College football’s ecosystem has undergone radical transformations since returning from the COVID-19 pandemic, not the least of which are the changes to recruiting.
The February National Signing Day already lost some of its significance as a major tentpole of the college football calendar. The introduction of the December early signing period began in 2017. Post-pandemic, relaxed transfer rules have placed a heightened premium on landing experienced playmakers who can make an immediate impact.
And then there’s the role Name Image Likeness (NIL) plays in wooing recruits.
Even with the metamorphosis of recruiting, plenty remains as it was years before: There is still a direct correlation between contending for a national title and the quality of recruiting classes signed — and retained. Many of the top-ranked recruits who signed before 2021 are still at the same school in 2024.
–Winning on the trail, winning on the field
Pointing out the correlation between acquiring talent and winning games is hardly revelatory.
Still, this year’s early-signing period reinforces that the connection is as strong as ever, even with the transfer portal sucking up some of the oxygen once reserved for the recruiting of freshmen.
To wit, 247Sports’ top five-ranked classes as Wednesday began to wind down were all teams currently in line for College Football Playoff berths.
1. Texas (Playoff No. 2)
2. Georgia (No. 5)
3. Alabama (No. 11)
4. Oregon (No. 1)
5. Ohio State (No. 6)
There’s an obvious throughline from recruiting to results.
But this can also work in reverse: Wins come first and thus attract recruits.
Take SMU, another team heading into Championship Week with a clear pathway to the playoff.
The Mustangs have the No. 30-ranked recruiting class commensurate with their upcoming appearance in the ACC championship game. That marks a new program-best under coach Rhett Lashlee, who was given another advantage in recruiting with a long-term contract extension this year.
UNLV, which is playing for the Mountain West Conference championship and at No. 20 in the playoff rankings, very much alive for a spot in the postseason, has the No. 73-ranked 2025 recruiting class. That may not seem impressive, until one considers that Barry Odom’s first Rebels signing class ranked No. 132.
Winning begets more winning, and the route to creating this kind of self-sustained success built on the recruiting trail is more feasible with the advent of the new transfer portal.
–Budding Big Ten rivalry between Oregon and Ohio State reaches the recruiting trail
Michigan and Washington will always be the true rivals to Big Ten Conference counterparts Ohio State and Oregon. However, as two of the most consistently successful programs of the 21st century and two of the most high-profile members of the new-look Big Ten, the Buckeyes and Ducks make for intriguing competitors of a different sort.
A 32-31 classic for league supremacy in October set the scene for a heated competition that extended to National Signing Day. Dan Lanning’s Oregon staff flipped 5-star cornerback Na’eem Offord (Parker High School, Birmingham, Ala.) after a 10-month verbal commitment to Ohio State, scoring the Ducks their second major win over the Buckeyes in 2024.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Offord is ranked the nation’s No. 2 cornerback prospect by 247Sports and No. 12 overall. His in-conference flip gave Oregon its second five-star pledge, joining No. 8-ranked overall prospect and wide receiver Dakorien Moore from Duncanville, Texas.
Don’t shed any tears for Ryan Day and his Ohio State staff, though: The Buckeyes signed a pair of top-five recruits in quarterback Tavien St. Clair (Bellefontaine, Ohio) and cornerback Devin Sanchez (North Shore High School/Houston).
–Can Billy Napier and Matt Rhule parlay strong National Signing Days into restored glory for Florida and Nebraska?
Late-season wins over LSU, Ole Miss and a rout of in-state rival Florida State has Florida football on an upward trajectory. Coach Billy Napier and his staff continued the positive momentum on signing day with a class ranked No. 10 overall and headlined by Sunshine State blue-chippers.
Of the Gators’ four most highly rated signees, three come from Florida: wide receiver Vernell Brown III (Jones High School/Orlando); cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (Booker T. Washington High School/Miami); and safety Hylton Stubbs (Mandarin High School/Jacksonville).
Signing three of the state’s top 10 prospects adds symbolic value of the Gators maintaining a strong presence in critical recruiting territory, despite a lean stretch for the program overall.
Nebraska similarly capped its 2024 regular season with some positive direction, securing the program’s first bowl in eight years. That’s a small step for a program with national championship aspirations, but attracting the second top 20-ranked recruiting class in as many years under coach Matt Rhule bodes well for the Cornhuskers taking longer strides in the immediate future.
Recruiting effectively at a place like Nebraska isn’t the easiest task, contributing to some of the longtime powerhouse’s modern-day struggles. Rhule’s staff addressing the lack of a deep local talent pool by casting a wide geographic net, evident in the class’s six 4-star prospects coming from six different states:
–Linebacker Dawson Merritt (Blue Valley High School/Stillwell, Kansas)
–Wide receiver Cortez Mills (Homestead (Florida) High School)
–Defensive lineman Malcolm Simpson (Hitchcock (Texas) High School)
–Linebacker Christian Jones (Westside Omaha (Nebraska) High School)
–Wide receiver Isaiah Mozee (Lee’s Summit North (Missouri) High School)
–Offensive lineman Shawn Hammerbeck (Winner (South Dakota) High School)
Even with the additions of Pac-12 refugees Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, there’s enough room for upward mobility in the Big Ten for Nebraska to move into contention quickly on the strength of Rhule’s initial recruiting classes.
–Former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George continues to quietly do big things at Tennessee State
Hidden away among the national recruiting class rankings is one of the most intriguing, albeit under-the-radar stories continuing to brew in college football: 1995 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL All-Pro running back Eddie George has steadily built up Tennessee State in the Championship Subdivision ranks, and appears poised to continue doing so.
Tennessee State’s initial 2025 signing class is among the most highly ranked among FCS programs, featuring a pair of 3-star prospects cornerback Chase Sutton and offensive lineman Parker Harden. Each garnered noteworthy FBS interest — Sutton from currently Top 25-ranked Memphis and Harden from Big 12 Conference members Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Their choosing Tennessee State builds on an impressive couple of seasons for the Tigers under George’s direction. Terrell Allen won the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS, and this season, the Tigers made their first playoff appearance since 2013.
Expect George to garner more attention in 2025 as Tennessee State builds toward FCS contention.
–Big money, hazy details
NIL is at the heart of the biggest changes to the recruiting landscape while a lack of oversight from the NCAA — or any regulatory body, really — and a resulting lack of clear details remains frustrating.
Professional sports leagues have clearly outlined contracts. Paul Skenes signing a $9.2 million rookie deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates is pretty well understood, for example. But college football’s incoming “rookie” class comes with a ton of speculation and uncertainty.
For example, top-ranked Michigan recruit and quarterback Bryce Underwood, a longtime LSU verbal commit, followed through on his flip to the Wolverines. A product of Belleville, Mich., the local standout gave an interview to Bally Sports while at Tuesday’s Detroit Pistons-Milwaukee Bucks game.
Underwood offered a cryptic answer about making “a business decision.” On3.com reported last month that Michigan’s NIL collective was planning to offer $10.5 million to the five-star quarterback.
The clandestine nature of NIL deals makes navigating the recruiting waters more difficult than it’s ever been. How realistic that number is, we can’t say definitively — but it is fair to say that makes the Pirates’ $9.2 million spent on the National League Rookie of the Year Skenes look downright bargain-basement in comparison.
–Kyle Kensing, Field Level Media