Team recruiting top 25 (according to Ronald Hill)
1. Florida State – Two years in a row, FSU has reeled in the #1 recruiting classes in the nation. Head coach Jimbo Fisher is setting up a dynasty in Tallahassee and has the best young roster in the FBS, especially on the defensive line. This team is becoming a juggernaut and similar to the FSU of old. Giorgio Newberry, Timmy Jernigan, Mario Edwards, and Eddie Goldman are the highest rated d-line in the country, maybe in history, in over just a year’s span. Newberry is a speed end, a great pass rusher, and Jernigan is a plug up the middle. They came in together in the 2011 class a year ago. Goldman and Edwards make this a scary deep line that will be giving quarterbacks nightmares for years to come. Jameis Winston has a cannon for an arm, and he can run it too. He looks more like a pocket passer, but he could be called a dual threat quarterback because of the ability to scramble in pressure situations. He could be a starter by his redshirt freshman year in Tallahassee.
Top recruits: DT/ Eddie Goldman, Ronald Darby/DB, DE Mario Edwards, RB/ Mario Pender, WR /Marvin Bracy, QB Jameis Winston.
2. Texas – Texas always recruits very well and this year is no exception. Mack Brown is one of the best recruiters there is as the Horns hooked another top 5 class. With 28 signees, 17 of the players are either a 4 or 5 star caliber athletes, this class could be #1. Top running back prospect Jonathan Gray, from Dallas (Skyline High School) was committed to Texas A&M until about a week ago, when he switched his commitment to the Horns. The Horns also took two other recruits out of other teams’ pockets, including the Oregon Ducks. Linebacker Bryce Cottrell, who had been committed to UO for months, signed his letter of intent with Texas. Another top inside linebacker, Dalton Santos, had been committed to Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Vols but in a week’s time, Santos changed his mind and also faxed in his signature this morning to be a Longhorn next season.
Top Recruits- Malcolm Brown/ DT, Jonathan Gray/RB, Dalton Santos/ MLB
3. Ohio State – Urban Meyer has done a great job on the recruiting trail, and kept all of last year’s interim head coach Luke Fickell’s recruits, and added many more top notch players. There are a ton of standout ball players in this 2012 OSU recruiting class, including 5 star defensive end Noah Spence, and another 3 or 4 ballers that he snatched last second from schools who thought they had their recruit locked up. DT Tommy Schutt was committed to Penn State and switched, and WR Ricquawn Southward committed to Ohio State the day before Meyer was officially announced as the new head coach in Columbus.
Top Recruit- Noah Spence/DE, Brionte Dunn/ RB, Adolphus Washington/ DE.
4. Alabama – Now, Really? What is there to say about Bama and how Nick Saban recruits? He is among, if not the best at his job, and somehow he gets top 3 recruiting classes every year. This year is no exception with 28 commitments and most being very highly touted. Once again, the tide will roll.
Top Recruits- Landon Collins/ S/, TJ Yeldon/ RB
5. Georgia- Head coach Mark Richt got another star running back to complement last year’s top RB recruit, Isaiah Crowell.
Top Recruit- 4 star Keith Marshall is a stud and probably won’t redshirt in 2012.
6. Michigan – Nobody knew the kind of impact that 2nd year head Coach Brady Hoke on the field and in the recruiting spectrum, but he has succeeded in both. This Michigan class is the strongest since Lloyd Carr was still head coach.
The class is headlined by two beastly linemen. 5 star offensive tackle Kyle Kalis and 5 star defensive tackle Ondre Pipkins.
7. Florida – This is year 2 for head coach Will Muschamp, and he will need to prove his worth in Gainesville to keep his job. It helps capturing a top ten recruiting class for sure. With one more year in the system, players will get more familiar with Muschamp’s playbook and ways of coaching as opposed to former head coach Urban Meyer, who ran a spread offense.
Top Recruits- D.J Humphries/ OT, Jonathan Bullard/ DE, Dante Fowler Jr. /DE.
