Special Reports: Best of the South
BEST OF THE SOUTH: 2005
A Cut Above
Nease High's Tim Tebow tops this year's list of outstanding football players - a group that includes three from Tampa.
Harvin Being Called A Young Deion
Percy Harvin, the electrifying wide receiver from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Va., has an appropriate nickname.
- Full story
- Best Of The South Review: 2004 | 2003 | 2002
- Catching Up With The 2004 Class
Top 20 Capsules
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Ponte Vedra Beach Nease
2. Percy Harvin, WR, Virginia Beach Landstown
3. Carl Johnson, OL, Durham (N.C.) Southern
4. Sam Young, OL, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
5. Andre Smith, OL, Birmingham (Ala.) Huffman
6. Jarred Fayson, QB, Hillsborough
7. Vidal Hazelton, WR, Chatham (Va.) Military Academy
8. Micah Johnson, DE, Fort Campbell (Ky.)
9. Daron Rose, OL, Jefferson
10. Brandon Spikes, LB, Shelby (N.C.) Crest Senior
11. C.J. Spiller, RB, Lake Butler Union County
12. Marcus Bell, LB, Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson
13. DeAndre McDaniel, DB, Tallahassee Godby
14. Josh Adams, RB, Cary (N.C.)
15. A.J. Jones, LB, Middleton
16. Ricky Sapp, DE, Bamberg (S.C.) Bamberg-Ehrhardt
17. Clifton Geathers, OL, Carvers Bay, S.C.
18. Marcus Sims, LB, Tallahassee North Florida Christian
19. Akeem Hebron, LB, Gaithersburg (Md.) Good Counsel
20. Jai Eugene, DB, Destrehan (La.)
The Next 20
ALABAMA (1): Tim Hawthorne, WR, Homewood.
ARKANSAS (1): Mitch Mustain, QB, Springdale.
FLORIDA (9): Jim Barrie, OL, Berkeley Prep; Chris Duvalt, DB, Lakeland Lake Gibson; Kenrick Ellis, DL, Lake Worth John I. Leonard; Ryan Hill, DB, Tallahassee Rickards; Corey Hobbs, DL, Oviedo; Caz Piurowski, TE, Land O'Lakes; Sam Shields, WR, Sarasota Booker; Leslie Stirrups, DL, Hillsborough; Daniel Wenger, OL, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas.
GEORGIA (3): Asher Allen, DB, Tucker; Jermaine Cunningham, DL, Stone Mountain Stephenson; Reshad Jones, DB, Atlanta Washington.
MARYLAND (1): Phillip Taylor, DL, Clinton Gwynn Park.
NORTH CAROLINA (2): Crezdon Butler, DB, Asheville; Aleric Mullins, DT, Wendell East Wake.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1): Adam Patterson, DT, Columbia Richland Northeast.
TENNESSEE (1): Brandon Warren, DL, Alcoa.
VIRGINIA (1): Alex Stadler, OL, Bealeton Liberty.
Recruiting Wrapup
College football is in the planning stages for the 2006 season, and already Florida has beaten Florida State, Southern Cal, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. National champion, anyone?
Special Report: Recruiting 2006
About The Team
The Tampa Tribune's fourth annual Best of the South team was chosen by 18 college recruiting coordinators from across the nation with an eye on the Feb. 1 signing date. Each coordinator was asked to pick 20 prospects from a list of players in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - covering the Southern region, all of SEC territory and most of the ACC (excluding Boston, the league's newest market).
The ballot - which listed 88 players - was compiled by staff writers Joey Johnston, Bob Bellone and Mike Servidio. It was based on a consensus of several recruiting analysts. Receiving votes were 77 of the 88 players on the ballot, along with eight write-in candidates.
The top 20 vote-getters made the team.
Florida had eight picks, followed by North Carolina with three. South Carolina and Virginia had two each. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Maryland had one each.