The 2025 recruiting class is mostly wrapped up now as some programs did really well, others not as much. Here is the ACC Report Card looking at the recruiting class for each program after National Signing Day.
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BOSTON COLLEGE
FULL LIST: Boston College's 2025 recruiting class
One of the largest classes in the country, only Syracuse holds more verbal commitments within the ACC than Boston College. The emphasis from Bill O'Brien's program this cycle seems to have been skill position talent, with some 14 pass catchers and defensive backs being brought in from the 27-man haul, representing better than half the class.
The rest of the group features balance and even some local flair, with five in-state recruits on board including running backs Collins and Mekhi Dodd. BC also put in work in the Sunshine State, landing wide receiver Semaj Fleming as well as power slot Nedrick Boldin. The class ranks 13th in the league.
Grade: C
CAL
FULL LIST: Cal's 2025 recruiting class
The first full ACC cycle for the Golden Bears was a small one that took a large hit on National Signing Day when coveted quarterback commitment and clear class headliner Jaron Sagapolutele flipped to former conference rival Oregon. The Hawaiian was actually a replacement for the first QB who parted ways with the program in Robert McDaniel, who picked UCLA this week.
It caused the class ranking the plummet to the lowest in the conference among programs with a staff in place and barely inside the top 80 nationally. Even though programs like UTEP and Army hold stronger classes, there is decent quality in the smaller haul including in-state skill players Anthony League and Jae'on Young.
Grade: C-
CLEMSON
FULL LIST: Clemson's 2025 recruiting class
We usually track Dabo Swinney and company in the top-10 range of a class ranking, perhaps in the teens or slightly lower during an "off" year. But this class is beyond the top-30 nationally, also somehow outside of the top-five within the conference. The end of the cycle was especially tough on the Tigers, suffering key defections they didn't quite recover from in the secondary from some of the nation's top prospects in Jordan Young, Graceson Littleton and Tae Harris.
Clemson also lost a passer during the campaign before making one of the more intriguing decisions of a national power in taking Sunshine State dual-threat QB Chris Denson late in the game.
There are of course still stars headed to Death Valley in No. 2 running back Gideon Davidson, massive NFL legacy Brayden Jacobs and top in-state talent Amare Adams. The gem of the class may be from Swinney's home state in do-it-all linebacker Logan Anderson.
Grade: C
DUKE
FULL LIST: Duke's 2025 recruiting class
Duke's nine-win campaign under Manny Diaz was one of the nation's surprises and the program's recruiting class has come in and followed suit. The Blue Devis brought in a massive 27-man haul with star power and variety, good enough for fifth in the ACC.
That's a win in and of itself, but it gets sweeter when the class headliner was once committed to Clemson in top-100 recruit Bryce Davis.
Duke also suffered minimal defections this year, saving perhaps its best work for the end in holding off Michigan, Penn State and others for linebacker Bradley Gompers as his stock rose during the season. Throw in a head-turning seven-man offensive line class and a dual-threat quarterback that will likely draw some lofty comparisons down the line in Dan Mahan, and the cycle nudged its ceiling for Diaz's group.
Grade: A-
FLORIDA STATE
FULL LIST: Florida State's 2025 recruiting class
No program had a more up-and-down cycle – and it's not quite over – than Florida State through the bulk of the year. Mike Norvell's bunch rolled in the offseason coming off of the undefeated ACC championship run in 2023, as many would have predicted. It held one of the top wide receiver classes, a five-star on both sides of the trenches in pass rusher Javion Hilson and guard in Solomon Thomas along with one of the nation's most steady passers in Tramell Jones.
As the 2024 season underwhelmed, the class almost became a punchline for defections, at one point scoring higher with the Seminole decommitment roster than the current group of pledges. Changes were made in late November and it came at the right time as far as recruiting is concerned, as the 'Noles surged up the class rankings toward National Signing Day before flipping five recruits on Wednesday.
Twelves prospects have been added to the haul in the last month overall, including new headliners in quarterback Kevin Sperry, running back Ousmane Kromah, wide receiver Jayvan Boggs in what became a top-25 class against expectation.