8. Auburn- Gene Chizik has done a hell of a job since arriving at Auburn in 2009. He has recruited with his staff a national title team in 2011, including DT Nick Fairley and QB Cameron Newton. The roster is stacked 3 deep because of the appeal and success that Auburn has had of late.
Top Recruit- Ricardo Lewis/ ATH
9. Stanford- I didn’t think that Jim Shaw would be a viable replacement for former head coach Jim Harbaugh, but I was wrong. He led the Cardinal to the most wins in school history (12) in 2011 and has kept the trend of getting highly touted recruits to come to school down at the farm. With the academic standards so high, it is surprising that Stanford can sustain success recruiting. Since Harbaugh took over the Cardinal, the major pipeline for recruits other than their own fertile ground in Northern California has been in Texas, where 3 more players were signed today. 5 star defensive end Aziz Shittu , 6’3 270 lbs., also committed to the Cardinal putting them in my top 10 with the two 5 star offensive linemrn that were signed below.
Top Recruits- Barry Sanders Jr. / RB, Andrus Peat/OT, Kyle Murphy OT
10. Oklahoma- Even though the Sooners lose all world receiver Ryan Broyles, they do return Heisman trophy candidate quarterback Landry Jones, and a plethora of great receivers. Incoming tight end Taylor McNamara will be a big target for Jones, standing at 6’5. They focused on players who can catch the ball. Durron Neal runs a 4.4 forty yard dash, and has great ball skills. Courtney Gardner and Sterling Shepherd will be names to remember. Receivers that are highly rated, then inserted into the Oklahoma offensive, should thrive in the offense. They always have at OU. Kenny Stills leads the pack, but incoming frosh Trey Metoyer is a playmaker at WR as well. Brandon Williams should be expected to carry the load at running back for OU. As usual, the Sooners got a top ten class, and it could hold the pieces to Bob Stoops next national championship as head coach at OU.
Top Recruits- Trey Metoyer/ WR, Alex Ross/RB , Taylor McNamara/TE
11. Miami – With the arrival of Al Golden in 2011, the U is back. They also have one thing that no other Miami team can say they have had in Coral Gables. – Discipline. This was the best hire of last year, and it will continue to have a rising effect on the program. The key to recruiting at Miami is getting “Miami Hurricanes” guys who want to be at the U. Not forced to go there cause FSU or Florida didn’t come knocking. The Canes need to re-establish themselves as the force of college football in Florida. Like former Canes tight end Jeremy Shockey mentioned in the documentary, “The U”, if every top recruit in the south Florida area committed to Miami, they wouldn’t lose a game in ten years. That might be true. He also said, “Being a Cane is like being in a gang, it fills players with pride.” Golden needs to sell that concept to his new recruits to re-build the powerhouse.
Top Recruits- Randy Johnson/ ATH, Tracy Howard/ CB
12. Oregon- Coming off of 3 straight BCS games and conference titles, the Ducks have recruited with the best teams in the country pound for pound. Head coach Chip Kelly and his assistants are great recruiters and bring in the type of athlete that former coaches Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti could not. I credit their success to coaching, execution, preparation, and recruiting. They have excelled in all 4 areas under Kelly. One interesting note is that Oregon now has three 2nd generation players, sons of former NFL players. Defensive end Arik Armstead is the son of former pro-bowl linebacker Jesse Armstead and younger brother of Armond Armstead, who played at USC before transferring. Kyle Long, a monster, 6’7 290 pound offensive lineman, is Howie Long’s son. Kyle is the younger brother of Chris Long, former star for the University of Virginia and now in the NFL. Wide receiver Eric Dungy, a redshirt sophomore next season, is the son of for Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy.
