Pac-12 Spotlight: Grading the 2024 class
The 2024 recruiting class is essentially wrapped up now as some teams did really well, others not as much. Here is the Pac-12 Report Card looking at the entire high school recruiting class after the Late Signing Period.
RELATED: Pac-12 recruiting rankings for 2024 | Big Ten Report Card
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MORE NSD: Gorney Awards | Recruiters of the Year | Dominic Raiola interview | Five-star David Sanders updates recruitment | Alabama signee Ryan Williams interview | UCF coach Gus Malzahn interview | Big day for the Huskers | Miami coach Mario Cristobal interview | Oregon coach Dan Lanning interview | USC coach Lincoln Riley interview | UGA wins recruiting title | Big Ten recruiting recap | ACC recruiting recap | Pac-12 recruiting recap | SEC recruiting recap | Big 12 recruiting recap | NSD Live – all the news, analysis and interviews | Bussey sticks with A&M | Complete guide to National Signing Day announcements | What to watch on NSD | Five biggest storylines for this week | Four programs in the spotlight | Rivals Roundtable looks toward NSD
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals100
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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ARIZONA (No. 10 in Pac-12, No. 65 nationally)
FULL LIST: ARIZONA'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
With the coaching change of coach Jedd Fisch to Brent Brennan there were a lot of late changes and transfer portal movement so the highest-rated player in the class – four-star quarterback Demond Williams – is no longer going to be playing for the Wildcats.
But Arizona kept standout wide receivers Dylan Tapley, Brandon Phelps and others, and high three-star running back Jordan Washington has a ton of talent.
Grade: C-
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ARIZONA STATE (No. 4 in Pac-12, No. 46 nationally)
FULL LIST: ARIZONA STATE'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
The Sun Devils landed four-stars on both sides of the ball with running back Jason Brown and defensive back Tony-Louis Nkuba leading the way. Four other players were one notch away from four-star status as Arizona State did an especially good job loading up with talented defensive backs.
But the challenge to win with in-state standouts remains tough as only one of the top-20 prospects in Arizona picked the Sun Devils.
Grade: B
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CAL (No. 5 in Pac-12, No. 52 nationally)
FULL LIST: CAL'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
There are no four-stars in Cal’s recruiting class but there is some considerable talent led by high three-stars DE BJ Canady and WR Josiah Martin. A good possibility exists that the Golden Bears landed some under-the-radar prospects that fit their system well including QB EJ Caminong and TE Camden Jones, one of the better-looking tight ends in the entire class.
Grade: B
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COLORADO (No. 12 in Pac-12, No. 90 nationally)
FULL LIST: COLORADO'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
Colorado might have gotten a grade of F if not for some really talented players in its class led by five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, the only player of that ranking in the entire conference. There are three four-stars in the group as well but the Buffaloes signed just eight prospects total, the smallest group in the entire Power Five.
This is a case study of Colorado again using the transfer portal to fix the roster but this is a grade for the high school class and it’s lacking.
Grade: D
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OREGON (No. 1 in Pac-12, No. 6 nationally)
FULL LIST: OREGON'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
The Ducks had unequivocally the best recruiting class in the Pac-12 as Oregon ran away with it and finished with the sixth-best class nationally. No other conference team finished in the top 17.
Oregon had no five-stars or it would have received an A+ grade. Still, landing four-star WR Gatlin Bair and flipping former Ohio State four-star WR Jeremiah McClellan were big ones. Four-star DB Aaron Flowers is one of the best in the country.
Grade: A
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OREGON STATE (No. 9 in Pac-12, No. 62 nationally)
FULL LIST: OREGON STATE'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
A coaching change and the disintegration of the Pac-12 certainly influenced this recruiting class and made things challenging even heading into February. The big get was four-star receiver Jordan Anderson, who could make an immediate impact in Corvallis.
Three-star receiver Malachi Durant is another big addition on offense with Florida defensive end Shamar Meikle an impressive addition as well.
Grade: C
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STANFORD (No. 3 in the Pac-12, No. 27 nationally)
FULL LIST: STANFORD'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
Even after a 3-9 season under first-year coach Troy Taylor, Stanford finished with the third-best recruiting class in the Pac-12 as the program sells itself in many ways. Four-star defensive ends Benedict Umeh and Dylan Stephenson are two to watch and four-star quarterback Elijah Brown was a total winner at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. He should thrive in Taylor’s pass-first attack.
Grade: A-
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UCLA (No. 11 in Pac-12, No. 83 nationally)
FULL LIST: UCLA'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
The Bruins had a lackluster signing class with only 10 additions due to the constant (and prescient!) chatter that Chip Kelly was looking for the exits at UCLA. There is some exceptional talent especially on offense, though, with four-stars RB Cameron Jones, WR Kwazi Gilmer and OL Mark Schroller leading the way.
Even with some nice transfer portal additions, there are some questions about where the program is headed, especially with Kelly leaving this week for Ohio State.
Grade: D
MORE UCLA: Chip Kelly era with Bruins comes to an odd ending
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USC (No. 2 in Pac-12, No. 18 nationally)
FULL LIST: USC'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
This was not the blockbuster, five-star extravaganza class that USC fans are used to most recruiting cycles but the Trojans still finished second in the Pac-12 and posted a top-20 class nationally with lots of talent across the board.
USC loaded up especially at defensive end and defensive back with some potential stars there in Kameryn Fountain, Carlon Jones and others, as fixing the defense is priority No. 1.
Grade: A-
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UTAH (No. 7 in Pac-12, No. 57 nationally)
FULL LIST: UTAH'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
The leader of this class is four-star quarterback Isaac Wilson, who has superstar potential and put up huge numbers in high school. So it’s no surprise that the Utes also did well in signing four-star receivers David Washington and Zacharyus Williams among others.
We all know Utah is going to develop some three-star sleepers as well, which has been coach Kyle Whittingham’s M.O. for years. One to watch is three-star in-state ATH Davis Andrews, who’s expected to play in the secondary. He’s really impressive and could be the gem of this recruiting class.
Grade: B-
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WASHINGTON (No. 8 in Pac-12, No. 58 nationally)
FULL LIST: WASHINGTON'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
Washington played for the national championship and had its best two-year run in program history but the Huskies also lost coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama so there have been a lot of changes and movement there in recent weeks.
After such a huge run this season, the Huskies didn’t really capitalize with any blockbuster flips late but four-star receivers Peyton Waters and Jason Robinson, four-star OL Paki Finau (who tested the portal waters only to come back) and four-star LB Khmori House were all productive in high school.
Grade: C+
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WASHINGTON STATE (No. 6 in Pac-12, No. 56 nationally)
FULL LIST: WASHINGTON STATE'S 2024 RECRUITING CLASS
Under coach Jake Dickert, Washington State is going to play hard and tough, and the Cougars added players with that mentality in this class. No, Wazzu is not going to load up on four-stars but quarterback Evans Chuba is talented, it got a bunch of playmakers at receiver and did a nice job of adding pieces across the defensive line. Under the radar, this is a stronger class than others in the conference.
Grade: B-