We know what the recruiting rankings say. We know which programs sign the best — and worst — classes. But which programs have the highest potential with what they currently have in place? Which ones are set up to recruit the best moving forward?
Ten members of The Athletic’s college football staff — Sam Khan Jr., Mitch Light, Antonio Morales, Manny Navarro, Max Olson, Grace Raynor, Kennington Smith III, David Ubben, Ari Wasserman and Justin Williams — submitted their own rankings of the power-conference programs, Nos. 1 through 70, based on recruiting potential.
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The current head coach factored heavily into the rankings, but this was about the entire program as well: location, history, facilities, etc. We didn’t ignore NIL, either. It wasn’t the only reason we ranked a school where we did, but it was definitely part of the equation.
We opted to include Oregon State and Washington State even though they aren’t really power-conference programs anymore.
We’ve included the highest and lowest vote each program received, as well. Here are last year’s rankings. And we added one new wrinkle this year: Each voter was allowed to pick out one ranking by another voter to ridicule. This can be found at the bottom of the story.
1. Georgia: No real surprise here. Over the past three years, Georgia has gone 42-2, won two national titles and had 34 players drafted. A program doesn’t accomplish those feats without an all-time recruiting run. And with Nick Saban retired, Kirby Smart is in a perfect position to collect even more talent. The Bulldogs aren’t slowing down anytime soon. — AM
Highest vote: 1 • Lowest vote: 1 • Last year: 1
2. Ohio State: Ohio doesn’t have as much pure talent as some southern states, but Ohio State’s stranglehold on home-grown players makes it almost indestructible. That’s why the Buckeyes, across decades and coaching regimes, have avoided prolonged droughts. The administrative support, history of excellence, geography and fan buy-in make Ohio State one of the easiest places to recruit to in college football. — AW
Highest vote: 2 • Lowest vote: 3 • Last year: 3
3. Texas: Being the most popular team in a football-crazed state has always given the Longhorns a sky-high ceiling, but they now have a coach who led the program to its first College Football Playoff appearance and — for the first time in a long time — aren’t only selling a vision. They can point to reality (and a robust collective). And playing in the SEC alongside Arch Manning. There’s a lot to sell on the Forty Acres these days. — DU
Highest vote: 2 • Lowest vote: 5 • Last year: 5
4. LSU: We all had questions about Brian Kelly as a cultural fit when he was first hired, but the opportunity is ripe in Baton Rouge, and he knows it. The Tigers just produced the Heisman Trophy winner in Jayden Daniels and are off to a roaring start with the Class of 2025. From national prestige to conference affiliation to location, LSU has everything it needs to finish with top-five classes on a regular basis. — GR
Highest vote: 3 • Lowest vote: 6 • Last year: 4
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5. Alabama: Big “TBD” vibes from Alabama as it ventures into a post-Nick Saban existence. This is still the same program with the same resources that won all those national championships and brought in all those top recruiting classes. It added an ascendent head coach in Kalen DeBoer. All of that justifies a top-five ranking, but without Saban, it’s a recruiting wild card and tough to project. — JW
Highest vote: 4 • Lowest vote: 7 • Last year: 2
6. Oregon: Few programs nationally have more momentum than Oregon. The Ducks have been a perennial high-floor team in college football despite having four different head coaches since 2010. With Dan Lanning in place, the Ducks have a well-regarded coach and elite recruiter to lead them into the new Big Ten. With a winning tradition, a new conference home and the Nike connection, Oregon is poised to keep attracting elite prospects. — KS
Highest vote: 2 • Lowest vote: 7 • Last year: 9
7. Miami: Mario Cristobal has signed back-to-back top-seven classes even though the Hurricanes have lost more games (13) than they’ve won (12) since his arrival. Nobody needs to remind you that Miami, a five-time national champion from 1983 through 2001, has never won an ACC title and has just one 10-win season since joining the league in 2004. But there’s a reason the Canes are signing top-10 recruiting classes. The talent in and around South Florida always makes The U a threat, and there’s real money behind this upward push. — MN
Highest vote: 5 • Lowest vote: 20 • Last year: 11
8. USC: Lincoln Riley was hired to restore USC’s status as a talent factory that can regularly sign top-five recruiting classes — the Trojans haven’t had one since 2018 — but he took a more portal-heavy approach to rebuild around Caleb Williams. USC’s recruiting upside is still extremely high, but after inking two top-100 signees and the No. 17 class in 2024, it’ll be fascinating to see whether this program can dominate West Coast recruiting while playing in the Big Ten. — MO
Highest vote: 6 • Lowest vote: 18 • Last year: 6
9. Notre Dame: Notre Dame’s average class ranking during Brian Kelly’s 11 full cycles as head coach: 12. The average during Marcus Freeman’s two full cycles: 10.5. The point: Freeman has not upgraded the Fighting Irish’s recruiting quite like most of us expected. This is a program with a very high recruiting floor. Can Freeman blow through its ceiling? — ML
