All in attendance received one of these footballs. It’s miniature-sized, but still pretty sweet.

For the first time, last night’s event was held outside the Town and Gown.

To accomodate a larger audience the event was moved to the Galen Center where there were about 40 tables on the court with big projection screens on all 4 sides and healthy pourings of Robert Mondavi Cab.

From the program:

This class of 2007…

Will join the ranks of all the great classes of the past.

Will no doubt pick up where their predecessors left off – pursuit of a national championship and maintaining our positions in the national spotlight.

Will show that we have not stopped our quest to be the number one in recruiting – in the Pac-10 and the nation.

What didn’t make the program was Pete saying, “This is great shit.”

After Carroll was done pumping up the crowd, each position coach took the mic and spoke to the strengths of each recruit while some mind-boggling, crazy highlights were projected.

Kris O’Dowd, for an offensive lineman, had some of the most impressive film. Every play he would just push a guy around for 20 yards before pancaking him.

Of course the running backs all showcased some special stuff; especially seeing the speed of a big back like the Green Hornet, who may be in the neighborhood of 240 pounds, which of course draws him comparisons to the next Thunder (LenDale White).

Joe McKnight, or JoJo as Pete calls him, is the new Lightning. Carroll said he’s better than Reggie Bush at catching the ball out of the backfield.

Then there’s RoJo, who really looks like a gift from God. An absolutely lethal kick return man with some real smooth moves that can only be described as pretty.

Finally, there’s the freak. An athletically gifted, 266-pound defensive end by the name of Everson Griffen, who ran a 4.5 in camp, but Rivals.com lists him with a 4.46. After a few highlights of him at running back, it’s no wonder this guy earned the nickname “E Train”. Pete Carroll emphasized that Big E could play in the NFL right now, and is the best defensive guy he has ever recruited since coming to SC.