While the ’24 cycle will not officially end until February there are very few top prospects left on the Rivals 250 board. To date 96% of the Rivals 250 have signed an NLI leaving only 9 prospects left on the list. Of the 9 remaining prospects the staff is still hoping to put some icing on the 2024 class cake by signing WR Ryan Williams (Bama commit), RB Daniel Hill, DB Zay Mincey and ATH Terry Bussey (A&M commit). Williams is already committed to the good guys but won’t officially sign until February 9th (his birthday). I do expect there will be another addition or two to the Tide’s class by way of the high school ranks. This coming weekend both RB Daniel Hill and DB Zay Mincey will officially announce their intentions even though both have already signed an NIL back during the early signing period 
. Bussey is planning to take visits and working to possibly schedule some time in Tuscaloosa but LSU is currently the biggest threat to the Aggies.
Alabama’s Class
The Tide’s class is currently ranked 3rd. While this class may not have that wow factor of 4-5 signees with 5 stars in front of their names it is an extremely solid class overall (with possibly more to come). But I am very excited about this class because it is full of kids who first want to develop as people and players. Second, they want to compete for titles. And third (after development and winning), they would like to collect some NIL dollars. No doubt in this era of so many kids seeing the almighty $$ signs and seemingly listening only to the highest bidders the staff has done a great job of finding the right type of guys to continue the success in Tuscaloosa.
So what about the rest of the college football landscape?
Best Class (so far)
Georgia. The Bulldog class is currently #1, which again tells us Kirby and Dawgs aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Losing 5-star QB Dylan Raiola to Nebraska looks bad on paper but personally I wasn’t too impressed with his play on the field at Buford high school. Can UGA finish the ’24 cycle ranked #1? If the Tide staff adds a few more signees then it is very possible Saban could wear the ’24 recruiting crown.
Biggest Surprise Class
Auburn. I hate to say it but Freeze quietlybought put together a pretty good class. Currently ranked #8, the class includes some solid players, especially at WR. But I still question who will get the ball to those receivers as well as who will provide the protection to give the QB enough time to find said WRs.
Most Disappointing Class
USC. Based on the Trojans position as a traditional blueblood of college football with all the glitz, glam and NIL dollars to go with it, USC should have finished much better than #20. No doubt prospects have started to figure out Riley is vastly overrated as a head coach and doesn’t offer much in the way of development nor winning big games.
Class Impacted the Most by a Coaching Change
Texas A&M. Despite landing previous A&M assistant Mike Elko from Duke the Aggie class quickly fell apart. While the overall star average is still good (4.0) the class suffered several key decommits and Elko has managed to sign only 15 new players. Couple this small class with a fair number of current key players jumping into portal as well as Sark and the Horns reestablishing themselves as “the” program in Texas things could get off to a rocky start for the Elko era. Oregon State’s class was a close runner up here as the Beavers were significantly impacted by Jonathan Smith’s decision to jump to Michigan State.
Class Impacted the Most with No Coaching Change
Florida. I’ve said all along I believe Billy Napier is in over his head at Florida and his time in Gainesville could possibly be coming to a close. And it appears lots of prospects might agree. The Gators suffered several key defections from big time players just prior to the ESD. While the class still has some very good players, a 19th ranked class won’t get it done in Gainesville.
The Portal Class to Come
Colorado. Despite stealing Bama's top target at OT in 5-star Jordan Seaton, Deion and staff managed to sign only 8 kids. Yes, eight. Yeah, I know, Coach Prime likes the portal but I just do not believe you can build a consistent, successful program without developing the majority of your players from the high school ranks. This makes me wonder if Deion isn’t planning to be at Colorado much longer and is looking for that one ‘lighting in a bottle’ season to set up his son a run at the Heisman and help him move on to another coaching job.
The WTF Moment of the '24 Cycle
5-star OT Jordan Seaton signing with Colorado. No comment.
. Bussey is planning to take visits and working to possibly schedule some time in Tuscaloosa but LSU is currently the biggest threat to the Aggies.Alabama’s Class
The Tide’s class is currently ranked 3rd. While this class may not have that wow factor of 4-5 signees with 5 stars in front of their names it is an extremely solid class overall (with possibly more to come). But I am very excited about this class because it is full of kids who first want to develop as people and players. Second, they want to compete for titles. And third (after development and winning), they would like to collect some NIL dollars. No doubt in this era of so many kids seeing the almighty $$ signs and seemingly listening only to the highest bidders the staff has done a great job of finding the right type of guys to continue the success in Tuscaloosa.
So what about the rest of the college football landscape?
Best Class (so far)
Georgia. The Bulldog class is currently #1, which again tells us Kirby and Dawgs aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Losing 5-star QB Dylan Raiola to Nebraska looks bad on paper but personally I wasn’t too impressed with his play on the field at Buford high school. Can UGA finish the ’24 cycle ranked #1? If the Tide staff adds a few more signees then it is very possible Saban could wear the ’24 recruiting crown.
Biggest Surprise Class
Auburn. I hate to say it but Freeze quietly
Most Disappointing Class
USC. Based on the Trojans position as a traditional blueblood of college football with all the glitz, glam and NIL dollars to go with it, USC should have finished much better than #20. No doubt prospects have started to figure out Riley is vastly overrated as a head coach and doesn’t offer much in the way of development nor winning big games.
Class Impacted the Most by a Coaching Change
Texas A&M. Despite landing previous A&M assistant Mike Elko from Duke the Aggie class quickly fell apart. While the overall star average is still good (4.0) the class suffered several key decommits and Elko has managed to sign only 15 new players. Couple this small class with a fair number of current key players jumping into portal as well as Sark and the Horns reestablishing themselves as “the” program in Texas things could get off to a rocky start for the Elko era. Oregon State’s class was a close runner up here as the Beavers were significantly impacted by Jonathan Smith’s decision to jump to Michigan State.
Class Impacted the Most with No Coaching Change
Florida. I’ve said all along I believe Billy Napier is in over his head at Florida and his time in Gainesville could possibly be coming to a close. And it appears lots of prospects might agree. The Gators suffered several key defections from big time players just prior to the ESD. While the class still has some very good players, a 19th ranked class won’t get it done in Gainesville.
The Portal Class to Come
Colorado. Despite stealing Bama's top target at OT in 5-star Jordan Seaton, Deion and staff managed to sign only 8 kids. Yes, eight. Yeah, I know, Coach Prime likes the portal but I just do not believe you can build a consistent, successful program without developing the majority of your players from the high school ranks. This makes me wonder if Deion isn’t planning to be at Colorado much longer and is looking for that one ‘lighting in a bottle’ season to set up his son a run at the Heisman and help him move on to another coaching job.
The WTF Moment of the '24 Cycle
5-star OT Jordan Seaton signing with Colorado. No comment.
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