Highest vote: 8 • Lowest vote: 14 • Last year: 12
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10. Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher showed the Aggies could haul in a No. 1 class, but since joining the SEC, A&M has typically lived in the 5-to-15 range. Given the school’s financial resources, infrastructure and proximity to talent, new coach Mike Elko should be able to keep A&M at or near a top-10 level consistently. — SK
Highest vote: 6 • Lowest vote: 18 • Last year: 7
11. Oklahoma: There were concerns about how the Sooners would recruit when Lincoln Riley left, but Brent Venables has actually elevated Oklahoma’s profile since he took over in December 2021. His first full class ranked fifth nationally — the Sooners’ first top-five class since 2010 — and his 2024 class ranked eighth. We’ll soon see how Oklahoma’s recruiting translates to the SEC. — AM
Highest vote: 8 • Lowest vote: 17 • Last year: 10
12. Michigan: It’s not often you don’t see the defending national champion in the top 10 of a list like this, which is yet another reminder of how incredible the Wolverines’ run was in 2023. Jim Harbaugh and his staff built that roster through elite-level evaluation and development. But when it comes to built-in advantages that are transferrable to other coaching staffs, Michigan has hurdles that still exist. It’s an excellent academic school and has been reluctant to fully engage in this new NIL landscape. Also, it has never had much success recruiting elite-level players in the South. — AW
Highest vote: 7 • Lowest vote: 17 • Last year: 14
13. Auburn: The good news for Auburn is it no longer shares a state with the best coach of all time and a program that was never going to finish lower than No. 2 in the recruiting rankings. And the recruiting tactics that landed its head coach in NCAA hot water at Ole Miss are now legal. The Tigers still have access to nearby talent and a well-stocked trophy case to show off, even if the year-to-year consistency hasn’t been what the program would love. — DU
Highest vote: 10 • Lowest vote: 16 • Last year: 15
14. Clemson: Clemson had a bit of an identity crisis in 2023, but Dabo Swinney continues to compete with SEC schools on the recruiting trail. As long as he can convince recruits to ignore what his critics say about his thoughts around NIL and the transfer portal, Swinney should have a seat at the table with any player he wants. Despite the program’s recent struggles, this era of recruits still grew up watching Swinney and the Tigers dominate the sport. — GR
Highest vote: 8 • Lowest vote: 18 • Last year: 8
15. Florida State: The biggest knock against the Seminoles is their begrudging status as a member of the ACC. But head coach Mike Norvell, who just inked a massive extension, has proven he can win on the field and recruit off of it, particularly in the transfer portal. Florida State improved on the high school front in 2024 as well, ranking 12th in the nation — two spots ahead of Florida — with 16 four-star prospects, and the Noles have a five-star already committed in 2025. — JW
Highest vote: 9 • Lowest vote: 17 • Last year: 18
16. Tennessee: Tennessee has experienced its share of lean years but is on an upward trajectory under Josh Heupel. The Volunteers have a rabid fan base, are close to elite talent and have shown the willingness to win recruiting battles with NIL muscle. On the field, the Volunteers have 20 wins in the last two seasons, and their exciting style on offense can attract high-level offensive skill players. — KS
Highest vote: 11 • Lowest vote: 17 • Last year: 11
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17. Florida: The Gators’ NIL collective has gotten its act together since the Jaden Rashada fiasco, and the in-state talent pool will always keep UF in a strong position to be a top-20 program. Florida’s 2024 recruiting class reached as high as No. 3 nationally but fell into the teens amid a five-game losing skid and a rash of decommitments to end the season. Billy Napier needs a boost of positive momentum or Florida will continue to slip further behind in an expanded SEC. — MN
Highest vote: 11 • Lowest vote: 22 • Last year: 17
18. Penn State: James Franklin has achieved laudable consistency in Happy Valley with eight top-15 signing classes in the last 10 years and two that ranked No. 6 nationally. This program wins battles for top players in its region, contends for five-stars and assembles rosters with enough talent to compete for Big Ten titles (and the expanded CFP) every year. — MO
Highest vote: 12 • Lowest vote: 20 • Last year: 16
19. Ole Miss: Ole Miss will always be able to attract talent due to its location and conference affiliation. Lane Kiffin has leaned heavily into the portal in recent years but has still signed three top-25 classes in his four full cycles in Oxford. The blue-chip ratio in Kiffin’s last two classes is 47 percent — up from 30 percent in his first two. — ML
Highest vote: 13 • Lowest vote: 26 • Last year: 29
20. South Carolina: Winning high-level recruiting battles for out-of-state recruits, as the Gamecocks did for Dylan Stewart in the 2024 cycle, is an encouraging sign. Shane Beamer has inked three straight top-25 classes, and if the on-field results follow, the Gamecocks could level up a bit further. — SK
Highest vote: 20 • Lowest vote: 24 • Last year: 19
21. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers have been a top-25 recruiting program for the majority of the past decade. They have a rabid fan base with strong NIL support and a competent coach with a strong track record in Matt Rhule. Winning the Dylan Raiola sweepstakes was critical, and adding star talent like that will help complement Rhule’s strong track record for evaluation and development. — AM
