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Florida coach Urban Meyer started checking the fax machine around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, waiting anxiously for defensive tackle Omar Hunter's paperwork.

It finally came through around 10:30.

"Those were three tough hours," Meyer said.

Hunter, a 6-foot, 322-pound Parade All-American from Buford, Ga., highlighted Meyer's latest recruiting class - one that should help the Gators address their most glaring need: defense.

"That's an area we have to improve, and I think we will," Meyer said.

Florida ranked 41st in total defense last season, giving up 362 yards a game. The Gators were even worse in pass defense (98th), sacks (54th) and points allowed (46th).

There were defensive breakdowns in just about every game, and the unit was really overmatched against Michigan in the Capital One Bowl.

The Wolverines racked up 524 yards of offense and scored on seven of 13 possessions. It could have been worse, too, had Chad Henne not thrown two interceptions and Mike Hart not fumbled twice near the goal line.

Meyer ripped the defense after the game and vowed to be better in 2008. On Wednesday, he signed a handful of topflight defenders to help make it happen.

Hunter might be the best of the bunch.

"That's going to be a hard one to keep off the field on the first series of defense for us," Meyer said. "That's maybe putting too much pressure on him, but I watched him work out. I stood right there in the weight room and watched him train, watched him lift.

"He's a 400-pound bencher. He's a squat guy. He's a state champion. He's everything you wanted. We had to have him and we got him. I told (athletic director) Jeremy (Foley) and told everyone else, 'If we get that one, I'm going home.' I didn't go home, but I felt pretty good."

The Gators signed 22 players in all, including 13 defenders. They landed five Parade All-Americans: Hunter, safety Will Hill, defensive end William Green, linebacker Brendan Beal and cornerback Janoris Jenkins.

Georgia: Georgia lost one of its top recruits, not to mention the coach's son. Still, it was another stellar recruiting class for the Bulldogs, who filled every need as they prepare for a run at the national championship in 2008.

Receiver A.J. Green highlighted a group of 23 players signing with Georgia, a class ranked among the top 10 nationally by all the major recruiting services.

"We did a fantastic job of meeting our needs," coach Mark Richt said.

Georgia locked up most of its recruits well in advance of signing day. The only surprise came when Dwayne Allen, a highly rated tight end from Fayetteville, N.C., defected to Clemson.

Allen had reiterated his verbal commitment to Georgia earlier in the week, only to change his mind when it came time to actually sign.

"These days nothing surprises me," recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner said. "Our focus is on the kids we got. Those are the kids that belong here. Those are the ones who are excited about playing for Georgia."

Allen's defection notwithstanding, the Bulldogs had every reason to be giddy about one of the strongest classes yet in the Richt era. They signed five defensive linemen, five defensive backs, three offensive linemen, three running backs, two linebackers, two receivers, one tight end, one kicker, and one all-purpose player.

"This class is such a balanced class," Garner said. "When you look at it from top to bottom, it pretty much covers every positions except the quarterback position."

That was by design. Starter Matthew Stafford has two years of eligibility remaining, while 2007 signee Logan Gray was redshirted this past season and could be poised to start by the time Stafford is done.

Georgia surely would've been the favorite for at least one quarterback: Jon Richt, the coach's son. But Mark Richt felt it was in his oldest child's best interest to play for a team other than the Bulldogs.

So Jon Richt signed with Clemson - with his father at his side.

"When he was in eighth, ninth, 10th grades, he was really gung-ho about Georgia," the coach said. "But I was starting to say, 'Maybe we need to think about some of these other things.' Little by little, I chipped away at it. I didn't think it would be healthy for him, me or the program."

Richt worried that he wouldn't be able to judge his son objectively. Also, he fretted about the expectations Jon would face if he signed with the Bulldogs.

"Look at Stafford last year, when he went through that series of turnovers," Richt said, referring to the freshman's struggles. "I kept saying, 'He'll be fine. Just relax everyone, he's going through some growing pains.' Suppose that's my son. Can you imagine how horrific that would have been? I don't know if I could have survived it."

South Carolina: A year after what some praised as South Carolina's best recruiting class ever, coach Steve Spurrier was content with a less glitzy group he repeatedly called "solid."

"We were probably laughing and giggling a lot more last year at this time," Spurrier said.

Spurrier knows his team's flop to the finish last season - the Gamecocks lost their last five games after starting the season 6-1 and No. 6 in the country - surely didn't help his staff's sale pitch to prospects.

Just look at how things ended up. Highly regarded receiver Tommy Streeter out of south Florida stuck close to home, signing with Miami instead of Spurrier's Gamecocks.

South Carolina was ranked in the low 30s according to Scout.com. Rivals.com, had the Gamecocks ranked No. 22.

It could've been worse, too. D.L. Moore, the only receiver listed in Spurrier's class, had backed off his pledge to South Carolina and considered attending Colorado. But Moore sent his letter of intent to South Carolina on Wednesday.

The Gamecocks then got a late surprise when defensive lineman Chaz Sutton of Savannah, Ga., once a Florida commitment, signed with South Carolina. Spurrier said Sutton has some academic work to do to be eligible, "but so do a lot of players who everyone has signed."

Kentucky: More than anything else, the one thing Rich Brooks felt Kentucky lacked when he took over the program five years ago was speed.

The Wildcats might not be at the level of Florida or Georgia, but Brooks thinks his surging program is making inroads, calling the 20 players who signed a letter of intent to play for Kentucky the fastest class he's brought to Lexington.

"I think it continues to bring us to SEC levels in speed and athletic ability," Brooks said.

Coming off consecutive Music City Bowl victories also opened some doors that were previously closed to the Wildcats.

"The bowls have shown that if you come to Kentucky, it's not going to be hopeless," he said. "By winning, we've eliminated some of the negatives said about our program."

The class includes five players with quarterback experience. While it's unlikely any of the five signees could play right away, it might not take some of them long to get on the field. Brooks compared several of the newcomers to former wide receiver Keenan Burton, who came to Kentucky as a quarterback before being moved outside.

"The numbers crunch will take care of itself," Brooks said. "Some of them will perform better at practice than others, and then the others will move to whatever position we can get them on the field the fastest, whether it be receiver or defensive back."

Vanderbilt: After losing all the offensive line starters from last year to graduation and with many on the defensive line leaving after the 2008 season, Vanderbilt had plenty of spots to fill.

Vanderbilt's 2008 signing class brought in three offensive linemen led by 6-6, 285-pound Michael Bryant of LaVergne, Tenn. On defense, Rivals.com three-star defensive end Taylor Loftley led a class of seven linemen to the Commodores roster.

"The needs, I think, were met very well by our staff," coach Bobby Johnson said. "But we also went in and got some athletes that can help us out in all kinds of different areas."

Wide receiver Earl Bennett, who raked in 2,022 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons at Vanderbilt, declared for the NFL draft so the Commodores needed to find a replacement.

"With Earl Bennett leaving it left a bit of a dent in our receiving corps, and we think we did a fantastic job of getting some guys in here to take over," Johnson said.

The incoming hands are led by John Cole of Somerset, Ky. The receiver set state records for most touchdowns in a season (28) and career (69) along with most yards in a season (1,896) and career (5,031).

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