As what is normally the final Rivals Ranking Week moves forward, we take a closer look at which teams did the best job recruiting Rivals250 prospects.
Alabama has a commanding lead with 20 commitments in the Rivals250, followed by two other College Football Playoff teams, Clemson and Ohio State.
Texas A&M and USC round out the top five teams with the most Rivals250 commitments. They had strong finishes to their 2021 recruiting classes, adding some key prospects that will make a big impact on their programs.
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Making the Case for No. 1 | How things stand with the uncommitted players in the Rivals250 | The top five-star candidates
Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Breaking down the new five-stars | Farrell's thoughts | Biggest movers | Decisions we might regret
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released
Friday: State rankings released
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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Alabama: 20
Not surprisingly, Alabama keeps on rolling. The national champs are in line to win the recruiting title as well, with 20 of their 26 commitments inside the Rivals250, good for tops in the nation. Nick Saban's 2021 recruiting class is led by No. 2 overall prospect JC Latham and the offensive tackle is joined in the top 10 by Tommy Brockermeyer. Outside linebacker Dallas Turner, cornerback Ga'Quincy McKinstry and running back Camar Wheaton are the other five-stars in this Alabama class.
The Crimson Tide have an impressive 16 commitments inside the top 100, with new four-star Keanu Koht being the newest addition to this group. Former LSU commit JoJo Earle is also in this group along with Kadarius Calloway, who made a big move up in the rankings. Alabama cornerback signee Devonta Smith is also a new member of the Rivals250 in this rankings update.
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Clemson, Ohio State: 15
Dabo Swinney and his staff are very familiar with landing top recruits and this year is no different. The Tigers are bringing in the second most Rivals250 prospects in the 2021 cycle. In one of the biggest surprises this year, Clemson landed five-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh, beating teams such as Oklahoma and LSU. Linebacker Barrett Carter is the only other five-star in this class for Clemson. Top all-purpose back Will Shipley, defensive tackle Payton Page, receiver Beaux Collins, tight end Jake Briningstool, and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. round out Clemson's group of signees inside the Rivals100.
The Buckeyes are again bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. With the second most commits inside the Rivals250, Ryan Day and his staff are set up to continue to push for national championships. Five-stars Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer, and Donovan Jackson are heading to Columbus and they are bringing some highly rated friends with them. Quarterback Kyle McCord and cornerback Jakailin Johnson are top 50 prospects with very high expectations.
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Texas A&M, USC: 14
The Aggies are a program on the rise and landing the fourth-most Rivals250 prospects in the 2021 cycle should help them continue that upward trend. Led by five-stars Bryce Foster and Tunmise Adeleye, half of their 14 Rivals250 recruits are linemen. Shemar Turner, Jahzion Harris, Marcus Burris and Elijah Jeudy will team up with Adeleye to keep the Texas A&M defensive front as stout as possible. The combination of Foster, Reuben Fatheree, and Trey Zuhn should help keep future Texas A&M quarterbacks upright.
USC landed a huge prize when five-star Korey Foreman committed but this Trojans recruiting class was already looking very good. With the fourth-most Rivals250 commitments, Clay Helton and his staff are positioning themselves to get back to the top of the Pac-12. Foreman leads a group of defensive commitments that includes Rivals250 prospects such as defensive backs Ceyair Wright, Prophet Brown, Calen Bullock and Xamarion Gordon.
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Georgia, LSU: 13
Top prospects have flocked to Georgia over the years and they did so again in the 2021 cycle. Kirby Smart and his staff are bringing in the sixth-most Rivals250 prospects this year and two of them, offensive tackle Amarius Mims and quarterback Brock Vandagriff, are ranked in the top 10. Rivals100 lineman Micah Morris and Rivals250 lineman Dylan Fairchild, along with Mims, will help keep defenders off of Vanadgriff.
Georgia's defensive haul is very impressive, with Rivals100 linebackers Xavian Sorey and Smael Mondon leading the way.
Even though it was a down year for the Tigers, they came away with the biggest prize of this recruiting cycle in No. 1 overall prospect Maason Smith. The in-state star wasn't alone in picking LSU. Fellow five-star Sage Ryan and Rivals100 receiver Chris Hilton and Rivals250 prospects Saivion Jones and Jack Bech all decided to stay home and play for Ed Orgeron's squad.
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Miami: 12
Even though five-star safety James Williams, Miami's top recruit, and top-40 prospect Leonard Taylor are defensive prospects, the Canes pulled in some great offensive talent in their 2021 class. With the eighth-most commitments in the Rivals250, Manny Diaz and his staff are looking at a potentially high-powered offense thanks to prospects such as quarterback Jake Garcia, a top 50 recruit.
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Oklahoma, Oregon: 11
The Sooners finished with the ninth-most commitments in the Rivals250 and they did a great job landing some very highly rated prospects. The future of Lincoln Riley's offense will be in good hands with top-ranked quarterback Caleb Williams onboard along with fellow five-star Mario Williams.
The defense in Norman is getting a major upgrade with players such as five-star Clayton Smith on the way. Top 50 prospect Billy Bowman could help on either side of the ball in a major way.
The Ducks are bringing in a top-five class this year so it's not surprising to see they have commitments from the ninth-most Rivals250 prospects. Mario Cristobal's offense should be as exciting as ever with five-star quarterback Ty Thompson on the way with an impressive group of pass catchers that includes Rivals100 receivers Troy Franklin, Dont'e Thornton Jr., and tight end Moliki Matavao. Five-star offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia should help solidify the future of Oregon's offensive line.
Oregon is adding Rivals100 linebacker Keith Brown to an already loaded linebacker corps.
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