Highest vote: 19 • Lowest vote: 27 • Last year: 26
22. Washington: You may think Washington remained in the top 25 this year because of its run to the national title game. That plays a factor, sure, but the Huskies are also making the move to one of the Power 2 conferences and replaced Kalen DeBoer with a coach in Jedd Fisch who is going to be aggressive in his talent pursuit. Washington reasserted itself as a national brand last year, and now — with all of that Big Ten money — it may be more able to keep top talent home, increase its production in the state of California and access new territory around the country. — AW
Highest vote: 15 • Lowest vote: 37 • Last year: 25
23. Wisconsin: Access to talent makes the ceiling relatively low, but a winning tradition makes the floor pretty high, even during a program overhaul under Luke Fickell. Wisconsin has just one losing season since 1995 and none since 2001. Fickell’s ability to recruit at Cincinnati gives this job a little more potential on the trail, but it will only get tougher in a more crowded Big Ten. His 2024 class was the second-highest-rated in school history, so the arrows are pointing in the right direction, but consistently signing top-20 classes may not be possible in Madison. — DU
Highest vote: 19 • Lowest vote: 31 • Last year: 23
24. Missouri: Don’t look now, but Missouri has bullied its way into the cool kids club, as Ari likes to say. Star receiver Luther Burden III and five-star edge Williams Nwaneri have made Eli Drinkwitz’s program a legitimate contender for elite local prospects. The state’s favorable NIL laws should help keep talent at home, and the on-field product will do the rest. How about the Tigers winning 11 games in 2023? — GR
Highest vote: 19 • Lowest vote: 33 • Last year: 38
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25. North Carolina: Mack Brown and the Tar Heels have come back to earth a tad in the recruiting rankings. After three straight years in the top 15 from 2020 through 2022, UNC has been 31st and 26th in the past two seasons. But recruiting hasn’t been the problem in Chapel Hill — it’s been developing and translating that talent into consistent success. Brown replaced Gene Chizik with Geoff Collins at defensive coordinator but will have to move on without star QB Drake Maye. — JW
Highest vote: 22 • Lowest vote: 37 • Last year: 28
26. Kentucky: The head coach is the biggest factor here. The Wildcats have the longest-tenured coach in the SEC in Mark Stoops, who has led the program to eight straight bowl games. Kentucky’s recruiting ceiling is only so high, but it’s done well in-state and has built solid pipelines in talent-rich states such as Georgia and Ohio. The program has signed three top-25 classes in the last five cycles. — KS
Highest vote: 23 • Lowest vote: 34 • Last year: 30
27. Arkansas: The Razorbacks’ average recruiting class ranking over the last decade is 27.6, so this spot makes analytical sense. But is the program headed in the right direction? Arkansas hasn’t played for an SEC title since 2006. Sam Pittman is 62, and his record on the field in four seasons is 23-25. Old Southwest Conference foes Oklahoma and Texas just joined the SEC. Is Arkansas going to raise the kind of NIL funds it needs to be a serious contender or be content with an 8-4 ceiling? It feels like the latter. — MN
Highest vote: 25 • Lowest vote: 35 • Last year: 24
28. TCU: After a surprising slide from 13-2 and the CFP national title game to 5-7 in 2023, TCU must get back to building what worked: veteran teams full of studs acquired by out-evaluating other programs. The Playoff run did raise the Horned Frogs’ national profile and get them in the mix with more blue-chip talent, and this program has all the necessary ingredients to be an annual contender in the new Big 12. — MO
Highest vote: 21 • Lowest vote: 42 • Last year: 20
29. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders jumped 12 spots from last year after Joey McGuire and his staff signed a second consecutive top-30 class — the second time that’s been done at Texas Tech in the modern recruiting era. Lubbock is a bit remote, but the state of Texas is obviously very fertile, and the school has its NIL act together. — ML
Highest vote: 24 • Lowest vote: 43 • Last year: 41
30. UCLA: Yes, the Big Ten is an awkward geographic fit and the Bruins are behind on NIL. Can DeShaun Foster successfully combat those issues and rejuvenate the program? UCLA had a stretch of seven consecutive top-20 classes from 2012 through 2018. So expecting improvement on its recent hauls — the last six have finished outside the top 30 — is reasonable. — SK
Highest vote: 21 • Lowest vote: 46 • Last year: 27
31. Mississippi State: There’s plenty to learn about Jeff Lebby as a recruiter, but Mississippi State has always done well attracting local talent in a state that is often underappreciated by the recruiting networks. Ole Miss got the best of the Bulldogs with Mississippi prospects in the 2024 cycle, but this was a transition class for MSU. Lebby and his staff will have to establish those relationships quickly. — AM
Highest vote: 29 • Lowest vote: 47 • Last year: 32
