ACC spotlight: Hot and cold teams

Our weeklong series looking the hottest and coldest teams in 2018 recruiting for each Power Five conference continues today with the ACC, where the Miami Hurricanes continue to roll along with the nation's top 2018 recruiting class.

HOT/COLD TEAMS: Big Ten | SEC

MORE ACC: Recruiting storylines for 2018 | Conference recruiting rankings

Miami is the hottest team in the country right now. It’s really not even close. After years of recruiting at a lower level, the Hurricanes have locked up much of the top South Florida talent and sit at No. 1 in the recruiting rankings. The class is led by five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard and Rivals100 wide receiver Mark Pope. It seems as though Miami gets a four-star commit once a week these days, as Mark Richt has the momentum of a freight train right now. In addition to the players already in the fold, the ‘Canes are expected to land Rivals100 defensive back Al Blades and are also in play for four-star wide receiver Elijah Moore. Should this monster of a class stay together, there’s plenty of reason to think brighter days are ahead in Coral Gables.

Virginia hasn't been on a list of hot teams since the 2014 class with players such as five-stars Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown. Bronco Mendenhall and his staff are riding high right now with five commitments so far this month and there are a few days to go. These have been three-star commitments, led by linebacker Javar Garrett, but the sheer number of commitments is very impressive. Virginia is up to seven commitments in the 2018 class and has a recruiting ranking in the 30s, but the coaching staff seems to be injecting some excitement into this class.

Clemson has been a bit hamstrung by limited scholarships this year. With eight commitments already and an average star rating close to four, Dabo Swinney and his staff are putting together another very impressive class. Earlier this month, the Tigers landed two major commitments, the first being five-star and the No. 3 player in the Rivals100, Xavier Thomas, and the second being tight end Braden Galloway. Both of these recruits are in-state prospects as well. The Tigers continue to wow highly rated recruits that visit and have hosted five-stars Zamir White and Justyn Ross, Rivals100 wide receiver Brennan Eagles, and Rivals250 linebacker Payton Wilson over the last month. Even though the reigning national champs can only take about 15 prospects in this recruiting class, they are still one of the hottest teams in America.

Georgia Tech leads the section for good reason. The Yellowjackets have yet to land a commitment in the 2018 class after finishing eighth in the conference team rankings for the 2017 recruiting class. In a state that is one of the most talent-rich in the country, it's really important that Paul Johnson and his staff start to have more success on the recruiting trail. Look for Georgia Tech to eventually finish somewhere in the middle of the ACC rankings, but at some point here it will need to pick up the pace.

Pittsburgh missed out on some big targets in the last recruiting class and it is off to a bit of a slow start in the 2018 class. Pat Narduzzi and his staff only have one commitment so far, but there are more on the horizon and plenty of big targets out there. The Panthers are in good position with a number of in-state prospects and are hoping to land some big fish. In the meantime, Pittsburgh will be listed as a team in the cold section until the commitments start to flow.

Coming off a historic season in which Heisman winner Lamar Jackson lit the college football world on fire, Louisville has yet to capitalize on this momentum. The Cardinals haven’t landed a commitment since August of 2016 and need to really pick it up before this momentum is lost. There are many high-profile and talented prospects considering Louisville but the commitments haven't been coming. Louisville fans are hoping that the exciting play and some more big wins could jumpstart this recruiting class.