Charlie Weis brought the mystique back to Notre Dame and the blue-chippers followed.

The first group of Florida recruits Urban Meyer can truly call his own left no doubt that the coach with the Midwestern roots could clean up in the Southeastern Conference.

Weis and Meyer rode the momentum of successful debut seasons right into signing day, scoring high marks Wednesday with stellar recruiting classes.

Under Weis, the Fighting Irish reversed a recent trend and came away with a class ranked in the top 10 by all the analysts.

“I told everyone in this class that this was going to be the class that started Notre Dame back to the top,” Weis said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance to compete this year or next year. I’m talking about perennially being at the top.”

Florida did even better under Meyer. When it comes to recruiting, the Gators are at the head of the class for 2006 — at least according to many of the experts. But their coach is withholding judgment for now.

“I do not say they’re a great class because you evaluate that in three years,” Meyer said. “It’s a good class. If they graduate, win championships and if they’re fortunate enough they go to the NFL, that’s how you evaluate a class.”

Signing Day Florida, USC lead way; Texas, ND also shine Signings by school | Top players | Top classes Ventre: With stars gone, Trojans reload Johnston: Meyer, Gators win in living rooms Expert: ND's recruiting on rise | ND Central Texas signee to get early jump on QB battle TSN: Rankings mean little | Vote: A big deal? TSN: Toughest places to sell to recruits Mustain faces high expectations at Arkansas

Max Emfinger and Tom Lemming of College Sports Television ranked Florida No. 1. Rivals.com and Allen Wallace of SuperPrep Magazine and Scout.com had the Gators No. 2.

As usual, national champion Texas and USC Southern California reloaded their talented rosters.

Rivals.com declared the Trojans the recruiting champs for the third straight year.

“The hottest school in the country, period,” Bobby Burton of Rivals.com said. “And it has been for three years.”

SuperPrep/Scout.com also gave USC a slight edge over Florida.

Top Signing Day classes The top 10 recruiting classes as rated by five of the top recruiting analysts: CSTV RC SC SCI SP 1. Alabama Alabama Alabama Miami Alabama 2. ND ND ND Clemson ND 3. Florida Florida Miami Alabama Miami 4. Ohio St. Miami Georgia Florida Florida 5. Oklahoma Oklahoma Florida St. Georgia Georgia 6. Georgia Georgia LSU USC Oklahoma 7. Texas USC Ohio St. Ohio St. Ohio St. 8. USC Florida St. Michigan Oklahoma Clemson 9. Miami Ohio St. USC ND USC 10. Clemson Michigan UCLA Texas UCLA CSTV: CSTV/Tom Lemming; RC: Rivals.com; SC: Scout.com; SCI: Scouts, Inc./Tom Luginbill/ESPN; SP: SuperPrep/Allen Wallace/Scout.com; Source: Associated Press

The top surprise Wednesday was running back C.J. Spiller, perhaps the top recruit from the state of Florida, signing with Clemson instead of favorites Florida State or Florida.

Other top undeclared preps announcing their decision on Signing Day were offensive lineman Andre Smith (Alabama) and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (Oklahoma).

Penn State, which had a resurgence under coach Joe Paterno and aided by an excellent 2005 recruiting class, has another promising group headed to Happy Valley.

And Meyer had to have a big year just to keep up with his rivals. Florida State, LSU, Auburn and Alabama all came away with highly ranked classes, too.

Weis came to Notre Dame and Meyer to Florida after the 2004 season with well-earned reputations as offensive gurus, but some questions about how well they’d recruit in their new jobs.

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Weis, a longtime NFL assistant, was hired in December 2004 and didn’t have a chance to immediately immerse himself in recruiting because he was busy helping the Patriots win a third Super Bowl in four seasons.

Taking over for Tyrone Willingham, the former New England offensive coordinator did his best to work the phones, but in the end last year’s recruits weren’t up to traditional Notre Dame standards.

Once Weis was able to focus all his attention on his alma mater, he quickly built a reputation as a relentless recruiter, securing a dozen commitments before he coached a game.

Then Weis went out and returned Notre Dame to national prominence with a 9-3 season and No. 9 final ranking. With an offense that turned quarterback Brady Quinn into a star, the Fighting Irish are back in style.

“The best class they’ve had in at least a decade,” Emfinger said.

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