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Scout's Take: It's hard to picture a year in which
Texas does not start atop Scout’s Recruiting Rankings. The Longhorns don’t so much recruit as they select the top players in their own state, but like last year, Texas has expanded its boundaries to cherry pick other states’ top talent. Last year Texas invaded Ohio to bring in the nation’s No. 2 outside linebacker in Jordan Hicks, and this year Texas has commitments from the nation’s No. 1 guard
Christian Westerman of Arizona and top 5 cornerback
Josh Turner out of Oklahoma. Make no mistake though, the bulk of the Longhorn’s No. 1 ranked class is from Texas as 20 of 22 commitments are from within the state borders including 5-Star defensive tackle
Desmond Jackson of Houston.
Top Prospect: OT
Christian Westerman |
Big Recruiting Win: OT
Garrett GreenleaBest Available: RB
Malcolm Brown, TE
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, LB
Anthony Wallace
Scout's Take: Ohio State finished outside of the Top 15 in 2010 mainly because of a smaller class. Last year the Buckeyes signed 19 and the average star rating for the class put the Buckeyes amongst the Top 10 in class quality. This year Ohio State already has 17 commitments headlined by Scout’s No. 1 ranked quarterback
Braxton Miller out of Huber Heights. Miller may be the crown jewel of the Buckeye class, but the dirty work is done up front, and Ohio State already has commitments from nine linemen (four projected for offense and five projected for defense). Brian Bobeck is Scout’s No. 1 center giving the Buckeyes two No. 1 players, and Chase Farrie and
Michael Bennett are both Top 10 ranked defensive tackles.
Top Prospect: QB
Braxton Miller |
Big Recruiting Win: S
Jeremy CashBest Available: CB
Doran Grant, LB
Trey DePriest, OG
Aundrey Walker
Scout's Take: The Longhorns and Sooners battles back and forth all the way through signing day in 2010 with the Sooners edging Texas by less than a percentage point. This year Oklahoma has a lot of ground to make up on the No. 1 Longhorns, but they’re in a good spot sitting at No. 3 on Scout’s initial rankings. Like the Buckeyes, Oklahoma is loading up heavily on the defensive line. The Sooners currently have commitments from six defensive linemen with Kansas product
Jordan Phillips leading the way as one of five 4-Star defensive linemen. Whitehouse, Texas native
Trey Metoyer is a playmaker on the offensive side of the ball as a Top 5 wide receiver.
Top Prospect: WR
Trey Metoyer |
Big Recruiting Win: RB
Brandon WilliamsBest Available: LB
Anthony Wallace, CB
Charles Jackson, WR
Miles Shuler
Scout's Take: Recruitniks should no longer be surprised to see
Stanford amongst the nation’s elite when it comes to recruiting. While The Cardinal will be hard pressed to finish with a Top 5 class once the southern powers begin flushing out their classes, Stanford has finished in the Top 25 each of the last two seasons on Scout. The 2011 edition of Cardinal recruiting may be its best start yet including 4-Star quarterback
Evan Crower of San Diego and 4-Star middle linebacker
James Vaughters of Tucker, Ga. It’s hard to call a 4-Star player a sleeper, but running back
Kelsey Young of Norco is a big play man out of the backfield and on special teams.
Top Prospect: MLB
James Vaughters |
Big Recruiting Win: TE
Charlie HopkinsBest Available: DT
Todd Barr, LB
Jason Gibson, OT
Spencer Drango
Scout's Take: While Stanford may surprise some with its presence in the Top 5, no one is going to be surprised to see
Alabama occupying a lofty spot amongst Scout’s rankings. Alabama’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2008 played a huge role in its BCS Championship in 2009 with an incredibly young team that took the big prize against Texas. Head Coach
Nick Saban recruited on high level promising playing time and a chance to put Alabama back on top. With another BCS Championship on his resume, Saban isn’t necessarily selling early playing time, he’s now selling championships, an even better draw to Tuscaloosa.
Top Prospect: S
Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix |
Big Recruiting Win: WR
Bradley SylveBest Available: DE
Jadeveon Clowney, RB
Isaiah Crowell, OT
Cyrus Kouandjio
Scout's Take: The state of Louisiana is consistently a Top 10 talent producing state, and this year’s crop of players is as strong at the top as its been in a long time, and LSU is set to reap the rewards. Louisiana has seven players ranked in the top 150 players in the country, five of those are committed to LSU and the remaining two remain uncommitted. Offensive tackle La’el Collins of Baton Rouge and defensive tackle
Anthony Johnson of New Orleans are a pair of 5-Star anchors on either side of the line, and wide receiver
Jarvis Landry is as college ready as any receiver in the country.
Top Prospect: OT
La'el Collins |
Big Recruiting Win: DT
Anthony JohnsonBest Available: WR
Odell Beckham, OT
Greg Robinson, DE
Jermauria Rasco
Scout's Take: The
Georgia Bulldogs have always recruited heavily within its state borders, but
Mark Richt and company have put even more emphasis on the Peach State in 2011, one of the deepest classes in years. Georgia has gotten early commitments from 11 of the state’s finest, it’s an out of state quarterback that once again headlines the Bulldog class. Christian Lemay of Matthews, N.C. is Scout’s No. 2 ranked quarterback in the country. The early depth in Georgia’s class is in the defensive backfield led by athlete
Nick Marshall of Rochelle. Marshall is a dynamic quarterback who is willing to play defensive back for Georgia, as well as basketball.