Grade: B+
GEORGIA TECH
FULL LIST: Georgia Tech's 2025 recruiting class
Brent Key has hit his stride as a Power Four coach and his staff's ability to recruit came along with it. The program nearly upset Georgia two weeks after ending Miami's undefeated run, and recruits took notice to the point where Georgia Tech not only brought in a top-25 class, but it scored an ACC haul ranked higher than Clemson and Florida State in the process.
The close to the cycle was key for GT, holding onto prized blocker Josh Petty, defensive lineman Derry Norris and speedy two-way talent Dalen Penson while flipping blue-chippers from rivals such as Christian Garrett (Georgia), Tae Harris (Clemson) and Peyton Joseph (Florida State), among others.
Grade: A
LOUISVILLE
FULL LIST: Louisville's 2025 recruiting class
Among the smaller hauls in the league, Louisville looks like a program poised for a run in the transfer portal to supplement the lack of depth signed on Wednesday. There are some bright spots for Jeff Brohm and company, though, led by the highest-rated Cardinal and Oxford (Ala.) High School star Mason Mims. The senior got better by the year against strong Class 6A competition in the Yellowhammer State, wrapping up his career with more than 8,400 passing yards and 89 touchdowns against 11 interceptions all while completing more than 70 percent of his passes.
Two more Alabamians were brought in, including former Notre Dame pass rusher commitment CJ May, but it was the state of Florida that represented a third of the class for Louisville. The most recent win came on signing day in big-bodied wideout Kamare Williams, a flip from Arkansas.
Grade: C-
MIAMI
FULL LIST: Miami's 2025 recruiting class
A third-straight top class in the ACC has led to the highest of standards on the trail and it was mirrored on the field for Mario Cristobal and company.
The latest group features true balance across the board, with star power pacing the offensive line, wide receiver and secondary hauls in particular as part of its No. 13 national ranking and nine Rivals250 recruits. One of the earliest commitments should be considered the headliner in quarterback Luke Nickel, who Miami evaluated and took prior to the 2023 season. Since, the Peach State star has put in more than 7,000 total yards and 85 touchdowns en route to back-to-back state title runs.
The only knock on The U this cycle was in losing out on blue-chip commitments from five-star Hylton Stubbs, four-stars Gavin Nix and Timothy Merritt in December, the defections that likely cost the class a top-10 ranking.
Grade: A-
NC STATE
FULL LIST: NC State's 2025 recruiting class
Right in the middle of the pack among ACC classes, there was another top-50 class brought in to Raleigh by Dave Doeren and company. There have been better and there have been worse, a reflection of the on-field campaign fresh off of a 6-6 mark, but there are some good trends to take away from the latest haul.
There's no doubting who the headliner is with the last 12 months Je'rel Bolder has to his name. A stock-up type during the offseason, his recruitment apexed in the summer just as he went public with his pick. He is the sole wide receiver projection on board for the Pack but that may not last into the weekend.
Two other positions could secure the memory of the class from a volume standpoint as nine of the 21 commitments came via the secondary or offensive line. Leading the latter is the No. 6 center projection nationally in Isaac Sowells.
Grade: C+
NORTH CAROLINA
FULL LIST: North Carolina's 2025 recruiting class
Let's not take up too much of your time here. Mack Brown is out and the coaching search was not accelerated for the Early Signing Period, though this Bill Belichick could certainly help make up some lost ground.
For now, though, North Carolina holds just nine verbal commitments to date, the second fewest in the entire Power Four field. On top of losing tenured commitments to programs like Georgia, Alabama and USC during the season, class headliner and potential Day 1 impact quarterback Bryce Baker elected not to sign this week. He is the nation's top-ranked unsigned passer and while it appears he will give the new Tar Heel staff the benefit of the doubt, plenty of programs are pushing for what would be the most crushing Carolina defection.
Grade: D
PITTSBURGH
FULL LIST: Pittsburgh's 2025 recruiting class
After that 7-0 start many expected the Panthers to become the surprise of the season but things tailed off in a hurry. Still, recruiting was rock solid throughout those ups and downs en route to the No. 9 class in the conference.
