With the ink still drying on national letters of intent, we take a look at the top 25 recruiting classes following the early stages of National Signing Day. Most high school athletes have signed their letters of intent to join college football programs across the country during this year’s early signing window. As such, we have a great indication of which FBS teams have separated themselves from the pack.
Top 25 College Football Recruiting Classes | 1-14
Alabama and Georgia led the way with the sheer volume of players ranked at the top. They were leaders in the clubhouse to begin National Signing Day. And they pretty much couldn’t be caught in terms of top recruiting classes for 2022.
To rank them, we hit the 247Sports Composite Rankings to sift through the top classes. Here are how the top 25 recruiting classes shook out.
1) Texas A&M Aggies
Signees: 25 | Five-Star Signees: 3 | Four-Star Signees: 19 | Composite Points: 321.38 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy
The Texas A&M Aggies were paced by three five-star signings. However, it wasn’t until late Wednesday evening that No. 2 overall prospect, OT Walter Nolen signed his LOI. They crept into the No. 1 spot and still have the sixth-ranked overall player in WR Evan Stewart unsigned. Stewart committed in November and if he does sign his letter of intent with A&M, this class will be untouchable.
Other notable signings include five-star DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (No. 4 DL), five-star QB Conner Weigman (No. 2 QB), four-star S Bryce Anderson (No. 7 S), four-star WR Chris Marshall (No. 7 WR), and four-star TE Jake Johnson (No. 1 TE).
2) Alabama Crimson Tide
Signees: 22 | Five-Star Signees: 3 | Four-Star Signees: 17 | Composite Points: 317.23 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star EDGE Jeremiah Alexander
The Alabama Crimson Tide were led by top-ranked edge Jeremiah Alexander. The five-star player from Thompson High School in Alabaster committed to Alabama prior to the 2021 season and made it official on Wednesday. Alexander is the eighth-ranked recruit on the 247Sports Composite board. Head coach Nick Saban closed out Wednesday with the signing of five-star QB Ty Simpson joining the No. 1 RB in five-star Emmanuel Henderson.
[UPDATE: Alabama also got a huge boost with former five-star CB Eli Ricks announced he’d transferred to the Crimson Tide from LSU.]Other notable signings include five-star RB Emmanuel Henderson (No. 1 RB), four-star OT Tyler Booker (No. 6 OT), four-star LB Shawn Murphy (No. 5 LB), and four-star ATH Isaiah Bond (No. 2 ATH).
3) Georgia Bulldogs
Signees: 23 | Five-Star Signees: 5 | Four-Star Signees: 12 | Composite Points: 311.96 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star ATH Malaki Starks
With five five-star signings, the Georgia Bulldogs pulled off an impressive haul, led by the nation’s No. 1 athlete in Malaki Starks. The Jefferson High School standout projects as a strong safety or box linebacker at Georgia. He’s a three-sport athlete who won the Georgia AAAA state long jump in 2021.
Other notable signings include five-star CB Jaheim Singletary (No. 5 CB), five-star EDGE Marvin Jones Jr. (No. 2 EDGE), five-star DL Mykel Williams (No. 5 DL), five-star CB Daylen Everette (No. 6 CB), four-star LB Jalon Walker (No. 4 LB), four-star RB Branson Robinson (No. 3 RB), and four-star TE Oscar Delp (No. 2 TE).
4) Ohio State Buckeyes
Signees: 17 | Five-Star Signees: 2 | Four-Star Signees: 13 | Composite Points: 289.58 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star LB C.J. Hicks
Ohio State’s reach is special, but their top-ranked recruits come from right in their backyard. Both of their five-star signings hail from central Ohio as the No. 2-ranked linebacker C.J. Hicks and No. 1-ranked safety Sonny Styles made it official. Hicks hails from Dayton, just a touch west of Columbus. Meanwhile, Styles hails from Ohio Capital Conference powerhouse Pickerington Central High School, just southwest of downtown. Both players were marquee players to keep local, and Ryan Day did it.
Other notable signings include four-star QB Devin Brown (No. 6 QB), four-star LB Gabe Powers (No. 6 LB), four-star EDGE Kenyatta Jackson (No. 7 EDGE), and four-star WR Caleb Burton (No. 9 WR).
5) Texas Longhorns
Signees: 26 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 17 | Composite Points: 281.97 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star OT Kelvin Banks
The Texas Longhorns may not have made a bowl game, but they made a splash in December all the same. They nabbed an impressive haul under Steve Sarkisian, namely keeping some outstanding in-state talent in Texas. Their top five ranked signees all hailed from Texas.
Notable signings include five-star OT Kelvin Banks (No. 2 OT), four-star WR Brenen Thompson (No. 12 WR), four-star S Bryan Allen Jr. (No. 10 S), and four-star DL Jaray Bledsoe (No. 21 DL).
6) Penn State Nittany Lions
Signees: 23 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 15 | Composite Points: 276.81 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star QB Drew Allar
The Penn State Nittany Lions plucked some impressive talent out of the talent-rich state of Ohio. Notably, four-star WR Kaden Saunders from Western South High School in Columbus. Saunders is a talented speedster with the ball in his hands, while head coach James Franklin also got Medina High School signal-caller Drew Allar as his lone five-star player this class. Medina is in prime Ohio State recruiting territory on the way up to Cleveland, so Franklin’s pulling of Allar is impressive.
Other notable signings include four-star RB Nicholas Singleton (No. 4 RB), four-star DL Dani Dennis-Sutton (No. 8 DL), four-star OT Drew Shelton (No. 11 OT), and four-star ATH Mehki Flowers (No. 4 ATH).
7) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Signees: 21 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 16 | Composite Points: 271.23 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star LB Jaylen Sneed
Amid the loss of head coach Brian Kelly, the newly-appointed Marcus Freeman’s first recruiting class is a great one. Five-star LB Jaylen Sneed is the headliner as he ranks as the 35th-best player overall and the country’s third-best linebacker prospect.
Other notable signings include four-star WR Tobias Merriweather (No. 8 WR), four-star LB Joshua Burnam (No. 9 LB), and four-star OT Aamil Wagner (No. 12 OT).
8) North Carolina Tarheels
Signees: 15 | Five-Star Signees: 2 | Four-Star Signees: 8 | Composite Points: 259.42 | Highest-Rated Signee:
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown certainly knows how to recruit. That’s never more notable than his top two signings: five-star DL Travis Shaw and five-star OT Zach Rice. Shaw is the country’s fourth-ranked player overall and second defensive lineman. Rice is the country’s top tackle prospect in this class and ranks as the 11th-best player overall. It was a great, smaller class.
Other notable signings include four-star WR Andre Greene Jr. (No. 8 WR), four-star RB George Pettaway (No. 8 RB), and four-star LB Sebastian Cheeks (No. 12 LB).
9) Michigan Wolverines
Signees: 22 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 9 | Composite Points: 259.27 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star CB Will Johnson
Make it to the College Football Playoff, and you’re bound to get some top-ranked recruits. Yet, of their top-ranked signings, only one of them committed after Michigan clinched the Big Ten. That group is headlined by 6’3″, five-star cornerback Will Johnson, who ranked as the country’s fourth-best CB, and signed his LOI as the day ended on Wednesday.
Other notable signings include four-star S Keon Sabb (No. 9 S), four-star WR Tyler Morris (No. 16 WR), four-star S Zeke Berry (No. 13 S), and four-star ATH Kody Jones (No. 13 ATH).
10) Oklahoma Sooners
Signees: 13 | Five-Star Signees: 0 | Four-Star Signees: 10 | Composite Points: 238.32 | Highest-Rated Signee: Four-star RB Gavin Sawchuk
This Oklahoma class was ranked much higher prior to Lincoln Riley’s jettisoning to USC. Against all odds, however, this class still finished with Colorado’s No. 1 players in four-star RB Gavin Sawchuk with Oklahoma’s No. 1 prospect — four-star CB Gentry Williams — still committed.
Other notable signings include four-star LB Kobie McKinzie (No. 13 LB), four-star QB Nick Evers (No. 10 QB), and four-star OT Jake Taylor (No. 16 OT).
11) Kentucky Wildcats
Signees: 19 | Five-Star Signees: 0 | Four-Star Signees: 8 | Composite Points: 236.96 | Highest-Rated Signee: Four-star WR Barion Brown
Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats got off to a hot start with their 2022 class and kept up the pressure. They rank fourth in the SEC but 11th in the country, showcasing how difficult recruiting in the conference is. Five-star OT Kiyaunta Goodwin was set to headline the haul, but the fourth-ranked offensive tackle prospect remained committed and unsigned by end of day Wednesday.
Other notable signings include four-star WR Barion Brown (No. 22 WR), four-star EDGE Tyreese Fearbry (No. 12 EDGE), four-star LB Keaten Wade (No. 20 LB), and four-star ATH Alex Afari (No. 15 ATH).
12) Missouri Tigers
Signees: 15 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 6 | Composite Points: 235.05 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star WR Luther Burden
The 13th-ranked class overall but the fifth in the SEC, Missouri rounded out their class with the nation’s No. 3 prospect in WR Luther Burden. The five-star player draws comparisons to current NFL WR Chris Godwin as he’s also a standout basketball player.
Other notable signings include four-star QB Sam Horn (No. 9 QB), four-star RB Tavorus Jones (No. 12 RB), and four-star iOL Deshawn Woods (No. 9 iOL).
13) Florida State Seminoles
Signees: 15 | Five-Star Signees: 1 | Four-Star Signees: 5 | Composite Points: 230.00 | Highest-Rated Signee: Five-star LB Sam McCall
What could have been for the Florida State Seminoles. While they originally had an immaculate prospect whose only comparison is Charles Woodson. In fact, Travis Hunter could’ve be the top-ranked cornerback or top-ranked wide receiver in this class — that’s how good he is. Instead, he flipped his commitment to Jackson State in a National Signing Day Shocker.
FSU slides from a top-10 class to battling to stay within the top 15 after the loss of Hunter. That is mainly due to their strength at the top with the nation’s No. 3 linebacker in Sam McCall.
Other notable signings include four-star QB AJ Duffy (No. 18 QB), four-star ATH Azareyeh Thomas (No. 4 ATH), four-star iOL Julian Armella (No. 5 iOL), and four-star iOL Jaylen Early (No. 14 iOL).
14) Tennessee Volunteers
Signees: 20 | Five-Star Signees: 0 | Four-Star Signees: 8 | Composite Points: 227.86 | Highest-Rated Signee: Four-star DL Tyre West
With former three-star defensive lineman Jordan Phillips enrolled early, the Tennessee class had a leg up. They capped a strong class with terrific value at the top. Three of their four four-star prospects came on offense, while four-star DL Tyre West finished ranked as the 20th-best defensive line prospect in the class.
Other notable signings include four-star iOL Addison Nichols (No. 4 iOL), four-star QB Tayven Jackson (No. 12 QB), and four-star RB Justin Williams (No. 24 RB).