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32. Michigan State: Mel Tucker attempted to make a big splash during his brief tenure. It didn’t work. Michigan State has a consistent track record of success without the flashy recruiting results. Mark Dantonio showed you could build with solid prospects from Ohio and the Midwest, and now the Spartans have a coach in Jonathan Smith who already has proven he can build a program with solid evaluations. — AW
Highest vote: 23 • Lowest vote: 42 • Last year: 26
33. UCF: The Knights are a wild card, but their stock continues to rise. What is possible at UCF? That’s a question with no definitive answer. Gus Malzahn is a proven recruiter and UCF has more to sell than ever, along with a renewed emphasis on building up its NIL budget as the program adjusts to life in the Big 12. If UCF can ever sell a Playoff bid on the trail, don’t rule out the possibility of the program out-recruiting some of the more tradition-heavy programs in the state. UCF was one of the biggest risers from last year to this year. — DU
Highest vote: 25 • Lowest vote: 44 • Last year: 43
34. Utah: The Utes found a natural landing spot in the Big 12 after the Pac-12 fell apart, and Kyle Whittingham is one of the most respected coaches in college football. Utah won’t be a perennial top-20 finisher in the recruiting rankings, but the Utes know who they are behind an established identity and can give any team a run for its money on any given Saturday. — GR
Highest vote: 20 • Lowest vote: 56 • Last year: 31
35. Iowa: Say what you will about Iowa and its ghastly offense — and we have! — but the Hawkeyes have managed to consistently win and put players in the NFL in spite of that. Iowa has had 15 players selected in the last four drafts, including four first-rounders. The composite ranking has ranged between 24th and 41st over the last four cycles, but the Big Ten advantages, NFL track record, history of success and new offensive coordinator could offer room for improvement. — JW
Highest vote: 30 • Lowest vote: 47 • Last year: 36
36. Louisville: Louisville is an interesting program. It’s not in a talent-rich state, but it has built inroads in attractive spots, most notably in Florida, Georgia and California. Louisville has shown through transfer portal recruiting that it will compete in the NIL game, and the Cards won 10 games and reached the ACC championship game in Jeff Brohm’s first season. Brohm, a Louisville native and UofL alumnus, should provide much-needed stability moving forward. — KS
Highest vote: 26 • Lowest vote: 50 • Last year: 34
37. Colorado: Yes, I’m the genius who believed the Deion Sanders hype a little too much and ranked Colorado fourth in last year’s poll. The reality here is Sanders can make a few splash signings, but he’s not interested in investing loads of energy on entire classes. He’d rather rely on the portal. I believe a return to the Big 12 helps Colorado in the long run, but I think we have a good read now on what this program is under Sanders. — MN
Highest vote: 25 • Lowest vote: 55 • Last year: 21
38. NC State: NC State has the second-most wins in the ACC since 2017 and just signed one of coach Dave Doeren’s highest-ranked classes yet, a group with five four-stars that finished 27th nationally. NC State continues to outperform its recruiting ratings but has to fight off a bunch of big-time programs to get top in-state prospects to stay home. — MO
Highest vote: 28 • Lowest vote: 55 • Last year: 37
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39. Maryland: Maryland has always been a bit of a mystery. Mike Locksley is regarded as an outstanding recruiter, and there are plenty of players in the state and the surrounding area. Yet the Terps have signed only one top-30 class in the last six cycles. One problem: Maryland has signed just five of the 30 players who ranked in the top 10 in the state over the last three cycles, including none in the Class of 2024. — ML
Highest vote: 32 • Lowest vote: 48 • Last year: 40
40. Arizona State: The Sun Devils have had stretches of consistent top-30 recruiting before; from 2012 through 2020, Arizona State averaged a class rank of 29th. The end of the Herm Edwards trended far from that; can Kenny Dillingham get the Sun Devils back in that range? His staff has talented recruiters, and ASU’s move to the Big 12 provides real intrigue. — SK
Highest vote: 26 • Lowest vote: 48 • Last year: 35
41. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys jumped a spot in this year’s rankings but have had back-to-back recruiting classes that finished in the 50s. Mike Gundy tends to outperform his rankings, though, and even if the recruiting results aren’t overly impressive, Oklahoma State should be operating from a position of strength in the new-look Big 12 without Oklahoma and Texas. — AM
Highest vote: 32 • Lowest vote: 57 • Last year: 42
42. Houston: Houston is polarizing. On the surface, it seems like a Big 12 program located in the heart of one of the most densely populated cities for high school talent in the country should have all the advantages in the world. The problem is the Cougars have done rather poorly in accessing that nearby talent. Maybe that was on Dana Holgorsen, who doesn’t have a reputation as a ruthless recruiter. Maybe that’s why Houston jumped up a few spots now that Willie Fritz is in the fold. — AW
Highest vote: 29 • Lowest vote: 62 • Last year: 45
43. Minnesota: Despite a 6-7 season, P.J. Fleck signed his best class ever and nabbed the top-ranked players in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. That’s an impressive accomplishment to take into Year 8, despite taking a step back on the field following three seasons of at least nine wins sandwiched around the COVID-shortened 2020 season. In-state talent will always be a little thin compared to the competition around the growing Big Ten, but Fleck looks like he’s maximizing the Golden Gophers’ potential on the trail. — DU