It would have sat closer to the top five of the league should it have been able to retain two key defections in safety Elijah Dotson and DaMarion Fowlkes. Pitt wound up closing relatively well, though, in adding a pair of Floridians in running back Jaylin Brown and wide receiver Cameron Sapp via the flip game during the unofficial sports holiday.
Grade: C
SMU
FULL LIST: SMU's 2025 recruiting class
SMU is poised to play for the ACC championship while its staff completes a top-30 recruiting haul. Headlining the group was initially going to be five-star Keelon Russell, who wound out flipping to Alabama.
Shortly after the change of heart, though, the Mustangs went out and flipped a QB of their own in Ty Hawkins from TCU. Working well at IMG Academy, where secondary commitment Elijah Pratt is also on the roster, Hawkins drew rave reviews for his accuracy and quick decision-making as both a passer and runner.
Fellow blue-chipper Daylon Singleton leads a larger, four-man wide receiver group.
Grade: B
STANFORD
FULL LIST: Stanford's 2025 recruiting class
Another newbie to the ACC, the 18-man haul is one of the lowest totals in the league despite holding multiple blue-chip prospect commitments. Bear Bachmerier looks like he could be the future QB1 somewhere, with the type of talent that several programs tried to look into earlier in the year.
If the four-star quarterback would have budged, as many onlooker's suspected as the year wore on, the Cardinal haul would present as a hollow one. There are more blue-chippers on the table in wide receiver JonAthony Hall and defensive lineman Gabe Kaminski. The state of New Jersey was well represented in the group, a sign of the program's national footprint, finishing with double the amount of California natives,
Grade: C
SYRACUSE
FULL LIST: Syracuse's 2025 recruiting class
The Orange is looking to capitalize on a head-turning nine-win season under first year coach Fran Brown and getting prospects to jump in the boat has not been a difficult task. In fact, Syracuse holds the largest verbal commitment list in the Power Four at 34 verbal commitments.
A pair blue-chip Floridians projected to play in the secondary in Demetres Samuel and Kaylib Singleton headline the Orange's class. After 15 cycles of classes outside of the top-50 nationally, Syracuse finished No. 36 in 2024 and holds that same ranking again this cycle.
Grade: B
VIRGINIA
FULL LIST: Virginia's 2025 recruiting class
The losing season will bring about plenty of change for Tony Elliott and company, but the staff has prospects believing. In fact, the current standing of 48th in America and No. 12 in the conference is the best of the last four cycles.
The top prospects being brought in, too, reside on the offensive side of the ball from steady riser Bjorn Jurgensen at quarterback, Josiah Abdullah and Isaiah Robinson among wide receivers to go along with a second quarterback and multiple tight ends. There are also six athlete distinctions in the class, so more skill position projections are on the way.
Grade: B-
VIRGINIA TECH
FULL LIST: Virginia Tech's 2025 recruiting class
The Hokies sport a top-40 class, tabbed as high for the first time in three years, thanks to a dozen in-state stars jumping in the boat this cycle.
Beyond the region, the staff went out and picked up a Texan for their quarterback spot in Kelden Ryan, who is among the most productive in the Lone Star State as both a passer and as a runner. He may eventually pair well with 6-foot-3 wide receiver Shamarius Peterkin, one of the state of North Carolina's top athletes with his above the rim game on both Friday nights and on the hardwood.
Grade: B-
WAKE FOREST
FULL LIST: Wake Forest's 2025 recruiting class
Dave Clawson and company were 4-4 with a legitimate path toward a bowl before dropping their last four games. That slide was reflected in recruiting and Wake Forest suffered several in-season decommitments as a result.
Productive running back Terrell Mitchell did so on signing day, opting for Rutgers instead. So while a running back wasn't signed, the class was in stronger standing at wide receiver, offensive line and within the secondary. In-state quarterback Elijah Oehlke is a late bloomer who could project as a steal down the road given his dual-threat ability and the nuance of what Wake does with its offensive system.
Grade: C-
