Position recruiting ranking: Defense
Rivals.com has broken down how the teams did overall on National Signing Day, and now here's a look at which teams fared best, position-by-position, on defense and at the athlete position.
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Defensive Position Recruiting Rankings
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
The Seminoles signed the nation's top two players at the position in five-star prospects Edwards and Goldman and rounded out the class with Army All-American Shanks and three-star in-state prospect Stuckey. This is one of the top hauls at any position in the country.
2. TEXAS
Brown has incredible upside as the five-star Under Armour All-American is one of the quickest at his position in some time. Norman was also an Under Armour All-American while Moore is one of the first junior college prospects to sign with the Longhorns in some time so Texas is obviously excited about his upside.
3. ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide landed its two top prospects at the position on signing day when four-star Kirven announced for Alabama and four-star Tomlinson chose the Tide over Georgia Tech. Ball, Lake and Taylor provide solid depth at the tackle spot.
4. MICHIGAN
The Wolverines scored a huge get at the position with five-star Army All-American Pipkins, who has a chance to play very early. Three-star prospects Godin and Henry are solid as well.
5. FLORIDA
Four-star Jacobs is the nation's No. 3 junior college defensive tackle while four-star Phillips is in the top 10 at his position in the high school ranks. Mann turned down offers from most of the SEC to sign with the Gators.
DEFENSIVE END
1. FLORIDA
The Gators had an excellent defensive line haul all-around and ended up with two five-star ends in Bullard and Fowler Jr., a signing day flip from rival Florida State. Cox Jr. could be the real sleeper of the bunch though.
2. OHIO STATE
Like the Gators, the Buckeyes also managed to grab two five-star defensive ends in Washington and Spence. Four-star Pittman is no consolation prize, though, as he is a Rivals100 prospect himself.
3. OREGON
Armstead and Balducci are Army All-Americans and while many think the former could be an All-American offensive tackle he will get his shot on defense at Oregon. Four-star Buckner was a nice pickup from the state of Hawaii.
4. STANFORD
The Cardinal received huge news on signing day when five-star Shittu announced for Stanford. Like Shittu, Kaumatule is also an Army All-American and Lohn is a power lifter from the Midwest.
5. GEORGIA
The Bulldogs only finished a single point behind Stanford in the position rankings with Rivals100 member Jenkins being the crown jewel of the list. Dawson and Floyd are both four-star prospects as well.
LINEBACKER
1. ALABAMA
Every single one of the five Crimson Tide signees at the position is a four-star prospect and three of them are ranked among the nation's top five inside linebackers. Ragland is the No. 1 inside linebacker in the country while Lee is No. 4 and Devall No. 5. Anderson was one of the biggest risers in the final rankings.
2. TEXAS
The Longhorns picked up two big pledges in the last week when Under Armour All-American Santos switched from Tennessee and Army All-American Davis from LSU. Cole was also an Army All-American while Jinkens played in the Under Armour game.
3. LSU
Alexander helped lessen the sting of losing Davis to Texas when he committed on signing day. Feist was an Under Armour All-American while four-star Phillips was a one-time Florida commit.
4. (Tie) VIRGINIA TECH
Three of the Hokies' four signees in Clarke, Edmunds and Ekanem are Rivals250 prospects. Ekanem cemented a top five ranking for the class when he committed on signing day.
4. (Tie) MICHIGAN
Bolden was one of the most impressive performers at any position during the Under Armour All-American game. Jenkins-Stone and Ross were both Army All-Americans as well.
DEFENSIVE BACK
1. MIAMI
The Hurricanes' class is more about quantity overall but five-star Tracy Howard was a huge grab on signing day when he spurned Florida and Florida State for the local program. Miami also managed to keep hometown four-star prospect Bush from getting away.
2. ALABAMA
It seemed an impossible task to pull five-star safety Collins out of the state of Louisiana but the Crimson Tide was able to do it. Dixon is the No. 3 overall junior college prospect in the country while Smith was an Army All-American.
3. WASHINGTON
The Huskies got a huge surprise the week of signing day when five-star Thompson, the No. 1 safety in the country, switched to Washington. Four-star cornerback Beaver, a signing day pledge, joined Thompson as an Army All-American.
4. FLORIDA
The Gators may have lost Howard to Miami but Florida's defensive back haul is still impressive. Rivals100 cornerback Poole turned down late overtures from Notre Dame while Rivals100 safety Maye stayed true as a longtime commit.
5. OHIO STATE
Four-star safeties Bogard and Murray were longtime Buckeye commits while Rivals250 cornerback Reeves committed just days before signing day. Three-star cornerback Powell stayed home to play for Ohio State.
ATHLETE
1. TEXAS
Rivals100 prospect Sanders was named by Rivals.com was the West MVP at the Army Bowl after picking off two passes from his corner spot. Four-star Johnson switched from TCU the weekend prior to signing day while four-star Thomas could star at receiver or corner.
2. ALABAMA
Though the Crimson Tide only signed two prospects classified as athletes, they were two very big ones. Five-star Williams was one of the top players in Florida while Rivals100 prospect Jones was the No. 3 player in Maryland.
3. GEORGIA
Like Alabama, the Bulldogs only signed two prospects listed at athlete. Five-star Harvey-Clemons played out the drama until after signing day but eventually faxed his letter-of-intent on Thursday morning while three-star Dawson could be the big sleeper of the class.
4. UCLA
The Bruins pulled off one of the bigger surprises of the recruiting cycle when Rivals100 prospect Fuller from New Jersey chose UCLA over Rutgers, Arizona and Nebraska. Orjioke and Perkins could make an impact as well.
5. (Tie)MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs loaded up on versatile players in this class. The best is Redmond, a four-star prospect and the No. 8 overall player from the state of Tennessee while Brown is a top 20 prospect out of Alabama.
5. (Tie)GEORGIA TECH
The Yellow Jackets pulled a big steal when Rivals250 prospect switched from his longtime pledge to Alabama when told he would have a shot to play quarterback for Georgia Tech. They also went into Florida for a very good player in Allen.
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