Highest vote: 39 • Lowest vote: 52 • Last year: 46
44. Georgia Tech: Recruiting at Georgia Tech can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it. The Yellow Jackets have as much access to top talent as any program in the country. But they have to compete against a ton of elite programs that understand the path to titles starts with recruiting the Peach State. Academics also play a role: Tech’s pool of prospects isn’t quite as deep as many of the schools it’s competing against. But no one understands this dynamic better than head coach Brent Key, a Georgia Tech alum. — GR
Highest vote: 28 • Lowest vote: 60 • Last year: 52
45. Baylor: The Bears are in need of a reset. After two straight top-40 finishes, Baylor was 67th in the 2024 cycle on the heels of a disappointing 3-9 season in 2023. Staff changes have been made — head coach Dave Aranda was retained, but he is taking over defensive play calling and replaced Jeff Grimes with Jake Spavital at offensive coordinator. Will it be enough to spark improvement? Baylor is obviously in a talent-rich state, and a new $90 million football development center is on track to open this summer, which should help. — JW
Highest vote: 30 • Lowest vote: 65 • Last year: 33
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46. Virginia Tech: Older college football fans remember Virginia Tech as a powerhouse in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s, but the program has lost its identity post-Frank Beamer. Where Virginia Tech struggles most is in-state: The Hokies haven’t signed a top-five prospect from Virginia in the last five cycles. The program made 27 straight bowl games from 1993 through 2019 but has missed two of four since then. Re-establishing consistency on the field is the first step to rising in the recruiting rankings. — KS
Highest vote: 36 • Lowest vote: 61 • Last year: 44
47. Stanford: With the demise of the Pac-12 and a cross-country move to the ACC, there’s almost a sense of panic that this program is going to fall off the map. Give me a break. Stanford remains one of the best academic institutions in the world and is less than a decade removed from multiple double-digit win seasons under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. The talent pool the Cardinal recruits from is nationwide — not West Coast-based. Give Troy Taylor time. — MN
Highest vote: 32 • Lowest vote: 66 • Last year: 39
48. Arizona: Arizona might’ve ranked higher this year if it had secured continuity coming off a breakthrough 10-win season. But Jedd Fisch and his staff leaving for Washington (and taking a bunch of signees with them) means another program reset. The stellar play of their 2022 class continues to prove that recruiting at a top-25 level in Tucson is possible and gives the Wildcats an opportunity to be an immediate contender in the Big 12. — MO
Highest vote: 40 • Lowest vote: 60 • Last year: 49
49. Purdue: This ranking seems a little low for a program that has signed classes that ranked 29th, 32nd and 25th over the last six cycles. Counterpoint: This ranking seems a little high for a program that has signed classes that ranked 66th and 76th over the last four cycles. Ryan Walters seems to have things trending in the right direction. — ML
Highest vote: 31 • Lowest vote: 57 • Last year: 51
50. Pittsburgh: The Panthers’ last five classes hold an average ranking of 48.8, which is trending down. From 2010 through 2019, Pitt hovered closer to the top 40 with an average ranking of 42.8. That feels like an achievable ceiling that the program must move back toward, and the 2024 class ranking (41st) is in line with that. — SK
Highest vote: 42 • Lowest vote: 60 • Last year: 47
51. Cincinnati: During his best years, Luke Fickell had the Bearcats somewhere between 40 and 45 in the national rankings. Cincinnati is in a power conference now but checked in at 51st in the 2024 cycle after winning just three games and posting the program’s first losing record since 2017. Scott Satterfield has a lot to work to do on the field and the recruiting trail. — AM
Highest vote: 39 • Lowest vote: 64 • Last year: 48
52. Kansas: No program moved up more spots on this list in one year than Kansas. Isn’t it incredible what a little bit of winning and a competent head coach can do for a place? The state of Kansas doesn’t have high school talent, but it’s close enough to Texas to get by. A spot in the low 50s is a nice little improvement for a program that was left for dead a few years ago. — AW
Highest vote: 37 • Lowest vote: 60 • Last year: 68
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53. SMU: SMU can sell major conference membership on the recruiting trail for the first time in decades as a member of the ACC and has the massive advantage of being in the talent-rich Dallas-Fort Worth area. Even if they don’t sign a player out of high school, the Mustangs will be competitive in the transfer portal, and the program is never short on cash for whatever it needs. Right now, that means more talent. — DU
Highest vote: 33 • Lowest vote: 67 • Last year: n/a
54. West Virginia: West Virginia typically hangs out in the 30s and 40s of the rankings, which isn’t bad for a program that doesn’t have a strong local recruiting base. There have been only two blue-chip prospects in West Virginia in the last six cycles (2020 through 2025). There were three in the Class of 2019, but none signed with the Mountaineers. Neal Brown’s breakthrough 9-4 record in 2024 is a good sign things are trending in the right direction. — GR