Top Recruits- Jake Rodriguez/QB/ — Arik Armstead, DE/ Pharaoh Brown, TE, Dwayne Stanford III /WR—Bralon Addison/ WR— Kyle Long/ OT
13. UCLA – The impact and culture change arrived immediately with new head coach Jim Mora as he arrived in Westwood. He captured many recruits that didn’t even have UCLA in their top ten. He was able to sign guys out of their pipeline and radar which is very hard to do. Mora signed 28 recruits! They even stole a defensive end from the Ducks, Jeremy Castro. It all starts with coaching and recruiting and the blue print is there with coach Mora. P-Diddy’s son. Justin Combs, signed with the Bruins as a defensive back. He is a little guy, but he plays with a lot of heart, and he has above average speed.
Top Recruit- Devin Fuller/ ATH
14. Clemson – The Tigers went to their first BCS bowl game since the 1980’s this last season due to the leadership of quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Head coach Dabo Swinney had a successful recruiting class this year to add to collection of talent and depth at Clemson. Chad Kelly, from Buffalo, NY is way above average at QB, and the Tigers loaded up on running backs and receivers. Jay Jay McCullough is a beast who is 6’6 and runs a 4.5 forty yard dash. Zac Brooks and Marty Williams can play multiple positions, ranging from linebacker to running back. These guys all have the capability to do special things as freshmen, as Sammy Watkins did, and this is the best class in Clemson in a few years.
Top Recruit- Zac Brooks/ ATH / 4.4 speed
15. USC. SC is no longer bowl ineligible, but the scholarship cuts will hurt them in the long run. The Trojans went across the country and signed highly touted defensive end Leonard Williams from Miami, Florida. Coming on late, USC made a push for some great prospects and ended up landing a few. Lane Kiffin’s staff didn’t sign as many as they would have liked, but they definitely like who they signed. There is a lot of Junior college players in this year’s class. Morgan Breslin, a defensive end looked impressive in the game film I watched of him. He got off the block very well and has fast hands.
Top Recruit- Jabari Ruffin/ ATH-OLB— Zach Banner/OT
16. Texas A&M – New head coach Kevin Sumlin had to take the hard news Wednesday that 5 star running back Jonathan Gray de-committed from A&M and signed his letter of intent to play at rival Texas. The move from the Big 12 to the SEC might take a few years of transition and heavy recruiting to get them as a competing team within the conference. Like I said, coaching and recruiting wins titles, and Sumlin knows that as he has made a splash in his first offseason, putting together a top 20 recruiting class. The class has lots of big names, and the depth is at the skill positions, which was an obvious area of focus for the new staff. Playing in the SEC, they will have to have speed, so overall, the Aggies did a good job getting lots of skill players. Quarterback Matt Davis is the real deal; he has all the intangibles a coach looks for in a quarterback, and he will be a star in College Station. He is very fast and has a cannon for an arm. The holes at offensive line got filled up by getting Mike Matthews, and Germain Ifedi. The star of this class is Trey Williams, from Spring, Texas. He will be a star at the college level and, in a few years time, players like Williams will make A&M contenders not just for the SEC, but for the BCS National Championship.
Top Recruits- Thomas Johnson/WR, Trey Williams/RB, Jordan Richmond/ OLB
17. Notre Dame- Brian Kelly is entering year 3 in South Bend, and this year’s class is strong but not overwhelming. The depth will certainly help and the skill position players are getting better with each rep. Quarterback Dayne Crist transferred to Kansas this winter, so freshman Gunner Kiel will get a chance to play, and I’m guessing he will not redshirt. He looks like a great quarterback and a name to remember. His film and tape was very impressive, as he has composure, pocket presence, smarts, speed, and a Colt .45 for an arm. He could come in and get time as a freshman but if he does, Kelly will have to keep him there.