Top Prospect: QB
Christian LeMay |
Big Recruiting Win: OT
Watts DantzlerBest Available: RB
Isaiah Crowell, TE
Jay Rome, CB
Damian Swann
Scout's Take: There was little doubt after Cincinnati’s run the last few years that new
Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly could coach, but fans want to know if the man can recruit. The best recruiter in the world at Notre Dame will be winning, since the Irish have a national presence that few teams can match, but the early returns on Kelly’s first class have been positive including 5-Star tight end
Ben Koyack of Oil Slick, Pa. and Top 10 offensive linemen Conner Hanratty of New Canaan, Conn. and
Matt Hegarty of Aztec, N.M.
Top Prospect: TE
Ben Koyack |
Big Recruiting Win: OT
Jordan PrestwoodBest Available: DE
Aaron Lynch, S
Wayne Lyons, WR
Kasen Williams
Scout's Take: The sanctions that hit USC recently have done little to diminish the enthusiasm of southern California’s top prospects from wanting to become Trojans.
DeAnthony Thomas of Crenshaw is the nation’s most electrifying athlete on both sides of the ball. Known as the “black mamba”, Thomas has been a legend in the Los Angeles youth leagues for years and backed it up on the high school level at Crenshaw. Thomas is a player that could legitimately be 5-Stars at four different positions: cornerback, running back, receiver, and safety. USC is looking to add depth to the quarterback position by bringing in two 4-Star signal callers in
Max Wittek of Santa Ana and
Cody Kessler of Bakersfield.
Top Prospect: CB
DeAnthony Thomas |
Big Recruiting Win: DE
Jalen GrimbleBest Available: DE
Greg Townsend, WR
George Farmer, LB
James Wilder
Scout's Take: It’s hard to say that the
Florida Gators do anything quietly, but it was a relatively low-key spring in Gainesville this year, and then it started to heat up. Florida has come on like gangbusters in the last couple of weeks securing commitments from four 4-Star prospects and the No. 1 fullback in the country. Quarterback
Jeff Driskel is a big, powerful 6-4/220 and can run and throw. Sound familiar?
Top Prospect: DE
Jeoffrey Pagan |
Big Recruiting Win: TE
A.C. LeonardBest Available: DT
Tim Jernigan, LB
James Wilder, LB
Stephone Anthony
Scout's Take: Few teams have showcased the running back position as well as the
Clemson Tigers the last several years, and with an opening left by do-everything back
C.J. Spiller, Clemson has obtained early commitments from two of the Top 10 running backs in the country.
Mike Bellamy of Punta Gorda, Fla. is a big play waiting to happen, and
Marlin Lane of Daytona Beach, Fla. is a well rounded big back at 6-0/205. Thinking of stacking the box to stop the Tigers, 5-Star wide receiver
Charone Peake of Spartanburg may have something to say about that.
Top Prospect: RB
Mike Bellamy |
Big Recruiting Win: TE
Eric MacLainBest Available: TE
Jay Rome, DE
Jadeveon Clowney, LB
Tony Steward
Scout's Take: Nebraska showed signs last year of becoming the Big Red Machine of old that dominated the 90s.
Bo Pelini and his staff have turned around the Cornhuskers and recruits are taking notice including being the only team in the country with commitments from not one but two Top 10 quarterbacks in
Bubba Starling of Gardner, Kan. and
Jamal Turner of Arlington, Texas. Starling is a baseball prospect as well as a top quarterback prospect. Nebraska currently has five 4-Star commitments, the two quarterbacks and three offensive linemen. Cornhusker football is on the way back.
Top Prospect: OT
Tyler Moore |
Big Recruiting Win: QB
Bubba StarlingBest Available: RB
Aaron Green, WR
Desmond Roland, DT
Todd Barr
Scout's Take: Last year marked the return of
Florida State to the national stage of recruiting. The Seminoles brought in three 5-Star prep prospects for the first time since 2005. Florida State is building off of a strong 2010 with early commitments from instate standouts like receiver
Rashad Greene of Fort Lauderdale and
Karlos Williams of Davenport.
Top Prospect: WR
Rashad Greene |
Big Recruiting Win: DE
Terrance SmithBest Available: TE
Nick O'Leary, DE
Ray Drew, RB
Isaiah Crowell
Scout's Take: It’s been the
Oklahoma State aerial attack that has drawn the most praise the last several years, but with a commitment from 5-Star running back
Herschel Sims of Abilene, Texas, it’s the ground game that is getting an infusion of talent from the Class of 2011. Sims isn’t the only jewel from the state of Texas headed to be a Cowboy, Scout’s No. 8 quarterback
J.W. Walsh hails from Denton.
Top Prospect: RB
Herschel Sims |
Big Recruiting Win: QB
J.W. WalshBest Available: LB
Kellen Jones, S
Lyndell Johnson, WR
Desmond Roland
Scout's Take: It’s a new era in Lubbock as longtime SEC coach Tommy Tuberville works his first full recruiting class for
Texas Tech. The early returns are good as Texas Tech is firmly entrenched in the Top 25. Tuberville’s days of producing top running backs dates back to his time at Ole Miss in the 90’s and Pflugerville product
Kenny Williams was quick to jump on board as one of Tuberville’s first commitments of the season. Williams and fellow running back Bradley Marquez of Odessa are Texas Tech’s two highest rated commitments to date.
Top Prospect: RB
Kenny Williams |
Big Recruiting Win: OT
Le'Raven ClarkBest Available: WR
Ladarius Brown, OT
Max Lang, CB
J.J. Gaines
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