Highest vote: 36 • Lowest vote: 63 • Last year: 54
55. Syracuse: A nice lift for the Orange, who went from dead last in last year’s rankings to the mid-50s. Much of that is no doubt the optimism and enthusiasm for new coach Fran Brown, a New Jersey native who comes from Georgia with previous stops at Rutgers and Temple. The same barriers to success still exist — tough recruiting footprint, NIL constraints, the unstable future of the ACC — but that is Brown’s forte. Syracuse has a history of success. Rediscovering it won’t be easy, but Brown gives the program something it hasn’t had in a while: hope. — JW
Highest vote: 40 • Lowest vote: 68 • Last year: 69
56. Kansas State: Signing four-star quarterback Avery Johnson in the 2023 class was a massive win, and it helped lead to the No. 33 overall class. But historically, this is a developmental program that’s built on turning diamonds in the rough into productive college players. And it has worked tremendously well under Bill Snyder and current coach Chris Klieman. — KS
Highest vote: 43 • Lowest vote: 63 • Last year: 50
57. Vanderbilt: The Commodores won their last outright conference championship in 1915 as members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Lucky for them, they got into the SEC in 1933 and have been grandfathered into a lot of TV money in the years to come. Can Clark Lea or any other coach down the road turn this program into more than a conference bottom-feeder in football? The resume speaks for itself. — MN
Highest vote: 43 • Lowest vote: 66 • Last year: 61
58. Illinois: Illinois has the lowest average class ranking (59th) of all Big Ten programs over the last five years, and its league is about to get much tougher. Bret Bielema and his staff need to out-evaluate their peers and can raise Illinois’ recruiting potential by continuing to develop low-rated prospects like Devon Witherspoon and Jer’Zhan Newton into early draft picks. — MO
Highest vote: 46 • Lowest vote: 65 • Last year: 53
59. Rutgers: Greg Schiano has upgraded Rutgers’ recruiting in his second tour of duty with the school, signing three top-40 classes in the last four cycles. But the Scarlet Knights continue to struggle in their backyard: They’ve signed only five of the 36 blue-chip prospects from New Jersey over the last five cycles. That needs to improve for this program to take the next step. — ML
Highest vote: 41 • Lowest vote: 65 • Last year: 63
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60. Iowa State: The nine classes before Matt Campbell’s first full recruiting haul averaged a national ranking of 62.9. The eight classes since have an average ranking of 49. Campbell has clearly raised the floor on Iowa State’s recruiting, but can he raise the ceiling closer to the top 40 as the Cyclones enter the new Big 12 era? — SK
Highest vote: 49 • Lowest vote: 61 • Last year: 56
61. BYU: The Cougars received a nice recruiting bump in their first recruiting cycle as a full-fledged member of the Big 12, checking in at 44th in 2024, their first top-50 finish since 2016. It’s still to be determined whether that was a one-year boost or whether BYU can sustain that sort of recruiting in its new conference home. — AM
Highest vote: 45 • Lowest vote: 68 • Last year: 55
62. Indiana: It’s difficult to find nice things to stay about Indiana’s football program, but I love the Curt Cignetti hire. He lacks head coaching experience in big-time college football, but we’ve seen a trend of coaches with success at the lower levels translating to bigger jobs. Indiana is a basketball school, but that Big Ten money could help. — AW
Highest vote: 49 • Lowest vote: 68 • Last year: 64
63. Duke: Academic standards and a lack of winning tradition on the field are always going to limit the recruiting potential of a job like this. And outside of David Cutcliffe, if a coach has enjoyed sustained success in Durham, he’s been scooped up by a bigger, better job like Mike Elko was this offseason. Considering all that Duke has working against it on the recruiting trail, it has enjoyed far more on-field success than one would expect. — DU
Highest vote: 47 • Lowest vote: 65 • Last year: 62
64. Northwestern: There’s no other way around it: Northwestern is a difficult job and a hard sell for top recruits. The Wildcats significantly exceeded expectations under David Braun in 2023 with eight wins, which should help him get some traction. But there are still other, more successful Midwestern programs for top recruits to choose from. And most of them are also in the Big Ten. — GR
Highest vote: 50 • Lowest vote: 68 • Last year: 58
65. California: Welp, welcome to the … Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal? The Bears improved from 4-8 in 2022 to 6-7 in 2023, going to their third bowl game under Justin Wilcox and first since 2019. But since a top-30 composite ranking in 2021, Wilcox hasn’t had a class better than 55th nationally, and now the program is joining a conference on the other side of the country at a steep discount. — JW
Highest vote: 44 • Lowest vote: 68 • Last year: 60
66. Wake Forest: Wake Forest historically hasn’t been a destination for top-end talent. Program consistency under Dave Clawson is a positive, but it’s going to be tough for the Demon Deacons to climb in the rankings without a strong NIL backing. Wake did sign four-star wide receiver Jeremiah Melvin, an in-state product, during the 2024 cycle, a nice win on the trail for Clawson and his staff.
