The Early Signing Period is only days away and as the focus is on high school prospects and the transfer portal, the junior college ranks are also crucially important when building a recruiting class.
Here is a look at the top junior college prospects in the 2023 class and a breakdown of where their recruitments stand at the moment.
NEW RELEASE: 2023 JUCO rankings
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NSD PREVIEWS: Announcement Guide | Rumor Mill
PREDICTIONS: East Coast predictions | West Region | Midwest | Mid-South | Southeast
FLIP WATCH: East Coast prospects | Mid-South | Southeast | Midwest | West
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TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Message board | Transfer ranking | Transfer Tracker
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
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1. MALIK BENSON
Alabama made Benson a big-time target in this recruiting class and the Crimson Tide beat out LSU, Oregon, Tennessee and Georgia this summer, as he cited the winning culture and NFL development in Tuscaloosa as two reasons why they won out.
The Hutchinson (Kan.) Hutchinson C.C. standout backed up his junior college ranking this season, leading his team with 59 catches for 977 yards and 10 touchdowns.
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2. JUSTIN JEFFERSON
Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M were the three finalists for Jefferson but the Crimson Tide always seemed best in his recruitment and he ended up committing to them in late June. The No. 2 prospect in the JUCO rankings finished with 86 tackles (12 for loss) including two sacks, one interception and a fumble recovery.
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3. KEYSHAWN BLACKSTOCK
The Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. four-star offensive guard has seen his recruitment absolutely take off in recent months as Blackstock has landed nearly 40 offers and basically has his pick of schools when it comes to decision time.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound standout has narrowed his choices to five schools with Oregon, Tennessee, USC, Michigan State and Oklahoma making the cut.
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4. CHANNING CANADA
Over the weekend, the Athens (Texas) Trinity Valley C.C. standout picked TCU over Mississippi State, Illinois, Oklahoma State and about 30 other schools in his recruitment.
Originally from Boutte, La., Canada hit it off with TCU position coach Carlton Buckels, who’s from the same town.
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5. KENDEL DOLBY
A top 10 of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Houston, Washington, Liberty, Oklahoma State, Washington State and Arkansas made the cut for Dolby in mid-November. That weekend he then took a visit to Norman and that set in motion his commitment to the Sooners.
An aggressive, physical and athletic defensive back, Dolby should fit perfectly into what coach Brent Venables wants to do on defense.
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6. IZAVION MILLER
The second-best offensive lineman in the junior college rankings has been committed to Ole Miss since early August but the Summit (Miss.) Southwest Mississippi C.C. standout took a final weekend visit to Auburn and now has a final decision to make. The 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman was recruited to Ole Miss by position coach Jake Thornton, but he’s now at Auburn, which gives the Tigers a real chance in his recruitment.
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7. THADDEUS DIXON
Originally a commit to UConn, that did not work out for the former Paramount, Calif., standout and so he went to Long Beach (Calif.) City College and had an outstanding season with 42 tackles and three interceptions. He took a visit to Washington toward the end of his season and committed to the Huskies in mid-December.
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8. ANTERIO THOMPSON
From Dubuque (Iowa) Hempstead, Iowa was always a contender in Thompson’s recruitment ever since he landed an offer from the Hawkeyes and he picked the Big Ten school in late October.
Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, NC State and Washington State were some other Power Five programs chasing Thompson, who had 32 tackles, six sacks and a fumble recovery this season.
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9. ANTHONY ROBINSON
The El Dorado (Kan.) Butler C.C. defensive back considered a preferred walk-on role at Penn State and then Jackson State got involved in his recruitment and it looked like Robinson could go play for Deion Sanders there.
But shortly after Sanders was hired at Colorado, the three-star defensive back who plays with a physical edge, committed to the Buffaloes as one of Sanders’ first commits in the class.
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10. REX VAN WYHE
A linebacker who can play multiple positions, Van Wyhe was the leading tackler at Fort Dodge (Iowa) Iowa Central C.C. this season with 79 tackles (6.5 for loss) and 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Despite that production, Van Wyhe’s only other Power Five offer came from Iowa State with Old Dominion, UTSA and others involved. He committed to Kansas State two days after it won the Big 12 title.
