Coaches at some of the nation's top college football programs continue to sign more incoming players than they can accommodate on their rosters.

And despite increasing criticism of the practice, which is known as "oversigning," three coaches from the hotly competitive Southeastern Conference are defending it.

South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, whose 2011 recruiting class is considered one of the nation's finest, ended up with three more players than NCAA rules will allow him to add to his final roster in the fall. In a rare move, Spurrier was forced to tell two recruits who'd committed to play for South Carolina that there wouldn't be room for them in this fall's class.

Spurrier said oversigning is "helpful" because so many of the players in the state come from underprivileged backgrounds and may not qualify academically. He said the Big Ten, which has curbed oversigning for decades, is making a mistake by doing so. "I think that really hurts them a lot," Spurrier said. "They end up giving scholarships to a lot of walk-ons."

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, who signed 31 recruits in 2009 and is a few players over the 85-player NCAA limit at the moment, said oversigning is fine if coaches are forthright about it. "I don't see it as a bad thing unless you're being dishonest or waiting until the last minute, which eliminates their visit opportunities with other schools," he said.