class.

King, who last played high school football in 2004, originally signed with the Gamecocks in 2005 but didn't qualify academically. Since then, he has played one year at Georgia Military College. The following spring, he was diagnosed with a heart ailment.

That's not his only problem. He has an arrest record dating back to 2004, according to The State.

His first arrest, for trespassing, occurred while he was in high school. Two years later, North Charleston police arrested him and charged him with "kidnapping and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature" following a two-hour argument with his girlfriend, who chose not to prosecute.

Last year, King was cited with speeding and driving with a suspended license.

Last summer, he was kicked out of the cadet corps and dismissed from the football team after he was charged with stealing money from his teammates' rooms.

Smash And Grab: King isn't the only South Carolina recruit with an arrest record. The Gamecocks also are in the running for Darrell Simmons, a defensive back from College Park, Ga. He was one of four teenagers charged in a "smash-and-grab burglary" at an Atlanta-area rental center last May, according to The State.

More Parties For Les: LSU coach Les Miles has a second celebration scheduled for New Orleans, where his Tigers beat Ohio State for the national championship several weeks ago. He will be riding in this year's Bacchus parade as part of the city's Mardi Gras celebration.

Extra Points: Kentucky is looking for a non-conference opponent to replace Temple, which asked out of its game at Commonwealth Stadium, scheduled for Sept. 27.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

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