NSD 2023: Georgia is No. 1 but door is open for others to claim top spot
The race for the high school team recruiting title will come down to the wire. At the end of the first day of the Early Signing Period, Georgia has a commanding, but not insurmountable, lead with Texas and Alabama following closely behind. Miami and Ohio State round out the top five.
Just a handful of commitments stand between Georgia and another Team Recruiting Championship. Standouts like Jordan Seaton, Terry Bussey, Ryan Williams, Dominick McKinley, Zavier Mincey, Dealyn Evans, Braylon Burnside and a number of other Rivals250 prospects remain unsigned. If a combination of two or three of these prospects end up signing with the Longhorns or Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs could be knocked out of the top spot of the Team Rankings.
With prospects set to announce their commitments at the upcoming all-star games and one final update to the Rivals250 coming before the late signing period in February, there is still an opening for movement at the top of the Team Recruiting Rankings.
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MORE: Biggest storylines to follow in the days ahead
NSD INTERVIEWS: Florida State coach Mike Norvell | Stanford coach Troy Taylor | Arizona coach Jedd Fisch | Illinois coach Bret Bielema | Washington State coach Jake Dickert | Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith | Auburn signee Amaris Williams | Syracuse coach Fran Brown | No. 1 prospect Jeremiah Smith | West Virginia coach Neal Brown | Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry | Auburn coach Hugh Freeze | Amaris Williams commits live on Rivals | Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham | Clemson coach Dabo Swinney | Nebraska coach Matt Rhule | Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire | Purdue coach Ryan Walters | Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea | Larry Tarver discusses flip to Nebraska | Legendary coach Lou Holtz | CFB analyst Yogi Roth | Fitz and Gorney preview the big day | John Garcia Jr. previews signing day in the Southeast
TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS: ACC | BIG TEN | BIG 12 | PAC-12 | SEC | OVERALL
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer tracker/player ranking (football) | Transfer team ranking (football) | Transfer tracker/player ranking (basketball) | Transfer team ranking (basketball) | Rivals Portal Twitter
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1. GEORGIA
The run up to National Signing Day saw the Georgia Bulldogs lose the top-ranked quarterback Dylan Raiola but they gained a five-star back on Signing Day by flipping top-ranked safety KJ Bolden. Five-stars Ellis Robinson and Justin Williams join Bolden on the defensive side of the ball. Rivals250 defensive back Ondre Evans completes the secondary in Georgia's 2024 recruiting class. The linebacker corps is filled out with Williams and Rivals250 prospects Kristopher Jones and Chris Cole, both out of Virginia. On the defensive line, Georgia signed Rivals250 prospects Nasir Johnson, Justin Greene and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye along with four-stars Quintavius Johnson and Jordan Thomas.
Kirby Smart and company signed a massive offensive line class. The shortest of them all is 6-foot-6. The group is led by Rivals250 prospects Daniel Calhoun and Michael Uini. At quarterback Georgia signed Rivals250 signal caller Ryan Puglisi out of Connecticut and joining him in the backfield will be Rivals250 running backs Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens along with four-star Dwight Phillips. The Bulldogs are also bringing in Rivals250 receivers Nitareon Tuggle and Sacovie White with Rivals250 tight end Jaden Reddell and four-star Colton Heinrich.
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2. TEXAS
Last year Steve Sarkisian and his staff signed No. 1 overall prospect Arch Manning and two other five-stars. This year the Longhorns are also bringing in three five-star prospects in Colin Simmons, Brandon Baker and Ryan Wingo and a total of 14 Rivals250 prospects. Baker and Wingo headline the offensive haul for Texas but look for Rivals250 prospects like receiver Parker Livingstone, running backs Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark and offensive lineman Daniel Cruz to emerge as important players for the Longhorns.
The stars in Texas's 2024 defensive class shine brightly. Simmons leads the group and he'll be joined by Rivals250 prospects D'antre Robinson and Zina Umeozulu on the defensive line. The defensive backs are the best position group in this Texas recruiting class. The late additions of top-40 prospects Xavier Filsaime and Kobe Black made headlines leading up to Signing Day and they're joining forces with Rivals250 standouts Wardell Mack and Jordan Johnson-Rubell. The Signing Day flip of Rivals250 linebacker Tyanthony Smith was big for the Longhorns. The former Texas A&M commit is the only linebacker in this Texas recruiting class so far.
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3. ALABAMA
Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are still waiting on a couple signatures but this class still features 15 Rivals250 prospects. At the top of the list is No. 4 overall prospect Julian Sayin. The quarterback out of California will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. Five-star receiver Ryan Williams has yet to sign his paperwork with Alabama but Rivals250 receiver Amari Jefferson, four-star receiver Rico Scott, Rivals250 tight end Caleb Odom and Rivals250 running back Kevin Riley will look to contribute early in their careers. Casey Poe is the only Rivals250 offensive lineman Alabama has signed so far.
On the other side of the ball, Alabama is bringing in a tremendous group of defensive backs. Jaylen Mbakwe, Zabien Brown and Peyton Woodyard all rank inside the top 45 of the Rivals250. They'll be joined by Rivals250 prospects Aeryn Hampton, Jameer Grimsley and Rydarrius Morgan. Look for Rivals250 linebacker Sterling Dixon and Rivals250 defensive linemen Jeremiah Beaman and Jayshawn Ross to develop into key pieces of the defense in the future.
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4. MIAMI
Miami sits at No. 4 in the team rankings but the Hurricanes may not be done. The Signing Day flip of five-star Armondo Blount was huge for Mario Cristobal and his staff but the surprise steal of five-star Justin Scott from Ohio State was one of the biggest shocks of the entire 2024 recruiting cycle. Also on the defensive side of the ball, five-star safety Zaquan Patterson is one of the crown jewels of this Miami recruiting class. Scott and Blount along with Rivals250 prospects Artavius Scott, Marquise Lightfoot and Booker Pickett make up one of the best defensive line classes in the country. Rivals250 linebacker Adarius Hayes, who flipped from Florida on Signing Day, could see early action once he arrives on campus.
The Hurricanes put together one of the most impressive receiver groups this year by signing top-55 prospects Ny Carr and Joshisa Trader along with Rivals250 receiver Chance Robinson. Miami flipped Rivals250 running back Jordan Lyle on Signing Day, too.
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5. OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes avoided catastrophe when longtime Ohio State commit and No. 1 overall prospect Jeremiah Smith signed with the Buckeyes instead of Florida State or Miami. In another close call, Ohio State managed to hold off Alabama and Clemson to sign five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston out of Georgia. Also out of the Peach State, five-star quarterback Air Noland stuck with his commitment to Ohio State. In total, Ohio State has 10 Rivals250 prospects in its 2024 recruiting class.
Ohio State is bringing in 11 offensive prospects in this class and all but one of them are rated at least four-stars. Receiver Mylan Graham and offensive lineman Ian Moore are top-55 prospects and running back signee James Peoples out of Texas is a Rivals250 prospect.
Of the nine defensive prospects Ohio State signed, five of them are Rivals250 prospects. Houston leads the group but not far behind him in the Rivals250 are defensive backs Aaron Scott and Bryce West. The Rivals250 linebacker tandem of Garrett Stover and Payton Pierce should prove to be important parts of the Ohio State defense down the road.