Scout.com
Team Recruiting Rankings for College Football
While much of the College Football world has lamented Ohio State's appearance
in the BCS Title game the last two years, the Buckeyes have gone and used the
exposure to their benefit on the recruiting trails. While Terrelle Pryor's much
publicized recruitment drew arguably the biggest headlines in recruiting
history, Ohio State has been quietly putting together the No. 1 recruiting class
in the country.
Notre Dame nearly went wire to wire as the No. 1 recruiting class in 2008,
getting edged out by Alabama on signing day, and Ohio State looks like they have
a chance to be No. 1 all the way through signing day. The Buckeyes got off to an
early start with high profile commitments like 5 Stars Johnny Simon (DT), Dorian Bell (LB) and Melvin Fellows (DE).
The Buckeyes' most recent commitment Jamal Berry from the Sunshine state only
helped solidify their spot as No. 1.
Following the Buckeyes is USC. USC, like most teams, got off to an earlier start
on the recruiting trail this year. In fact, quarterback Matt Barkley,
Scout.com's No. 1 prospect for 2009, committed to USC before Pryor (2008)
committed to Ohio State. USC has three players ranked No. 1 at their respective
positions, Barkley, middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict, and tight end Morrell Presley.
Texas Checks in at No. 3, and they're a team used to recruiting early and often.
This year was no different. Of the Longhorns' 19 commitments, 17 were committed
before the Spring Evaluation period even started, and all of them were committed
by June 1st. On another note, 18 of the 19 are from the state of Texas.
Auburn checks in at No. 4. The Tigers are tied with Ohio State for having the
most commitments with 25 already. It's not all quantity though as Auburn has a
solid nucleus of high school players including quarterback Raymond Cotton and
defensive end Montez Robinson, bolstered by the junior college ranks including 5
Star linebacker Eltoro Freeman.
LSU rounds out the Top 5. The Bayou Bengals have 18 commitments coming off of a
BCS Championship. They are headlined by the likes of homegrown defensive tackle
Chris Davenport and Texas import Russell Shepard at quarterback.
Maybe the biggest surprise of the season thus far is Stanford. The Cardinal
check in at No. 13 in the team rankings. An initial reaction may think that
Stanford has stuffed the ballot with a 20+ commitments, but the Cardinal
"only" has 15 thus far. Stanford is going long on quality for the
Class of 2009 including what could be the best big athletes in the country.
Tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo are ranked No. 6 and No. 2 respectively
at their positions, and wide receiver Jamal Patterson is a 6-3/210 pound
receiver.
Stanford has eight high school prospects rated 4 Stars or better by Scout.
That's more than the last three years combined.
Teams have been taking commitments earlier than ever, and it seems like the mad
dash in January is a thing of the past. But there are still 100 players left
uncommitted on the Scout 300 (4 and 5 star prospects) that have yet to make
their commitments. Who is the team poised to make the biggest jump? Florida.
The Gators are the only team in the Top 40 with less than 10 commitments.
There's no reason to believe that Florida isn't going to continue to recruit on
a national level, and as their commitment total starts to match most of the
other schools, look for the Gators to make a big leap towards the top.
Scout.com
Team Recruiting Rankings for College Football