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got the players they needed and wanted

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As difficult as it has been to get the better of Southern California on the field in recent years, the Trojans might be even tougher to beat on signing day.

Less than a month after being dethroned by Texas in the Rose Bowl, USC reloaded with another recruiting class brimming with blue-chippers.

"This is the kind of class where you're going to feel the impact immediately," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday as the national signing period opened with its busiest day.

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."

Allen Wallace of SuperPrep and Scout.com also gave USC a slight edge over Florida in his final rankings.

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The Gators were the day's other big winners.

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.

"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."

Max Emfinger and Tom Lemming of College Sports Television ranked Florida's class No. 1.

"This battle between USC and Florida is about as close as you can get," said Wallace, who put pushed the Trojans past the Gators in his rankings late in the day.

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

Texas coach Mack Brown again came up big in February with a first-rate class made up almost exclusively of players from the Lone Star state.

Much like Meyer, Charlie Weis rode the momentum of a successful debut season right though signing day with the best recruiting class Notre Dame has had in a few years.

AP - Feb 1, 6:39 pm EST

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"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."

Senior citizens Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno showed they're still a hit with the younger crowd. Florida State and Penn State both had top-10 classes.

After losing the Rose Bowl 41-38 to Texas and falling short of a third straight national title, USC said goodbye to two Heisman Trophy winners and a bevy future NFL draft picks.

Reggie Bush and LenDale White were two of five USC juniors who decided to follow senior quarterback Matt Leinart out the door and try to make a go of it in the NFL.

"We've done this before," Carroll said about replacing stars.

The Trojans appear set at quarterback with John David Booty and Mark Sanchez waiting to take over for Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner.

But there are no clear replacements on the USC roster for Bush, the 2005 Heisman winner, and White, so running backs were a priority in recruiting for the Trojans.

Carroll's crew came away with a three standouts. Stafon Johnson from Los Angeles and Emmanuel Moody from Coppell, Texas, were both ranked among the top-10 backs in the nation by Rivals.com. Kevin Ashley from Venice, Calif., who backed off a verbal commitment to Mississippi State, wasn't far behind.

Linebacker Allen Bradford and C.J. Gable, a high school running back probably headed for receiver or defensive back in college, are the stars of a talented class that Carroll believes will uphold the recent USC tradition and have several players contributing as freshman.

"I think a dozen of these guys will be a factor. There are really good football players who are going to be called on right away," Carroll said.

The Longhorns don't have quite as many holes to fill as USC, but they do have one really big one to plug.

Vince Young's early departure for the NFL means the starting quarterback job is up for grabs when the Texas opens spring practice.

Among the 23 Texans in the Longhorns 25-man recruiting class were two quarterbacks, Jevan Snead of from Stephenville and Sherrod Harris of Arlington. Both are expected to compete with redshirt freshman Colt McCoy for the top spot.

Snead, a quality runner who was rated the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals.com, is already enrolled at Texas.

"He has been throwing already with the other guys. They have been very impressed with his arm strength," Brown said. "He and Colt should have a great grasp of what's going on in the spring. Our job is to get both these guys ready to play."

AP Sports Writers John Nadel in Los Angeles; Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Tom Coyne in South Bend, Ind.; and Mark Long in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.