Most coaches tend to hedge when asked how many of their new signees are going to be able to play their first year on campus.

Not FIU coach Mario Cristobal.

He said he expects every one of the 25 signees that make up his "best recruiting class" in his five seasons to be on the two-deep at some point next fall.

"Other places have depth and those guys can sit and redshirt," Cristobal said. "We don't have that luxury here. We're not going to have that for probably another couple of years."

Cristobal said the impact of last season's success -- the first bowl win (coming on the game's final play) and first winning record in the program's history -- helped lure players like defensive end Denzell Perrine from Mobile, Ala., and defensive end Giovani Francois from Upper Marlboro, Md., to the FIU fold.

"These are high-caliber guys being pursued by BCS programs around the country," Cristobal said. "All of a sudden all the stuff you have been talking to them about -- they have visited you on campus, they've spent time researching on the Internet -- but all of a sudden they have a chance to watch you on national TV.

"The exposure of that night -- and it ended up being such an easy game for us, right? -- being such an exciting game, I think they saw not only a football team that is improving but they saw some legitimate, genuine emotion of a team that really loves being part of the FIU football family.

"And that's appealing."

Cristobal added that the signings may not be finished. He has saved a couple of scholarships that could go to players shunned at the last minute by other schools.

"You want to be safety net that's there when something for whatever reason doesn't fall in place for a guy you really, really liked and recruited hard," Cristobal said.

TOP OF THE CLASS

RB Corey Tindale (Boyd Anderson High, Fort Lauderdale) -- Tindale is one of several three-star recruits in the FIU fold and though the Panthers look solid at the position, he will compete for time right away. He has the capability and talent to play at wide receiver or even in FIU's secondary.

LB Jordan Hunt (Meadville, Miss.) -- As a three-star junior college prospect (Rivals.com), Hunt, who played at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi, will have the inside track in the race to replace Toronto Smith. He's a tremendous sideline-to-sideline player who loves contact, Cristobal said.

CB Tevin Blanchard (Aberdeen, Miss.) -- Another junior college transfer from Mississippi (Itawamba CC), Blanchard looks to hit the ground running in the race. He and Richard Leonard, who signed a year ago but spent the year bulking up his academic credentials, will compete for the spot vacated by CB Anthony Gaitor.

Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.