** FILE ** In this Aug. 4, 2008 file photo, Georgia head coach Mark Richt makes comments during a news conference at the University of Georgia before the first day of football practice in Athens, Ga. Seeking its first national championship in 28 years, Georgia is on top of The Associated Press preseason Top 25 for the first time. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)

Nice guys may not finish first, but they’re somewhere in the top 10.

Such has been the case recently when it comes to University of Georgia football coaches and recruiting. Under the guidance of head coach Mark Richt and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner, the Bulldogs landed an eighth consecutive top-10 national class this past week and did so without repercussions.

In fact, new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin’s verbal missiles Thursday sailed right over the Peach State, landing in Florida and Alabama instead.

“I don’t know that we’re the nice guys in all this,” Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. “I just think we do a good job early on of targeting the guys we like.”

Georgia signed 18 players, including 17 who had committed earlier to the Bulldogs and never wavered. The late signing of Memphis receiver Marlon Brown over Ohio State and Tennessee provided drama, but not as much as Kiffin signing two players committed to Florida and falsely accusing Gators coach Urban Meyer of cheating.

Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban have proven to be relentless recruiters in the SEC, and Kiffin instantly has raised the vehemence in an already intense league. Richt and his more serene approach, however, still seems to have its place.

“They are the nice guys to a certain extent, but you can’t be too nice or else you’ll get run over,” Rivals.com national editor Jamie Newberg said. “The dynamics for Georgia are such that they’ve recruited as consistently well with (Jim) Donnan and Richt as anybody, and I mean year after year after year. They’ve pretty much owned the state and have done well out-of-state with guys like Aaron Murray, Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, so I don’t think that style has hurt them much at all.”

Richt believes his program developed a recruiting reputation by being honest with prospects. The Bulldogs have had only two commitments in these last five years defect near or on signing day: Tackle Antwane Greenlee signed with Florida State in 2007, and tight end Dwayne Allen signed with Clemson last year.

“We tell them who else we’re recruiting,” Richt said. “There are no surprises. There is nothing that can bite us in the rear end if something got out. We don’t care if something gets out, because we tell them everything from the get-go.

“We’re not going to coerce a kid into committing. When he walks out of our office, I don’t want him to start wondering why he did that. I’d rather him walk out of my office and say, ‘Man, I should have told Coach I’m coming.’ We tell them we want their heart.”

Murray, the No. 3 quarterback nationally in this year’s class, was amazed at how tranquil Bulldogs coaches were compared to competitors when they visited his Tampa hometown.

“A lot of schools were definitely pushy and were like ‘Commit now. Commit now,’” he said. “A lot of schools would make promises, but Georgia was more about getting to know us. I talked with a lot of the coaches, especially the SEC coaches, and Georgia’s were definitely different. They weren’t pushy.”

Florida, Georgia and Tennessee each has made three trips to the league title game since 2000, but the Bulldogs amazingly have had very few signing-day battles with their East rivals. Brown became the first such case since 2004, when Atlanta defensive tackle Michael Brown signed with the Gators after committing to Georgia.

All 24 of Georgia’s signees last year were committed a month before signing day, and 21 of the 23 two years ago had committed by mid-December. Richt admits his desire to compile early classes can make for boring finishes.

In today’s SEC, it can keep the Bulldogs out of the crossfire as well.

“I don’t think you’ve got to go out and talk about another school,” Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “There are times you are going to have to show depth charts and argue your case to a player about his chances of playing compared to other schools, but I truly believe that you have to sell your program and you as a coach.”

Said linebackers coach John Jancek: “We’re going to be positive with the guys we’re going to recruit. I think that eventually comes back to help us in a lot of cases, and I think that’s why you see a lot of guys who verbally commit and stay with us.”