Highest vote: 52 • Lowest vote: 66 • Last year: 59
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67. Virginia: The Cavaliers’ average recruiting class over the past decade is 58.4, which suggests some of us might’ve ranked them a little too low. The reality here is Tony Elliott has a large hole to climb out of and the program has signed a total of three top-1,000 recruits in the last two cycles. Being at the bottom of the ACC standings in an era when the SEC and Big Ten are only getting stronger makes it even tougher. — MN
Highest vote: 54 • Lowest vote: 70 • Last year: 65
68. Boston College: Jeff Hafley was able to briefly raise recruiting expectations with a pair of top-40 classes but bailed after four years for an NFL coordinator gig. His successor, Bill O’Brien, wants to win with local talent and is focused on convincing top New England area prospects to stay home. If he can earn their trust and buy-in, that’s a good place to start. — MO
Highest vote: 50 Lowest vote: 69 Last year: 66
69. Oregon State: Looking for a positive spin on the recent developments in Corvallis? Oregon State has signed only one top-50 class in the last 10 cycles, so it’s not as though the Beavers can slip too far down the recruiting food chain — even without a home in a power conference. But it’s never a good look when your head coach, a beloved alum, bolts for a job in the league that snubbed you. — ML
Highest vote: 67 • Lowest vote: 70 • Last year: 57
70. Washington State: Wazzu recruiting consistently ranked outside the top 50 nationally even when the Pac-12 was together. Being left out of the latest realignment wave doesn’t help, and the long-term financial impacts of that will be substantial. Jake Dickert has the right mentality to combat what the Cougars don’t have, but it’s hard to picture the Cougars becoming a major recruiting force any time soon.
Highest vote: 68 • Lowest vote: 70 • Last year: 67
What were they thinking?
I was actually going to go in a different direction here, but then I saw Manny voted West Virginia 36th, 18 spots above the Mountaineers’ average rank and ahead of several programs that out-recruit them on an annual basis. Manny has some explaining to do with that one. — Antonio Morales on Manny Navarro ranking West Virginia at 36
Kenny has Georgia Tech at No. 28! When are we going to give up on Georgia Tech? Yes, it is located in Atlanta. And yes, Atlanta is one of the most important cities in the sport for high school talent. But what, other than the location, does Georgia Tech do to make anyone think it is a top-30 program in recruiting potential? In the last decade, Georgia Tech has only signed one top-30 class. The average finish ranking-wise was No. 48 overall. Oh, and that 2020 class that finished No. 27 and had Jahmyr Gibbs in it? Gibbs, and most of the other highly rated players, transferred out of the program. Despite being located in Atlanta, Georgia Tech has been a complete non-factor when it comes to local talent, which makes its location as relevant as whether mercury is in retrograde during national signing day. Maybe one day the right coach will figure it out, but there’s no way Georgia Tech belongs that high. None. — Ari Wasserman on Kenny Smith ranking Georgia Tech at No. 28.
