The Vols have taken the recruiting world by storm each of the past two years, hauling in not only one of top of classes of the SEC, but the entire country. Head coach Butch Jones will be entering his third season with higher expectations than each of the past two years and recruits will surely be watching to see how big-time recruits can translate into big-time on-field success. The Vols are already off and running in 2016, with seven early commitments, including Rivals100 quarterback Austin Kendall and Rivals100 tight end Devante Brooks.
As the cycle moves along there's no reason to see Tennessee's hot start slowing down as Jones and his staff continue to their quest to bring Tennessee back into the SEC East title discussion.
Al Golden's road to retaining his job as Miami's head football coach starts on the recruiting trail. More specifically, it starts in the South Floridian corner of the recruiting trail. The Hurricanes have struggled in the state recently, as the top local talent has chosen Florida State or left the borders. Even struggling Florida -- coaching change and all -- has managed to land more truly elite in-state prospects.
The 2015 recruiting cycle wasn't a total calamity for Miami. The Hurricanes finished No. 26 nationally, which isn't a disaster by most standards. It's the fact that it's been seven years since the U avoided finishing third among the state's "big three" programs that has become the problem. Failing to land a single 2015 prospect ranked in Florida's top 10 didn't help things, either.
Getting things turned around locally is imperative in the year ahead, as plenty of eyes will be on Golden and the U.
Will Georgia lock down top in-state prospects again?
Ben Cleveland
It was a great year for the Georgia Bulldogs in the state of Georgia as the school landed five-stars Terry Godwin and Trenton Thompson while also nabbing seven of the top 11 players in state. (The state's No. 9 prospect, Roquan Smith, is still in limbo.)
The state of Georgia is once again loaded in 2016 and the Bulldogs will be looking to have another impressive year of locking down talent. The Dawgs already have commitments from a pair of in-state Rivals100 talents in Chauncey Manac and Ben Cleveland and fans are hoping it's just the start of things to come. Georgia continues to work on five-star athlete and Alabama commit Demetris Robertson and Rivals100 defensive tackle Derrick Brown is also considered to be a Georgia lean.
A return to the top
This really isn't a storyline to anyone but those concerned with bragging rights over recruiting rankings. A No. 2 finish isn't exactly anything to worry about, after all. Still, when you're as used to finishing No. 1 as Alabama is, being knocked from that perch is a bit of bummer.
USC recently broke the Crimson Tide's streak of four-straight No. 1 recruiting finishes. And while common sense dictates that Nick Saban will have his program around the top of the list on Signing Day 2016, it will be interesting to see if Saban and company return to the top spot.
Verbal commitments mean little a full year before Signing Day, but as things stand now, the Tide have one five-star prospect (Demetris Robertson) and one four-star prospect (Shyheim Carter) already in the fold for 2016, so a foundation is being laid. In the end, the difference between a No. 1 recruiting class and a No. 2 recruiting class is small, but, as always, the drama will be interesting to monitor.
While most teams were celebrating their 2015 haul on Signing Day last week, Clemson fans were already looking ahead to 2016. That's because the Tigers added three more commitments to what is becoming a pretty impressive 2016 class. The Tigers nabbed a commitment from Rivals100 running back Tavien Feaster, one of the nation's best and a top in-state talent, as well as four-star wide receiver prospect Cornell Powell. Add those to a class that already features four-star quarterback Zerrick Cooper and Rivals250 wide receiver T.J. Chase, and the Tigers already have the makings of a Top 10 class.
If there's anything that Dabo Swinney has shown, it's the ability to nab big names and 2016 is looking like it might be another big cycle for the Tigers.