Everything you need to know about the 2021 college football recruiting class

The ESPN Junior 300 has been updated and reranked for the Class of 2021. There were some big changes throughout the list, but the first adjustment came at the top of the list, with the No. 1-ranked recruit.

Offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer was the top-ranked prospect in the first edition but has moved to No. 2 overall with defensive end Jack Sawyer taking his place atop the rankings.

Sawyer is a 6-foot-5, 230-pound lineman from Pickerington, Ohio, who has been committed to Ohio State since February. He was born in Columbus, was raised in Pickerington and has pictures of himself in a Buckeyes jersey as young as 5 years old around the house.

It might seem predestined that he would end up at Ohio State, but Sawyer said he went through the entire process, took everything in on his visits and weighed his options. In the end, though, what Ohio State had to offer was too much to pass up.

"You kind of look to find the schools who have produced the best [defensive] ends," Sawyer said. "Coach [Larry] Johnson, he's obviously the best D-line coach in America. The numbers that he puts out in the draft speak for themselves. The tradition and past, how many good defensive ends have been there and how successful they've been under Coach Johnson played a big role."

He's joining a long list of talented defensive ends to come through Ohio State with Joey and Nick Bosa, Chase Young and five-star true freshman Zach Harrison. With the success those players have seen at Ohio State, it's difficult not to think that Sawyer will have a good shot to reach an elite level as well.

"Guys like me have been dreaming about making it to the NFL ever since we were growing up playing tackle football in the neighborhood," said Sawyer, who received his first offer from Cincinnati and then-defensive line coach Al Washington, who is now Ohio State's linebackers coach. "For me, I want to have a great career in college at Ohio State, and if I do that and take care of business there, then the NFL will take care of itself."

Changes in the top 10

The big men anchor the top 10 of the ESPN Jr. 300, with six among this group, including Sawyer at the top. A lengthy, athletic edge defender with an explosive first step, Sawyer displays similar tools that could allow him to follow in Young's disruptive footsteps. A two-sport athlete, Sawyer has contributed on both sides of the ball in several roles to help his team this season, including as a tight end and as a quarterback.

Brockermeyer slips to No. 2, as he has not played during his junior season due to a shoulder injury, but he remains one of the premier prospects in the 2021 class. The uncommitted offensive tackle is a flexible, agile and physical offensive lineman with plug-and-play potential and is still a contender to be ranked the No. 1 prospect in the ESPN 300 upon a healthy return.

Sawyer also suffered a knee injury in the final game of his junior season, and a full, speedy recovery is expected.

There were no new entries to the top 10, but there was some shifting, including rangy and versatile edge defender Demeioun Robinson moving to No. 3 and powerful DT Payton Page, who can be a handful in the trenches, bumped up a spot as well.

Committed prospects in the ESPN Jr. 300

Sawyer is one of only four players ranked in the top 20 who has already committed. In total, there are 68 recruits in the top 300 who have made their commitments.

Among those committed, 12 are ranked in the top 50, and 22 are in the top 100.

Looking at the position groups, 15 of the 26 ESPN Jr. 300 quarterbacks have already announced their commitments. That includes Jake Garcia, the top-ranked quarterback who is committed to USC; Oklahoma commit Brock Vandagriff, the No. 2 quarterback in the class; and Sam Huard, the No. 3 quarterback who committed to Washington.

Miller Moss, the No. 4 quarterback, is the highest ranked uncommitted signal-caller in the class, followed by Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders' son, who is the No. 9 quarterback in the class, and Caleb Williams, the No. 10 QB.

Besides the quarterbacks, there are 16 ESPN Jr. 300 wide receivers committed and 12 offensive linemen who have announced commitments. Those three position groups have seen the most prospects come off the board early, which is not abnormal, especially with quarterbacks.

Strong quarterback class in the West

Sam Huard: One of the purest, most polished pocket passers in the 2021 class, he has a strong pedigree and has been well-coached. His sound arm strength will only get better. He anticipates throws well, has a nice feel for timing and is having one of his best years statistically, throwing for 49 touchdowns through 11 games. He has continued to progress and be productive.

Jake Garcia: Garcia bumps over Huard as a slightly better athlete overall. He possesses a riverboat gambler's mentality and is better with his feet than you might think, kind of like Penn State's Sean Clifford in this regard. He's good when things break down and throws well on the move. His overall style of play is reminiscent of that of current USC starter Kedon Slovis.

Ari Patu: This kid does not play in a pass-happy offense, but that doesn't mean he isn't gifted. He reminds us of Wake Forest QB Jamie Newman. Patu is a long, tall prospect who has a high ceiling for development. He possesses a strong, accurate arm, can make all the throws and is a quality athlete. If Patu were in a more wide-open offense, his skill set would be much more enhanced. We like his upside.

Tyler Buchner: Buchner is having a terrific junior season, having thrown 44 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He is advanced as a passer, given his age, and can make all the throws. He possesses a strong arm and a good feel for timing and anticipation. He is a rhythm and timing player who is in command of the offense. Poised and confident.

Uncommitted recruits in the top 300

While Sawyer and Garcia are both ranked at the top of their respective positions and have already committed, there are quite a few recruits ranked as the No. 1 players at their positions who have not committed.

Brockermeyer is the top-ranked offensive tackle in the class and has yet to announce a commitment. He has heavy ties to Texas but has not made the call for the Longhorns and continues to wait to make his commitment.

Demeioun Robinson is the highest-ranked linebacker and attends Quince Orchard High in Maryland. Robinson has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin, Florida and plenty of others.

