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Examining and ranking every Football Bowl Subdivision roster based on how their student-athletes ranked as high school prospects, the 247Sports Team Talent Composite is meant to provide a baseline understanding of the talent each program possesses.
Of course, some prospects do not live up to the lofty ranking achieved during their prep days, and others exceed expectations, but, generally, the programs at the top of the recruiting rankings are the ones competing for conference and national championships.
An exercise the publication embarked on in 2015, 247Sports released the 2020 version of their Team Talent Composite rankings on Oct. 9, with Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs leading the way. Featuring 68 blue-chip prospects – classified as four or five-star players – on their current roster, the Bulldogs totaled a team score of 991.53, good for a 93.27 average. Sophomore linebacker Nolan Smith, freshman cornerback Kelee Ringo, and redshirt sophomore running back Zamir White were Georgia’s three highest-rated players.
Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide (985.86), Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes (976.48), Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers (915.57), and Tom Herman’s Texas Longhorns (892.91) rounded out the top-five.
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Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines appeared at No. 17 and were the third-highest rated Big Ten Conference program, with James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions grabbing No. 13.
Registering an 827.18, the Wolverines’ roster consists of two five-stars, 41 four-stars, and 38 three-stars. Safety Daxton Hill and defensive tackle Chris Hinton, both sophomores and the program’s only five-stars, stood atop the list and were closely followed by sophomore running back Zach Charbonnet, senior defensive end Luiji Vilain, and freshman wide receiver A.J. Henning.
A product of Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort, Illinois, Henning was the crown jewel of Michigan’s 23-member 2020 recruiting class, which ranked No. 14 nationally and second-best in the Big Ten.
While there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Wolverines with the upcoming season set to kick in slightly over one week, this is the lowest 247Sports has been on the program’s talent in their six-year history of composing such rankings. For four-straight years from 2015-18, Michigan ranked in the website’s top-10, earning No. 9, 8, 7, and 8, respectively. In 2019, Harbaugh’s roster was rated as No. 11.
As many would expect, the Southeastern Conference was well-represented in the 2020 rankings, earning ten of the Top 25 spots, including Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers at No. 6, Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators at No. 7, and Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies at No. 11.
Other Big Ten rankings include Scott Frost’s Nebraska Cornhuskers at No. 24, Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers at No. 27, and Mike Locksley’s Maryland Terrapins at No. 32.
The Wolverines will begin their 2020 campaign against P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten in 2019) at TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 24 at 7:30 P.M. EDT on ABC.
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