Rankings redone
The recalculation of Rivals.com's Class of 2005 team rankings based on players being enrolled at their college of choice saw several big changes, but for the most part, teams stayed in the vicinity of their rank on signing day.
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Change at the top
The most noteworthy changes came at the top. Oklahoma, which saw all of its third-ranked recruiting class enroll, took over the top spot in the nation.
Recruiting national champion Southern California dropped to No. 4, hurt by the loss of a pair of junior college players, five-star defensive tackle Gabe Long and four-star offensive lineman Kevin Myers, and Rivals100 defensive tackle Walker Ashley, another four-star prospect.
Florida State dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 after five-star defensive tackle Callahan Bright, four-star defensive end Justin Mincey, four-star offensive lineman Matt Hardrick and four star linebacker Dan Foster didn't enroll.
That the Seminoles only dropped three spaces, are still in the top five and still have the Atlantic Coast Conference's top class after losing that kind of talent out of their class is a testament of how high the quality of talent FSU is bringing to Tallahassee every year.
Tennessee moved up from No. 4 to No. 2. The Vols signed the best class in the Southeastern Conference. Nebraska moved up to No. 3 nationally.
Trending up
Mike Stoops and Arizona made the biggest climb in the top 25, moving eight spaces from No. 21 to No. 13, losing only three-star offensive lineman Jordan Lowe in a class that still ranks No. 3 in the Pac-10.
South Carolina, which is missing only two-star lineman Jarriel King and two-star athlete Mychal Belcher from its class which ranked No. 23 nationally, moved up six spots to No. 17 in the national rankings and No. 4 in the SEC.
All of the recruits who signed with Al Groh and Virginia on signing day made it into school and the Cavaliers moved up four spots from No. 19 to No. 15 in the national rankings. Virginia also moved up three spots to No. 3 in the ACC.
UCLA, which could play as many as nine true freshmen this season, inched into the top 25 from No. 26.
Trending down
The loss of five-star defensive end Melvin Alaeze, four-star running back Morgan Green and three-star linebacker Chris Clinton caused Maryland to fall 11 spots from No. 16 to No. 27 and out of the top 25. The Terps dropped more than any other top 25 team.
Georgia saw four-star linebackers Jamar Bryant and Jamar Chaney enroll at East Carolina and Mississippi State, respectively. Four-star defensive linemen Darius Dewberry and Brandon Sesay and three-star defensive lineman Corey Moon also didn't make it. The attrition caused the Bulldogs' class to fall nine spots from No. 10 to No. 19 nationally from No. 2 to No. 6 in the SEC.
Like Florida State, however, the fact UGA's class is still rated among the top 20 in the country shows you just what kind of talent Mark Richt and company are pulling into Athens.
Losing four-star linebacker Deveon Simmons, four star defensive end Stephen Friday and four star wide receiver Todd Nolen caused Virginia Tech to drop nine spots from No. 14 to No. 23 nationally and from No. 3 to No. 5 in the ACC.
Conference shakeups
In the six BCS conferences, every school that finished first in the recruiting rankings on signing day finished first after recalculating including Florida State (ACC), West Virginia (Big East), Michigan (Big Ten), Oklahoma (Big 12), Southern California (Pac-10) and Tennessee (SEC).
The SEC had the most movement as seven of the 12 teams changed conference rankings. Tennessee remained on top, Alabama stayed at No. 5, Arkansas stayed at No. 8 and Kentucky (No. 11) and Vanderbilt (No. 12) remained in those positions.
Auburn moved up from No. 3 to No. 2, Florida moved from fourth to third and Mississippi State moved up from No. 10 to No. 9.
LSU dropped from No. 6 to No. 7 and Ole Miss dropped from No. 9 to No. 10.
As was previously noted, Georgia dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 and South Carolina moved up from No. 7 to No. 4.
Five of the ACC's 12 teams moved in the rankings.
Miami (Fla.) remained No. 2 in the league while North Carolina (No. 8), Duke (No. 9), Boston College (No. 10), Georgia Tech (No. 11) and Wake Forest (No. 12) remained unchanged.
Clemson moved up a spot from No. 5 to No. 4 as did North Carolina State, which jumped from No. 7 to No. 6.
As was previously noted, Florida State remained No. 1, Maryland dropped from No. 4 to No. 7, Virginia Tech dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 and Virginia moved up from No. 6 to No. 3.
In two leagues, the Big East and Pac-10, the rankings remained exactly the same. Though California, which improved from No. 9 to No. 8 nationally, closed the gap somewhat on USC in the Pac-10.
Purdue fell from No. 5 to No. 7 in the Big 10, behind Michigan State (No. 6) and Wisconsin (No. 5), which each moved up a spot.
The Big 12 only saw one minor change as Texas Tech moved up from No. 6 to No. 5 and Kansas State fell to No. 6.