Tag: Team Rankings

Florida surging up team recruiting rankings after summer additions

Florida closed out the summer by adding several commitments from the 2025 class, and the Gators are jumping up the team rankings as a result.

It’s been a good summer for Billy Napier and the rest of Florida football’s recruiting staff.

Entering June, Florida had just four players under verbal commitment and ranked in the 50s nationally. A surge over the past two months has Florida moving up every major recruiting rankings list in the country, however.

Most recently, four-star Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback [autotag]Ben Hanks Jr[/autotag]. entered the fold, which led to at least a 10-spot jump on multiple lists.

The Gators surged from No. 43 to No. 30 on the 247Sports team rankings, passing three SEC teams among others. The On3 recruiting rankings are even higher on Florida, moving UF up 11 spots to No. 21 overall.

ESPN used to be the gold standard for recruiting but has fallen out of favor in recent years. On August 9, the industry leader pegged Florida as the No. 35 team on its recruiting rankings. Hanks is the team’s fourth ESPN300 recruit, so a significant jump is expected in the September update.

The outlier here is Rivals, which has Florida at No. 46 overall on its rankings. The Rivals player grades can differ drastically from the other major services, and this is one of those times.

Of course, there’s time for things to change as the cycle continues. The early signing period is four months away, and most high schools are just beginning the fall season.

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Coach Prime’s first full class at Colorado finished where!?!

Buzz, your girlfriend…

Just before the early signing period a year ago Notre Dame lost running back Dylan Edwards to Colorado.  Edwards shined in his first game for Colorado this year, scoring four touchdowns in Colorado’s upset of TCU back in September.

The season didn’t go as well the rest of the year for Edwards or Colorado head coach Deion Sanders as Edwards found the end zone just twice more and the Buffaloes finished the year 4-8 overall.

This year was better for Notre Dame as they didn’t have any last-minute departures from the class.  Colorado also didn’t end up pulling off flips anywhere like they did a year ago.

So with the early signing period open and the vast majority of commitments in, where did Colorado finish up in the rankings to close the first full class Deion Sanders was able to recruit?

98th on the 247Sports composite rankings.

You read that correctly.

98th.

If you’re curious, that’s exactly one spot behind Eastern Michigan and one ahead of South Alabama.

Sure Colorado landed arguably the most talent of any program through the transfer portal this off-season but its certainly not the recruiting class that Sanders and company were thinking they’d have in place.

2023-24 Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Which team will see the biggest gains as a result?

College football has changed forever with the addition of the transfer portal just a few short years ago.  Gone are the days of almost all players staying exclusively at one program for four or five years and instead we essentially see college football’s version of free agency twice a year.

Notre Dame has made a big boost to their roster in recent years using this.  Last year it was Sam Hartman who was supposed to come in and end quarterback woes for the Irish.  This year its Riley Leonard.

Where does the commitment of the former Duke quarterback help place Notre Dame in the transfer portal team rankings this off-season?

Where does Coach Prime and Colorado rate as he’s delivered again with talent acquisition as he promised?

Near but not at the top according to 247Sports.  Here is how 247Sports has rated the top 20 as of Tuesday afternoon (December 13, 2023).

So much for Arkansas being 47th in one CBS writer’s rankings

Arkansas is probably going to make Matt Norlander rethink his preseason ranking of the Razorbacks, who he had 47th in his top 100 teams on CBS.

Matt Norlander, who has covered college basketball for over a decade for CBS, recently released his top 100 college basketball team rankings ahead of the 2023-24 season.

If you’re wondering where Arkansas was on that list, you’re going to have to read for awhile.

Norlander had Arkansas 47th, behind SEC teams such as Florida and Georgia, who have combined for one NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.

Here’s what Norlander said about the Razorbacks:

Arkansas fans, you don’t need to find me because you’ve already found me. The Hogs are too low! Hey, I am not prone to a mistake here or there, but let’s see how a team with, theoretically, less talent does after finishing ninth in the SEC last season. (I actually have Arkansas at eighth in the SEC.) Eric Musselman is entering his fifth season and carries a 95-42 record overall and a 41-30 SEC mark.

Wanna know who his No. 1 team is? Purdue.

Who, you know, lost to Arkansas yesterday in overtime before a capacity crowd in Bud Walton Arena.

Norlander had a little fun with it on Sunday afternoon, at least.

https://x.com/mattnorlander/status/1718703104357486686?s=46&t=ePgN1CXZYeG7pg-Bi26Arg

College football recruiting rankings as of August 27, 2023

Can Notre Dame get back in the top 10?

The 2023 college football season got underway Saturday as No. 13 Notre Dame routed Navy 42-3 to begin 1-0.  Rival USC found a win against San Jose State as the Trojans offense won a 56-28 shootout.

As we now turn to the official Week 1 of college football when the rest of the major programs get underway, we pause to take a quick glance at the recruiting rankings for the 2024 class at the start of the week.

Notre Dame currently sits just outside the top-10 at No. 12.  Can the Irish do enough to get back into the top 10 by National Signing Day?

And who in the top 10 won’t be there once this class becomes official?

Here is a look at the national team recruiting rankings top 40 entering Week 1 of the 2023 college football season.

Rankings courtesy of 247Sports.

