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More Football Recruiting

• Alabama leads the way putting in freshmen
• Askew's commitment tasty like Mayo
• Linebacker Askew picks Vols

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Pop quiz. Name a football program from the South that drapes itself in orange that is in the midst of assembling one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

Tennessee? Not even close. Try Clemson.

Yes, the Tigers are as hot as any school in the country after landing two UT prospects this week: Kenneth Page and Brandon Thompson.

Clemson has 21 commitments and is pushing toward a top-10 ranking nationally. Better still, the Tigers have six prospects (including highly touted defensive end DaQuan Bowers) that have enrolled for the spring semester, meaning they’ll have the advantage of participating in spring practice.

Picking up Page and Thompson was huge for the Tigers and devastating for the Vols. Thompson, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound defensive tackle from Thomasville (Ga.) High School, ruled out the Vols this week. Page, a 6-4, 300-pound offensive lineman from A.C. Flora High in Columbia, S.C., had long been considering the Vols before his Clemson announcement Friday.

The two also played positions of need for UT’s 2008 class: offensive line and defensive tackle.

Meyer’s Man: Florida Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow’s name has surfaced in Florida’s internal review of coach Urban Meyer’s recruitment of junior college wide receiver Carl Moore, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

At question is whether or not Meyer violated NCAA Bylaw 13 when he handed a cell phone to Tebow to talk to Moore. The rule states that college athletes cannot speak directly to recruits by telephone at the behest of their coaches.

If Tebow placed the call, or Moore phoned Tebow, or Moore phoned Meyer and asked to speak with Tebow, the call likely would be legal, the newspaper reported.

The recruitment of Moore’s girlfriend, Florida freshman gymnast Maranda Smith, is also being reviewed to determine if Meyer tried to entice Smith to enroll at Florida as a way of securing Moore.

Coaches are limited as to when they can call prospects and cannot actively recruit athletes for other sports.

Fast Start: Quarterback Matt Barkley, a junior at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High, committed to Southern Cal. Barkley is considered by most recruiting services as the No. 1 prospect in the nation for the class of 2009

The 6-3, 220-pound junior passed for 3,560 yards and 35 touchdowns and was selected the Gatorade national player of the year.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.