College Football Playoff: Ones who got away for top teams

This past weekend of college football was full of major upsets and the shakeup in the College Football Playoff Rankings reflected those seismic events.

Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson are the top four teams in the new set of rankings revealed on Tuesday evening. And while each of those programs has clearly earned a spot among the nation's elite, they've also missed out on important recruits in the past - players who could have significantly impacted each team today.

What would have happened if one or two recruits had signed with a different team? Members of the Rivals.com Network examine the ripple effects.

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They almost signed: "Alabama's defense is one of the best in the country. Imagine what it would have looked like if Raekwon McMillan would have joined forces with Reuben Foster, Tim Williams, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Ryan Anderson. Ohio State was considered the favorite for McMillan throughout most of his recruitment. Alabama never backed down as now Georgia head coach Kirby Smart led the recruiting efforts for the Crimson Tide. Alabama closed in during the final month before his announcement, but the Buckeyes were able to hold on to the former five-star.

“Alabama is in good position on the offensive line with All-American left tackle Cam Robinson and likely freshman All-American Jonah Williams at right tackle. The Crimson Tide had a verbal commitment from Isaiah Prince, but the situation was a little botched on both sides. Prince was asked to hold off from making a decision until a spot became available. A spot opened and he committed to Alabama. The Alabama coaching staff asked Prince before he committed to not take any additional visits. He then took visits to Maryland and Ohio State and the two parted ways. Sources have indicated Alabama regrets moving on Prince after he took the additional trip.” – Andrew Bone, TideSports.com

With them on board: "The Tide keeps rolling on and off the field. Missing out on McMillan and Prince clearly hasn't hurt Alabama, but losing Prince had more of a lasting affect. The 2015 Alabama offensive line class was very highly rated and but not getting Prince was more of an issue in the 2016 class. He could have already been in position to start by the time the 2016 class made it to campus had he signed with the Crimson Tide, which would have also impacted the recruitment 2016 JUCO five-star offensive lineman Charles Baldwin. If Prince was already there Baldwin may never have signed with Alabama. Instead, it was Baldwin that ended up in Tuscaloosa only to get dismissed for a team rules violation before ever playing a down.

They almost signed: “Ohio State was the biggest threat to Louisville throughout James Quick's recruiting process. Quick arrived in San Antonio for the Army Bowl the week of his announcement and told the media that Ohio State was his leader. It turned out to be a smokescreen and Quick went with the hometown Cardinals later in the week.” - Marc Givler, BuckeyeGrove.com

With him on board: "The wide receiver position was a major priority for Ohio State in the 2013 class. Quick would have been Ohio State’s highest rated wide receiver commitment since five-star DeVier Posey in the 2008 class and many of the receivers the Buckeyes did sign in the few years prior didn’t pan out or didn’t live up to the hype. Quick’s skillset would have fit in seamlessly in Ohio State’s offense and he surely would have had success. Instead of Jalin Marshall putting up the numbers he did during his Ohio State career, Quick would have eaten into those stats and both might have stayed in Columbus for another year or two. If that had happened it could have impacted the recruitment of players like Curtis Samuel or K.J. Hill. Of course, if Quick did end up playing for Ohio State he might have been able to help the Buckeyes avoid the loss to Virginia Tech in the 2014 season and stay unblemished for their most recent National Championship season. "

They almost signed: “Detroit Cass Tech four-star running back Mike Weber committed to Michigan in August of 2014 only to decommit in late November after former U-M head coach Brady Hoke met his demise. The 5-10, 205-pounder ended up committing to Ohio State just a few weeks later, and while he went back and forth all the way up until signing day, he ultimately ended up in Columbus. As the No. 7 running back and No. 59 overall player in the country and the top prospect in Michigan, he would’ve been a nice grab for the Wolverines, who instead flipped Sarasota (Fla.) Riverview three-star running back Karan Higdon from Iowa on the morning of signing day.” – Brandon Brown, TheWolverine.com

With him on board: Weber’s decommitment hurt a Michigan fan base already licking its fresh wounds after the Brady Hoke era. The running back position at Michigan is in pretty good shape now with Kareem Walker waiting in the wings and De’Veon Smith and Chris Evans carrying the load now. If Weber did sign with the Wolverines Kareem Walker might have stuck with his original commitment to Ohio State. Michigan would arguably have a better, younger running back than Ohio State starting right now and they might not have lost to Iowa. Weber’s efforts might have even helped prevent one or two of last season’s losses.

They almost signed: “While all signs justifiably pointed toward Michigan, Clemson hovered in the shadows to make its big pitch the final official visit weekend for 2016’s No. 1-ranked prospect. There was sentiment coming out of the trip that the Tigers were positioned to pull the late stunner and pair Gary on the defensive line with the nation’s No. 2 recruit, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. But the gap between the visit and National Signing Day culminated in Clemson’s steam fading and the Wolverines holding serve.” - Paul Strelow, TigerIllustrated.com

With him on board: What a historic move it would have been if Clemson added Gary to an already loaded 2016 recruiting class. Lawrence is having a better freshman year than Gary. but if the two of them were part of a defensive line rotation that included potential All-American Christian Wilkins, Carlos Watkins, Clelin Ferrell and Albert Huggins, that would be a scary sight. Plus, Clemson would be able to say they were the only team in the history of Rivals.com to land the top two prospects in the Rivals100.