I love you Kenny, but have you met the Aggies? Ari is married to one. We know the deal. I would venture that no program in America has a pure lust for winning more than Texas A&M. They just paid a coach $77 million to go away after shelling out a lot of money for a roster he failed to win with. That desire to taste the promised land is a powerful motivator. The Aggies will do anything and everything possible to make sure they amass the amount of talent it takes to compete in the SEC. Actually using that talent has been another issue, but they’re going to be way more competitive in recruiting. Money talks. Especially in the new, pay-for-play, salary cap-less era of college football. As long as these are the rules, the Aggies are going to be top-10 at worst. — David Ubben on Kenny Smith ranking Texas A&M at 18
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Max knows he’s one of my favorite people at The Athletic, but Max, who at SMU hurt you?! I’m not saying the Mustangs are going to be the next Georgia out here, but coming in at No. 67, ahead of only Cal and the Pac-2 duo of Oregon State and Washington State is brutal. The Mustangs have too much access to talent in the DFW area and too much NIL money to be a cellar dweller. — Grace Raynor on Max Olson ranking SMU at 67
Our fearless editor Mitch Light voted Virginia 54th overall while no one else had the Cavaliers better than 62nd. He also gave Virginia Tech one of its highest marks at 37th. The only reasonable explanation here is that Mitch has been corrupted by the Virginia tourism bureau. Be very wary if he approaches you about a can’t-miss timeshare opportunity in Charlottesville or suggests that James Madison is a candidate for SEC expansion. — Justin Williams on Mitch Light ranking West Virginia at 37 and Virginia at 54
Justin ranking Georgia Tech at 60 is just something that I cannot stand for. Yes, the Yellow Jackets have experienced lean years on the field as of late but are clearly on the right track under Brent Key, an alum who has done a great job of restoring recruiting in-roads in Georgia, particularly in the Atlanta area where the school is located. Key rebuilding those in-state relationships and keeping the program at a consistent bowl participant level will be enough to have Georgia Tech recruiting at a mid-40s level at worst. — Kenny Smith on Justin Williams ranking Georgia Tech at No. 60
Mitch, I understand there’s a lot of excitement about Willie Fritz and what he could do on the recruiting trail with Houston in a talent-rich state like Texas. But to rank Houston No. 29 after it just struggled mightily in its Big 12 debut is quite a leap. Tulane’s recruiting class rankings under Fritz — with talent-rich Louisiana as his base — never got inside the top 70 the last four seasons. He didn’t sign a single blue-chipper in that span. Calm down on the Cougars. — Manny Navarro on Mitch LIght ranking Houston at 29
Manny putting Baylor in the No. 65 spot on his ballot is absurd. The Bears have had 11-plus-win seasons with three different head coaches in the past decade. This is not some sleeping giant that might do something in the future. They’ve actually done it. Baylor has generally recruited at a top-40 level under those staffs because there will always be three-stars in its backyard who become difference-makers. The new-look Big 12 and the expanded CFP are both positive developments for a school that has money and championship expectations. — Max Olson on Manny Navarro ranking Baylor at 65
Justin, I’m not sure if you follow college sports, but there is something called NIL now. And certain programs are very, very aggressive in this area. Yet, you have Miami, which has signed only two classes outside of the top 20 in the last 13 cycles, at No. 20? The Hurricanes recently put the finishing touches on the No. 4 class in the 2024 cycle after checking in at No. 7 in 2023. — Mitch Light on Justin Williams ranking Miami at No. 20
I hate to pick on my buddy Max, but SMU at 67th? How quickly have we forgotten the heyday of the Pony Express, when the Mustangs recruited toe-to-toe with college football’s big boys (before the Death Penalty brought it all crashing down)? Now that paying players is allowed, SMU has embraced its colorful past. Its boosters thought nothing of footing the bill for the school to move to the ACC, there’s a robust NIL program and they’re in talent-rich Dallas, where one can find plenty of elite talent on less than a full tank of gas. With motivated boosters, access to talent and improving infrastructure, there’s a ton of potential for the Ponies. — Sam Khan Jr. on Max Olson ranking SMU at 67
Notes
- Seven programs had a gap of at least 30 spots from their highest to lowest vote: Colorado (30: 25 to 55), Georgia Tech (32: 28 to 60), Houston (33: 29 to 62), SMU (34: 33 to 67), Stanford (34: 32 to 66), Baylor (35: 30 to 65) and Utah (36: 20 to 36).
- South Carolina had the smallest gap from highest to lowest among teams outside of the top 10 (other than Oregon State and Washington State). The Gamecocks had a high of No. 20 and a low of No. 24.
- Oregon State and Washington State were the last two programs on every ballot except one. One voter had Oregon State at No. 67 and Washington State at No. 68, ahead of Boston College and Virginia.
- Six programs jumped up 10 spots or more from last year’s ranking: Ole Miss (10), UCF (10), Texas Tech (12), Missouri (14), Syracuse (14) and Kansas (16).
- Three programs fell by 10 spots or more: Oregon State (12), Baylor (12) and Colorado (16).
- Five programs had the same rank this year as last: Georgia (1), LSU (4), Florida (17), Wisconsin (23) and West Virginia (54).
- Georgia was No. 1 on every ballot.
(Top photo of Kirby Smart and Smael Mondon Jr.: Bob Self / Florida Times-Union / USA Today)