National Signing Day 2018: By the numbers
Here are five key numbers that point to how teams and conferences did recruiting the 2018 class and where they stand historically.
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3: Schools that averaged more than four-stars per commitment
USC (4.28), Georgia (4.19) and Clemson (4.06) all averaged more than four-stars per commitment in their 2018 recruiting class but, more importantly, this year was the first time three schools averaged more than four-stars per commitment. The most interesting part of this statistic is that teams have averaged more than four-stars per commitment only seven times prior to the 2018 recruiting class.
USC, which holds the record for highest average star rating per commitment at 4.42, has had the highest average star rating per commitment more than any other school (five times- 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2018).
26: Biggest class that has averaged more than four-stars per commitment
The bigger the class, the harder it is for that team to have a high average star rating per commitment. With that in mind, Georgia's 2018 recruiting class, with 26 signees, is the second-biggest class in the history of Rivals to have an average star rating per commitment over four-stars.
The biggest class to achieve this was Alabama's 2017 recruiting class with 29 signees. The only other class to have more than 20 signees and average more than four-stars per commitment is Ohio State’s 2017 class.
3: Teams from the ACC in the top 10 of the final 2018 team rankings
The ACC took control of the recruiting trail in 2018 with the most teams in the top 10 of the team rankings. Miami at No. 6, Clemson tied for No. 8, and Florida State at No. 10 shows that the ACC's top tier can recruit with any team in the country. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 each had two teams in the top 10 and the Pac-12 had one. For a frame of reference, there were five SEC teams in the top 10 of the 2017 team rankings, the Big Ten had two, and the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC each had one.
133: Four- and five-star signees in the SEC
The SEC ran away with the most "blue-chip" signees in the 2018 class. The next closest conference was the Big Ten with 79 four- and five-star signees. The difference between the number of four- and five-stars that the SEC and Big Ten signed (54) is more than the Big 12's total four- and five-star signees (53). The ACC had 79 and the Pac-12 had 66 signees ranked four-stars or better.
7: Teams that improved their ranking at least 18 spots since the final prospect rankings update in mid-January
Looking at how a school moved in the team rankings is good barometer of how successfully they recruited leading up to National Signing Day.
Arizona State was No. 89 in the team rankings just a couple weeks prior to signing day but the Sun Devils added 10 commitments and improved their ranking more than 50 spots to finish at No. 36.
Texas A&M finished at No. 16 because it picked nine more commitments, which pushed the Aggies up more than 30 spots. Oregon State and Florida State also added nine commitments since mid-January and that helped them improve their team ranking 27 and 26 spots, respectively.
After picking up six more commitments, Utah moved up 23 spots in the team rankings while Ole Miss added five more commitments and moved up 20 spots. UCLA moved up 18 spots in the team rankings because it picked up 13 more commitments since mid-January.