Rivals Rankings Week: Schools with most Rivals250 commits
The Rivals analyst team updated the Rivals250 for a talent-laden 2022 class. Naturally, new additions to the rankings, movers and shakers all impact the race for a national recruiting champion as classes nationwide are being built.
There are 22 teams with at least one commitment embedded in the updated Rivals250. In that group, Ohio State leads the way with eight commitments from these elite recruits. Below is a full breakdown of how it added up.
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK: The 10 biggest movers in updated rankings | Farrell's thoughts | Countdown of 2022 five-stars | Spotlight on the new five-stars | Latest recruiting news on the uncommitted five-stars | Who should be No. 1 in 2022? | Who will be the first five-star DE in 2022? | Who will be No. 1 RB?
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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Ohio State leads the pack with eight commits
Around this time a year ago, Ohio State was one of the teams to catch momentum on the recruiting trail as Ryan Day assembled a recruiting haul that ultimately finished No. 2 in the country. The Buckeyes are on a fast track to build off the 2021 class with their star-studded 2022 class, which features the nation's No. 1 quarterback and top overall player, Quinn Ewers.
Additionally, Ohio State's class features two more five-stars in Jaheim Singletary and CJ Hicks and eight total members of the Rivals250, which is the highest total of any program in the country.
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Pair of SEC teams locked in with six commits
Both Georgia and LSU are taking advantage of some early momentum on the recruiting trail and locking in early commitments from in and around their home territories.
Of Kirby Smart's eight early commitments, seven hail from the Peach State and a pair of them have already garnered five-star status. That includes quarterback Gunner Stockton and defensive tackle Tyre West, who rank as the Nos. 15 and 16 players in the country. Then, count Keithian "Bear" Alexander as a cherry on top. The nation's No. 4 overall player out of Dallas committed to the Dawgs on National Signing Day earlier this month.
Ed Orgeron is capitalizing off a fertile group of talent in The Boot for 2022, which includes five-star quarterback Walker Howard. LSU has been able to secure early commitments from 10 players -- seven of which are from Louisiana -- and of that group four are inside the Rivals250, including offensive tackle Will Campbell, cornerback Laterrance Welch and wideouts Aaron Anderson and AJ Johnson.
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South-Central rivals each have five Rivals250 prospects
There's a trio of teams tied with five Rivals250 prospects in their classes so far ... and plenty of bad blood among those three programs. Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma each have top 10 classes so far, which has set the tone for a rat race of sorts in the South-Central region until National Signing Day next year.
Texas A&M has been recruiting on a completely different level since Jimbo Fisher's arrival. The Aggies signed a pair of five-stars last cycle and are piecing together a stellar 2022 group to date. That group features Rivals100 quarterback Conner Weigman in addition to a crew of highly rated prospects from the Houston area, players such as Donovan Green, Patrick Williams and Malick Sylla.
Coach Steve Sarkisian hit the ground running as he took over Texas after spending most of the past decade alongside Nick Saban at Alabama. Sark's offense quickly grabbed the attention of in-state stars Armani Winfield, Evan Stewart and Jaydon Blue, and he dipped into California to land one of the best quarterbacks around in Maalik Murphy.
Lincoln Riley is notoriously an elite recruiter and he already has reeled in commitments from one of the nation's most prolific running backs in Raleek Brown and two of the nation's top four receivers in Talyn Shettron and Luther Burden, in addition to Jordan Hudson.
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Irish has strong foundation in place
Also in the conversation for one of the best classes in the country is Notre Dame, which like Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, is sitting with five commitments in the Rivals250. As expected, the Irish have national appeal on the recruiting trail, which equated to a pair of top 100 commitments from prospects in the Midwest and out West in California. Notre Dame also added Texas running back Jadarian Price to the mix.
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Commits by the numbers (many prospects are still undecided)
Ohio State: 8
Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas A&M: 5
Penn State: 4
USC, Clemson, Oklahoma State: 2
Alabama, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi State, Purdue, Arkansas, Missouri, Oregon, Cincinnati, Florida State: 1