Tony Grimes out of Virginia is the top-ranked cornerback in the class, with Tunmise Adeleye as the No. 1 defensive tackle and Camar Wheaton the best running back in the class, rounding out the top 10 overall for recruits who have yet to make commitments.

It's still very early in the process, and with 232 ESPN Jr. 300 recruits still uncommitted, we will likely see a lot of those names start to come off the board between February and June 2020.

New entrants to the 300

ATH Chief Borders
ESPN 300 rank: 149

The Florida verbal went from a virtual unknown to college coaches to a prospect with more than 20 offers after the spring evaluation period and standout performance at the RL52 Academy in June, and he has validated those offers on the field this season.

CB Ceyair Wright
ESPN 300 rank: 208

Wright is a prospect who has improved his playing strength and speed to the tune of going from a 11.41 100-meter dash time in 2018 to 10.84 in the spring of 2019, and that improved speed is evident on junior season video.

LB Ian Jackson
ESPN 300 rank: 250

Jackson has grown from a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety in October 2018 to now 6-foot-3 and more than 210 pounds. The Power 5 offers have poured in, with his projection as an athletic and rangy OLB at the next level.

DE Shambre Jackson
ESPN 300 rank: 260

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound defensive lineman doesn't play at a high school in central Florida known for turning out Elite Football prospects, but he caught the attention of college programs in the spring and on the summer camp circuit, and the junior video backed up the recent offers.

DE Keanu Koht
ESPN 300 rank: 300

Koht has been key in Vero Beach, ascending to a Florida-record 61 straight regular-season victories with his elite edge-rush ability. He has more than 20 offers, including from Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Miami.

Geographic statistics

It's no surprise to see Texas and Florida with the most ESPN Jr. 300 recruits, as the two states produce a ton of talent every year. In this 2021 class, Texas has 49 ESPN Jr. 300 recruits, and Florida has 46.

Next after those two states is California with 28 and Georgia with 26. That number in California is important for USC and UCLA, as many of the top in-state recruits have been committing to out-of-state schools the past few classes.

The Trojans already have commitments from four of the ESPN Jr. 300 recruits from California, which is a good start compared to 2019 and 2020.

It's also a good year for the Midwest and Big Ten schools, as there are 32 ESPN Jr. 300 prospects from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It is an especially good year in the state of Michigan with seven of those 32 recruits.

That includes three top-100 prospects in Clarkston High teammates Garrett Dellinger and Rocco Spindler, ranked 29 and 63 respectively, and running back Donovan Edwards, who is the No. 81 recruit overall. Defensive tackle Damon Payne is just on the outside of the top 100 at No. 105.

Those numbers could help Michigan refill the roster with top-end talent, and another school that could see help is North Carolina. The state has 20 ESPN Jr. 300 recruits in 2021, which is up from 11 in 2019.

Mack Brown and his staff were able to get the top-ranked recruit in the state in defensive end Desmond Evans, the No. 2-ranked recruit overall, and have landed four of the 10 ESPN 300 recruits in the state who have announced commitment. If Brown can continue to keep top talent home, 2021 will be another good recruiting year for the Tar Heels.

Fast-starting recruiting classes

The marathon recruiting process for the 2021 class is still in its early stages, but with the release of the updated ESPN Jr. 300 player rankings, here is a look at five programs off to fast starts.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes are in contention for the No. 1 overall class this cycle and are leading the pack early for 2021. Boosting both those classes are commitments from the No. 1 overall prospect in each ESPN 300. Five-star WR Julian Fleming leads the Buckeyes' 2020 class, and for 2021, in-state five-star Jack Sawyer is the new No. 1 overall prospect in the Jr. 300. A versatile, explosive defender, Sawyer brings the tools to potentially have impact ability in the mold of current standout Chase Young. The class also includes a pair of high school teammates out of St. Joseph's Prep in Pennsylvania: QB Kyle McCord and WR Marvin Harrison Jr. The son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame WR, Harrison Jr. is not the only standout receiver in this class, as Ohio State also has a verbal from tall, quick-footed, in-state four-star Jayden Ballard.

Miami: The Hurricanes are once again among the fast-start classes, with the most commits of any program at this stage. Taking advantage of the fertile recruiting grounds that they reside in, all commits at this point hail from in-state, with all but one from South Florida. Among their double-digit commits, six are ranked within the ESPN Jr. 300, including three wide receivers in Romello Brinson, Jacolby George and Fredrick Eaford. The class also includes a pair of talented big men in the powerful Laurence Seymore and the big and stout DT Savion Collins.

Notre Dame: Off to a strong start, the Fighting Irish are quickly assembling some offensive firepower. The class is led by top-ranked TE Cane Berrong, a well-conditioned athlete with strong ball skills and a good route runner. In addition to Berrong, another key pick-up out of Georgia is WR Deion Colzie, a tall lengthy target who offers a wide catch radius. The Irish went west to land the third-ranked QB in California in Tyler Buchner, a strong-armed, poised quarterback.

Texas: The Longhorns have struggled to meet expectations this season, but they continue to work to build for a brighter future. The class is led by Jalen Milroe, an athletic, strong-armed QB with nice upside. Billy Bowman Jr. could contribute at either WR or CB, and his high school teammate DE Ja'Tavion Sanders is a good pick-up on defense.

Clemson: The Tigers' class includes one of the biggest risers in the ESPN Jr. 300 update, LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The son of the former Philadelphia Eagles standout linebacker, Trotter Jr. is an instinctive and explosive sideline-to-sideline presence, and he displays potential to be a quick contributor once on campus. On offense, the class includes quick and sure-handed WR Dacari Collins and RB Phil Mafah, a thickly built and strong runner out of the same high school as former Clemson RB Wayne Gallman. -- Craig Haubert