Printer-Friendly Format   E-mail this article     Steele coached NFL All-Pro Kevin Greene during his stay with the Carolina Panthers. Greene visited Steele during a practice last fall.
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The Florida State linebackers coach played a key role in signing the nation's No. 2 class.

Feb. 9, 2005

Florida State linebackers coach Kevin Steele was named the 2005 National Recruiter of the Year by Rivals.com. The Seminoles put together the nation's No. 2 signing class and finished strong with five of the top 100 players in the country according to the website - wide receiver Fred Rouse, defensive back Jamie Robinson, tailback Antone Smith, and linebackers Derek Nicholson and Eugene Hayes.

"Kevin does an outstanding job and is certainly deserving of this honor," said head coach Bobby Bowden. "It should be flattering to the whole staff if one of them is singled out as being among the best recruiters. Recruiting is definitely a team effort here, and all of our coaches contributed to the overall success of the class."

In addition to the recruiting honor, Steele's linebackers were recognized as next year's top unit in the nation according to Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All three starters return in 2005 with Ernie Sims at strongside, Buster Davis in the middle and A.J. Nicholson at weakside. Nicholson and Sims finished 1-2 on last year's team in total tackles while Davis checked in fourth.