After a day full of hats on the head and announcements at a social distance, the national signing day of 2021 is in the books – and with that, the class of 2021 is almost complete. The 2021 recruiting rankings are not only at the top of Alabama, but also the best class of all time.
It has been a year of uncertainty in almost every way of life, and the same has been the case with recruitment for the 2021 class. Due to the pandemic, the NCAA rules restricted contact with people who are frequently used by coaches and players to complete the decision-making process, and therefore Zoom and unofficial visits to campus for players and coaches had to be sufficient.
Now that the national signing day is complete, let’s look at who came out on top and who stayed behind, Wednesday.
Wenners
Alabama: The Crimson Tide has the no. 1st-class recruitment class of all time, with the end of 2010 in Florida. There was little drama in it when 25 of the 27 players in Alabama’s class signed in early December, and even the 26th member was orally committed in Camar Wheaton, who made things official before lunch at his school. Alabama’s class has 16 of the top 91 players in the country. There are an incredible seven five-star prospects. These include the two leading offensive plans in the country: JC Latham and Tommy Brockermeyer.
The Tide also has the number 2 guard in Terrence Ferguson and the no. 1 Center in James Brockermeyer. They also have four of the top ten wide receivers in JaCorey Brooks, Agiye Hall, Christian Leary and JoJo Earl. Oh, plus the number 2 recurring Wheaton. Nick Saban has now overtaken six of the ten highest-rated recruiting classes ever during his tenure in Alabama. Each class signed by Bama under Saban has won at least one national championship.
Established coaches: Recruitment in the pandemic was quite difficult. There were no visits to university campuses or high schools. There were no personal evaluations. No summer camps. No official visits. This has given a huge advantage to staff who have already had a prospect of relationships. Of the top 15 classes on the 247Sports Composite team rankings, no one hired a coach in 2019 or 2020.
Texas A&M: The Aggies held out Texas for the dedication of LJ Johnson, a four-star full-back. Texas A&M is rebuilding with this lot, and in total it has one five-star and 16 four-star, according to the 247Sports Composite. The Aggies are No. 4 in the SEC and may not be done as Jordan Moko, the offensive tackle 1 junior college, commits on Friday.
Oregon and USC: Parity can be fun from week to week. The Pac-12 desperately needs some teams to come out as elite. A year after finishing 64th in the recruitment, Clay Helton reorganized his coaching staff and his Trojans no. 8 found in the country. Linebacker Raessie Davis, a former commitment to LSU, elected USC at Ohio State and Oregon on National Signing Day.
Speaking of Oregon, the Ducks surpassed the USC by signing the No. 6 class in the country. This is the third consecutive year in which Oregon has scored the best class in the Pac-12, and the Ducks’ best three classes in their history have come under coach Mario Cristobal. The Pac-12 and the SEC are the only two conferences that have two teams in the top eight.
Michigan: After a bad year on the field that included a lot of drama surrounding the future of coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan retrained his defensive coach and got going, knocking out Michigan State defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny and a number top schools knocked out for George Rooks. . The Wolverines have the No. 2 class in the Big Ten and the No. 10 class overall.
Wisconsin: Look no further, but Wisconsin may be able to turn its decade plus winning streak on the field into something better on the recruiting track. The Badgers have signed their highest rank ever – by a wide margin. The no. Class 15 in the country includes five-star attacking tackle Nolan Rucci and five other four-star players. Wisconsin’s previous high water mark was the 2020 class, which finished 26th. The Badgers are trying to go from Big Ten West candidates to Big Ten candidates.
Losers
New coaching staff: Unlike their regular partners, most new staff have struggled quite a bit. Those whose first season was in 2020 – or worse, those who have just been appointed – have finally signed many players they have never met. No one achieved a class in the top 15. No one had an average recruitment rating of 90+. Most have been far below their yard standard of the past decade, although Ole Miss and Rutgers have achieved or exceeded their average of the past decade.
However, some have basically knocked and preferred to leave room for future classes to count back or for transfers. The state of Florida has signed just 17 players. Washington has 15. Auburn has just 16 candidates. South Carolina has just 13 under new coach Shane Beamer.
High school students who were not conspicuous: The numbers are still deceptive, and players could sign up for the next few months, but early data suggests there is a pair hundred fewer players signed up for FBS scholarships this year. The reasons are pretty obvious: the transmission portal and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many schools like to hold scholarships for existing colleagues in the transfer portal that the schools know can play, unlike high school students who were restricted this fall due to the pandemic or not. Staff simply never got the chance to see them play in person.
“If it’s a frontier recruit for us, we’d rather take a transfer that we know can physically reduce it at the university level,” said one staff member. Read more about the transfer situation here.
Another limiting factor was money. Although all seniors of 2020 have the ability to return to school for a bonus year and due to the pandemic can not count against the scholarship maximum 85, many schools in the group of five and even some in the Power Five are not willing to not to finance scholarships in excess of the normal 85 max. This means that many schools will play at 85, and if they accept some bonuses for 2021, the self-imposed limit will limit the number of high school players they could sign.