Florida moves up to No. 2 in latest ESPN recruiting rankings update

Florida’s big June has the Gators moving up from No. 4 on ESPN’s team recruiting rankings to the No. 2 spot.

Florida added nine players to its 2024 recruiting class in June and has shot up the ESPN team rankings as a result. The Gators checked in at No. 2 in the July update.

Of course, DJ Lagway is still the top offensive recruit under commitment to Florida, but it’s the new names on defense that has UF’s stock rising so rapidly.

“Defensively, the Gators have made some potentially impact additions,” ESPN Staff Writer Craig Haubert said. “Five-star Jamonta Waller has a bit of a tweener build at 6-2, 230 pounds, but he is a disruptive force off the edge with a good blend of quickness, agility, body control and effort.”

It’s not just Waller’s addition that has Florida fans and coaches excited. The trio that committed on June 18 —  Aaron Chiles, Amir Jackson and Amaris Williams — also has a ton of potential. Jackson, a tight end, was the major offensive addition to Florida’s 2024 class over the last month.

“The Gators also added one of the top inside linebacker prospects in Aaron Chiles, who has good football instincts and can be a reliable tackler,” he said. “Defensive lineman Amaris Williams could end up being a steal, as his stock has risen during the offseason.”

Florida also added IMG Academy four-star wide receiver Jerrae Hawkins in June as well.

The Gators trail only Georgia Bulldogs for the top spot in the country, but it will be tough to pass them by. UGA has the top-two players on the ESPN300 and six more ranked players than UF does.

Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State round out the top five.

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Gators fall outside of top 10 in ESPN 2024 recruiting rankings

Florida’s 2024 recruiting class is just outside of the top 10 in ESPN’s latest team rankings update.

Florida’s 2024 recruiting class has a chance to be among the best in the entire country, but the latest update to the ESPN top-25 rankings has the Gators down from No. 9 to No. 11 overall.

Georgia remains at the very top of these rankings, but Michigan took the No. 2 spot from Ohio State after adding an elite quarterback to its class. Notre Dame, LSU, Penn State, South Carolina, Florida State, Oregon and Tennessee round out the top 10, in that order.

Five-star quarterback DJ Lagway leads Florida’s 2024 class and is perhaps the best play recruiter in the country. Four-star running back Chauncey Bowens is the other offensive ESPN 300 recruit under verbal commitment to Florida.

On defense, legacy linebacker Myles Graham is the highest-ranked player by ESPN at No. 60 overall. Alongside Graham are fellow four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes and four-star safety Xavier Filsaime.

Rounding out the class are four-star athlete Kahnen Daniels, three-star safety Josiah Davis and three-star receiver Izaiah Williams.

The Gators sit at No. 5 out of 14 among SEC teams, according to ESPN’s rankings. Surprisingly, Alabama sits one spot behind UF at No. 12. The Crimson Tide is almost guaranteed to move up once Nick Saban adds some more pieces, but the class is still just starting to take shape.

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Oklahoma moves into top 25 of 2024 team rankings after Zion Kearney commitment

How do the Oklahoma Sooners stack up in national recruiting rankings after the commitment of four-star wide receiver Zion Kearney?

The Oklahoma Sooners have been hot on the recruiting trail, picking up their sixth commitment since March 25 and their fifth in the month of April with Zion Kearney’s pledge on Thursday.

At No. 64 in the 247Sports composite, Kearney jumped Jaydan Hardy as the highest-rated Sooner in the 2024 recruiting class. The four-star wide receiver is the first top-100 player in the cycle for Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s off to a faster start in the cycle than they were a year ago when they had just four players, and one blue-chip prospect, committed at the beginning of June.

If last year was any indication, there will be a number of commitments coming over the next few months for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’re in a great spot for several top 100 prospects in the cycle, like [autotag]David Stone[/autotag], [autotag]Williams Nwaneri[/autotag], and [autotag]Bryant Wesco[/autotag]. Those recruitments are far from over, but the Sooners have recruited as well as anyone not named Georgia or Alabama over the last two cycles.

With Kearney’s commitment, the Oklahoma Sooners jumped into the top 25 of the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.

2023 college football team recruiting rankings following five-star’s commitment

How much will these change in the next two weeks?

We’re less than 10 days until college football’s early signing period begins. It certainly feels a bit different these days with the growth of the transfer portal in recent years but don’t get it confused. Recruiting is the lifeblood of a program, and if you’re not doing it well, chances are you aren’t going to win big.

Where will some of the teams that got off to fiery starts end up in the rankings? And who may have started slowly but is closing the gap in the final days?

Here is the up-to-date top 40 team recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports following the commitment of five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley to Alabama.

Robert Griffin, III shares college football top-7 rankings

Former Heisman winner shares his rankings…

2011 Heisman Trophy winner and Baylor legend Robert Griffin, III was the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 2012 and spent time in the league through 2020 as he played for the Washington, Cleveland, and Baltimore franchises.   Since taking his final snap in the pandemic year of 2020, Griffin has joined ESPN where he works as an analyst for both the NFL and college football.

This week Griffin joined the slews of college football analysts and fans and released his own team rankings.  Some people go with a round number like 10, others go with five or six, but Griffin went with seven programs he ranked.

Notre Dame clearly isn’t ranked in this but three teams the Irish will ultimately play in 2022 are.  Griffin’s top seven goes as follows: