The Early Signing Period is less than a week away and as the focus is on high school prospects and the transfer portal, the junior college ranks are also crucially important when building a recruiting class.
Here is a look at the top junior college prospects in the 2022 class and a breakdown of where these players are headed.
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1. TYRONE WEBBER
The top-ranked junior college prospect in the 2022 class, who is originally from Canada, committed to Oklahoma State in mid-October, the same day that the Cowboys beat Texas.
Auburn, Missouri, Houston, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and others were involved in his recruitment but Oklahoma State jumped out early and landed a major piece to its offensive line recruiting.
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2. JEFFREY M’BA
Originally from Gabon, M’Ba then moved to France at age four where he took up soccer and was also interested in fashion so he has definitely taken a circuitous route to playing defensive tackle at Independence (Kan.) Independence C.C.
M’Ba only started playing football a few years ago but has captured the attention of coaches across the country with Auburn and Tennessee along with Miami, USC and many others involved. M’Ba has hinted that he has a favorite and might know where he’s going but has not announced anything publicly yet.
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3. ZAH FRAZIER
Frazier started his college career at Southern Illinois but then bounced to Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. where he’s seen his recruitment take off significantly.
Recently, the 6-foot-4 cornerback announced a top three of Mississippi State, Utah and UTSA.
Kentucky has joined the mix and he’s expected to visit Lexington this weekend.
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4. J.B. NELSON
Originally from Pittsburgh (Pa.) Mt. Lebanon, Nelson ended up taking some classes at Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna J.C., camping at Penn State and getting an offer during that workout. He committed to the Nittany Lions in early July.
Penn State’s staff has had success there before mainly by landing superstar defensive player Ja’Quan Brisker in the 2019 class.
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5. PERCY LEWIS
After an early commitment to Oregon, Lewis backed off that pledge in late November just weeks before then-Ducks coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami. The massive offensive lineman listed now at 6-foot-8 and 360 pounds is involved in an in-state battle between Ole Miss and Mississippi State as the Perkinston (Miss.) Gulf Coast C.C. standout looks for the best fit.
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6. LEE KPOGBA
Kpogba has come full circle in his recruitment. The former Winston Salem (N.C.) Parkland four-star linebacker backed off an early commitment to West Virginia and picked Syracuse, where he played for the Orange before heading to the junior college ranks. Kpogba landed at Scooba (Miss.) East Mississippi C.C. and earlier this month he once again committed to the Mountaineers.
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7. CORTEZ EATMON
The Jasper, Ala., native started his college career at William Penn College in Iowa, transferred to Independence (Kan.) Independence C.C. but then transferred to Perkinston (Miss.) Gulf Coast C.C. and ended up committing to Mississippi State.
However, in November 2020, Eatmon backed off that pledge and then landed at Council Bluffs (Iowa) Iowa Western C.C. where he’s currently playing. His recruitment remains up in the air but UConn, Hawaii and ULM recently offered and many others are involved.
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8. DESMOND WILLIAMS
Earlier this month, Williams committed to Tennessee and plans to enroll in January after spending three seasons at Decatur (Miss.) East Central C.C.
Houston, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Memphis and others had also offered Williams, who was a 2019 prospect at Forsyth (Ga.) Mary Persons before heading to the JUCO route.
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9. SHEMAR PEARL
Peal committed to Missouri as a high schooler at Plano (Texas) Plano West but backed off that pledge and then went to Garden City (Kan.) Garden City C.C. where he picked Missouri again, only to decommit a second time.
The Tigers are still in the mix for the three-star defensive end but Baylor, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Texas Tech are some others to watch.
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10. DECARLOS NICHOLSON
A summer commit to Mississippi State, Nicholson backed off that pledge about a month later in August and then committed to Kentucky in mid-September. But his recruitment is still not done as the 6-foot-3 cornerback from Perkinston (Miss.) Gulf Coast C.C. took a trip to Florida State that impressed him. Ole Miss is trying to flip Nicholson as well.
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11. TYRECE MILLS
Sound familiar? Penn State tapped its contacts at Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna C.C. and landed a top prospect, this time in Mills, a three-star safety. Originally from Philadelphia (Pa.) Northeast, Mills landed his Penn State offer in March and planned to visit in the summer before making his pledge but he chose the Nittany Lions in May and hasn’t looked back.
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12. MIKE SMITH
Originally from Flora (Miss.) Ridgeland, Smith went the junior college route after not getting enough offers out of high school and committed to South Alabama following his sophomore season.
But there was a coaching change there and Smith decided to return to Perkinston (Miss.) Gulf Coast C.C. for another season where he led the league in tackles. The versatile linebacker picked Kansas in late November.
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13. NADAME TUCKER
A recent offer from Arizona State and a visit with the Sun Devils went really well for the three-star defensive end from Hutchinson (Kan.) Hutchinson C.C. so the Pac-12 school is now a contender for him.
Kansas has also been really active with Tucker and involved with him for a long time. Houston, Memphis and others are in the mix.
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14. KEYLON KENNEDY
Originally from Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland, Kennedy committed to Jackson State over many other offers as the Garden City (Kan.) Garden City C.C. standout is looking to play for Deion Sanders at the next level.
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15. LOGAN COMPTON
A high three-star athlete from Tomball, Texas, Compton picked Baylor out of high school but sat out the 2019 season while dealing with legal issues. He entered the transfer portal and ended up at Roswell (N.M.) New Mexico Military Institute.
He committed to Marshall in June.
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CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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