Here at Armchair, we’ve posted recruiting rankings for four of the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC), but we have yet to post any sort of combined rankings. Today, we fix that. Welcome to Armchair’s first-ever national top-10 recruiting leaderboard.
Disclaimer: Excluding the Big 12, all of the individual conference rankings were created in September. They’re probably out of date. Don’t yell at us, please.
Disclaimer #2: These rankings only take commitments and signings into consideration, meaning that 5-star recruit who is strongly leaning towards your favorite school has exactly zero impact on the leaderboard.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs may not have won the National Championship, but before the big day, they are in a great position to win the Recruiting Title. Clocking in with six of 247Sports’ 5-stars, Georgia has done a fantastic job of pulling themselves ahead of the pack this cycle.
2. Texas Longhorns
Anthony Cook is better than 247Sports says he is. In addition to Cook, the Longhorns pulled in a historic defensive back class. Texas’ remarkable 2018 haul includes BJ Foster, Caden Sterns, Jalen Green, DeMarvion Overshown and D’Shawn Jamison.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes flat-out won the trenches. They have seven 4 or 5-star linemen on both sides of the ball. If people thought Ohio State won at the line of scrimmage in 2017, wait until 2018 and on, when guys like Taron Vincent are helping Ohio State play traditional Big 10 football at the highest level.
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions scratched and clawed their way to this spot. They earned a letter of intent during the early period from defensive end Micah Parsons, who decommitted from the program earlier in 2017. Parsons has since enrolled. On top of that, Penn State dominated the state of Pennsylvania, grabbing six of the top 10 recruits from the state.
One player to keep an eye on is defensive end Jayson Oweh out of wrestling powerhouse Blair Academy in New Jersey. Oweh isn’t a wrestler, but his high school has one very successful Nittany Lion in its alumni. Ed Ruth was a three-time national champion when he wrestled for Penn State.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners jumped to this spot on Jan. 4 when cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles announced he had secretly signed with the school during the early signing period. Radley-Hiles adds some extra ‘oomph’ to the Sooners’ defensive recruiting class, which should help the Big 12’s problem of lackluster defenses.
6. Clemson Tigers
Clemson doesn’t have a lot of signees. In fact, the Tigers have the fewest number out of anyone in the top ten. Still, a full third of their class (so far) have five golden stars by their names. This includes the top prospect in the nation, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and the top non-quarterback in defensive end Xavier Thomas.
7. Miami Hurricanes
Miami should continue on their path back to greatness. Lorenzo Lingard, one of the best running backs in the country, will help them rise up the AP top-25 next fall. For now, he’ll pull them up this list.
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide not only won the Natty this year, but they continue to reload. While this is not yet one of the top-five recruiting classes Alabama is known for, it is still incredibly solid from top to bottom. It fills the spots where Alabama may have a need in a year or two.
9. USC Trojans
The 2018 Trojans’ recruiting class is led by Mater Dei’s dynamic quarterback-wide receiver duo, JT Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown. These two are going to make the rest of the west coast tremble in a few years, just like they did to the state of California in high school.
10. LSU Tigers
The Tigers’ best recruiting moves were the ones that foiled the University of Texas’ plans. Ed Orgeron stole wide receiver Terrace Marshall out of the Longhorns’ fingertips, giving LSU an incredible offensive threat. They also kept Chasen Hines from flipping to Texas, even when everyone in the recruiting world was certain he would. If LSU can do that year after year, it won’t be long before they return to being a major player in the SEC.
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