Top Recruits- Gunner Kiel/ QB — Tee Shepard / CB
18. LSU- The Tigers went 13-1 in 2011 and was a win away from winning their 3rd national title this decade. CB Tyrann Mathieu was a Heisman candidate as a sophomore. He returns as does a vaunted defensive line and secondary. Expect the Tigers to be just as strong in 2012. The key is finding a quarterback to replace Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson. I’m guessing Georgia transfer Zach Mettenberger will get the call, but watch out for redshirt freshman Jerard Randle if he can maintain eligibility. He is very electric and the closest thing to Michael Vick that I have ever seen on game film. The Tigers got even better on defense with the new group of impressive names at all positions. I’m not sure where on the field Lamar Louis will play football. Running back or linebacker? Either way, he will make a huge impact with his athleticism. Kwon Alexander is the best linebacker of the new signees. Every team was after Alexander and with good reason. He is a phenomenal ball player with unbelievable ball skills, speed, instinct, and he fills the gaps easily. Linebackers Lorenzo Phillips, Deion Jones, Kwon Alexander and Ronnie Feist are all top notch, very fast linebackers. Not one runs over a 4.5.
Top Recruits- Kwon Alexander/ LB , Avery Johnson/WR, Lamar Louis/ ATH
19. Washington –Coach Sark got stud 5 star athlete/ RB Shaq Thompson to de-commit from Cal to flip over to sign with Washington. Thompson has a burst out of the backfield that is powerful, quick, and explosive. He reminds me of Marshawn Lynch with a bit more versatility.
Top Recruit- Shaq Thompson/ RB-ATH
20. South Carolina – Steve Spurrier lured in another top 25 class by signing 25 recruits and most of them are rated as 4 star caliber. Add that to the roster coming back and we have a serious SEC East contender. A huge pick up for the Gamecocks is athlete Jerrell Adams, who has great size, speed and a great body frame to play multiple positions. Adams comes from Fork Union Academy in Virginia, who also produced a few Ohio State Buckeyes this year as well. Wide receiver Shaq Roland is a horse at receiver, even though he is only 6’1. He has amazing instinct, route running ability, and can release and separate very well. Roland is best receiver in the state of South Carolina and that says enough within itself.
Top Recruits– Shaq Roland/ WR , Jerrell Adams/ATH
21. Missouri- Head coach Gary Pinkel got his best recruit ever at Mizzou, grabbing local WR Dorial Green-Beckham and the nation’s #1 overall recruit. DGB is 6’6 220 lbs. and should have an instant impact in Columbia.
Top Recruit- Dorial Green-Beckham/ WR
22. Nebraska- Though Coach Bo Pelini has been a defensive guru during his career, this year’s class focused on offensive weapons to counter the black shirt defense that Pelini revitalized when he started coaching in Lincoln. Going into their second year in the Big Ten, Pelini and his staff recruited a lot of California for top players, but also recruited the country as well. They did a very good job getting position needs and depth at positions like quarterback Taylor Martinez 2 years ago. Athletes Alonzo Moore will become a wide receiver or defensive back, and he is well able to play either. Akron, Ohio native (who got away from my Buckeyes? How?) Greg McMullen, a 6’5 255 lbs. defensive end is a behemoth off the ball, and could start as a freshman this year.
Top Recruits– Jordan Westerkamp/ WR , Greg McMullen/DE
23. Wisconsin- Coming off of two straight Rose Bowl losses, Wisconsin would like to get back and win one this year. Head coach Brett Bielema got another outstanding class to complement the fine roster that‘s in place for Bart Houston, a quarterback from Concord, California (De La Salle High School) who will ultimately be that replacement for Wilson.
Top Recruits- Bart Houston/QB, Dan Voltz/OT, Vince Biegel/ LB
24. Vanderbilt – Head Coach James Franklin recruited toe to toe with the rest of the SEC and it’s a surprise to see Vanderbilt have an impact recruiting with the academic standards they have.
Top Recruit- Brian Kimbrow/ ATH
25. Virginia- 2nd year head coach Mike London has impressed me with the turnaround in Charlottesville, as the Cavs are now competing with the rest of the ACC like they should. Last year, London had a great recruiting class and he has another one this season. London will need to keep on the recruiting trail and make strides to keep UVA at the level he wants them to be on and off the field.
Top Recruits- Eli Harold/ DE, Kwontie Moore/ MLB.
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