After a number of major changes in the Rivals.com 2019 rankings, it’s time to take a look at the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings and see what are some of the biggest storylines heading into the final few weeks of the 2019 cycle.
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Top 10 revealed
Tuesday: Rivals100 released | Mind of Mike | New Five-Stars
Wednesday: Rivals250 released | Roundtable
Thursday: Position rankings released
WHO WILL BE THE CHAMPS?
Alabama is looking to return as National Recruiting Champions after missing out on the top spot last year, with conference rival Georgia taking home the hardware. Once again it’s the Dawgs and the Tide battling for the top spot, with Alabama currently holding the edge. The Tide have seven more four-stars and one more five-star than the Dawgs, meaning it’s going to be a tough deficit for Georgia to make up with only a few spots left in the class. However, there are a lot of moving parts and if the Dawgs can land big targets like five-star wide receiver George Pickens, it could make things interesting down the stretch.
WHO COULD VAULT THE HIGHEST?
Overall team recruiting points are one metric but another good indicator of recruiting success is average stars per prospect. Two programs that rank high in that category but have yet to climb quite as high in the overall standings are Auburn and Ohio State. The Tigers rank fifth nationally in stars per commit, but sit just No. 18 in the overall standings. With big targets such as Rivals100 running back Mark-Antony Richards still in play and at least five more spots to fill, Auburn will likely rise and have a chance to pass several others in the standings. The same can be said for Ohio State, which ranks sixth in average stars but No. 21 nationally. The Buckeyes have just 16 commits and are likely to add a few more and make a move up the charts as well.
WHICH SUB-.500 TEAM WILL HAVE THE BEST CLASS?
The road to recovery in the standings in the college football world is most often through recruiting and that is the case with several programs looking to bounce back after losing seasons in 2017. Leading the way in the team rankings for sub-.500 teams is Tennessee, with the Vols currently sitting at No. 14 overall. Florida State, a program that is routinely in the top 10, current sits at No. 15 overall, with a chance to climb higher once it fills out its remaining slots in the class. Following closely behind and sitting at No. 16 is Arkansas, which is in the midst of one of the best recruiting hauls in school history. At No. 17 is Nebraska, with Scott Frost and company poised to move even higher if they can land Rivals250 prospect Noa Pola-Gates late in the day on Saturday when he announces a decision. Rounding out the teams with losing records in the top 25 is Ole Miss, which sits at No. 24 overall.
GROUP OF FIVE CHAMPS?
UCF has been the standard over the past two seasons when it comes to on-field performance, going 25-1 with the lone loss coming to LSU in this year’s Fiesta Bowl. The Knights are also setting the standard among Group of Five teams in recruiting, currently sitting atop all non-Power Five schools and at No. 46 nationally. The Knights, which still have a few spots left to fill in the 2019 class, are currently ranked ahead of Power Five schools such as Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Arizona, UCLA and Georgia Tech. Despite the lofty lead, the Knights haven’t even wrapped up their conference crown yet, with Memphis sitting just behind them at No. 51 nationally. The Tigers actually have a higher star average per recruit and could overtake the Knights with a few big late additions.
IN NEED OF HELP
Several Power Five programs are still lagging behind when it comes to filling out their classes as programs such as Utah and Maryland (11 each) and Illinois (12) still have a lot of work to do over the next three weeks. The Terps have a good excuse for their slow start after a fall to forget and new coach Mike Locksley not starting on the job in earnest until after his duties with Alabama in the College Football Playoff. The same can’t be said for the Utes and the Illini, which have the same staffs in place. Utah is coming off an appearance in the Pac-12 title game, so it’s a little surprising to see the Utes lagging behind the rest of the conference and sitting at No. 75 nationally. All three programs have a chance to make a nice run up the standings if they can fill out their classes with some quality talent.
