College football recruiting has continued to plug along despite restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty surrounding the season. It has been one of the few constants in college football, and teams are going full force heading into December's early signing period.
As it stands, only 67 of the ESPN 300 recruits are uncommitted, and classes are continuing to get closer to being full.
Many top recruits are already committed, but within those 67 who are still undecided, there are plenty of highly sought-after prospects who could still be added to a future roster. There are three five-star prospects who are uncommitted, 13 of the top 50 and 24 of the top 100 left on recruiting boards.
There are more prospects available at certain positions than others, though, so here is a look at each position group, how many top uncommitted recruits remain, who the top uncommitted prospect is at each position and where they stand.
Defensive line
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 16
Top uncommitted defensive lineman: Korey Foreman
Teams still looking for defensive linemen have plenty of options. Of all the position groups, this is where the most uncommitted prospects sit. Currently there are 16 uncommitted defensive linemen, including Foreman, a five-star defensive end from Corona, California, and five-star defensive tackle J.T. Tuimoloau from Bellevue, Washington.
Foreman was committed to Clemson, but decommitted as he still wanted to take visits and go through the process. He now lists a top seven that includes Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Howard and USC. Clemson is still in the running, but USC, Georgia and the other schools on his list are pushing hard for the No. 3-ranked recruit.
Tuimoloau is still considering Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Washington and a few others, but has been quiet in his recruitment.
Wide receiver
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 12
Top uncommitted wide receiver: Emeka Egbuka
Wide receiver is the next position group with the most uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects at 12, including Egbuka, the No. 28-ranked prospect overall and the No. 2 receiver, out of Steilacoom, Washington.
The top receiver in the class, Mario Williams, committed to Oklahoma, and the No. 3 wide receiver, Beaux Collins, is committed to Clemson. There are quite a few teams that have already had a lot of success with receivers in this class.
Clemson, Ohio State and Florida each have three ESPN 300 wide receivers committed, while Alabama, Oregon, Miami, Cal, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma State and Tennessee each have two.
Egbuka released his top four that consists of Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington. The Buckeyes have a good shot with him and could pull in another top wide receiver haul after landing four ESPN 300 wide receivers in the 2020 class, including the No. 1 receiver in Julian Fleming, and three ESPN 300 receivers in 2019, notably the No. 2-ranked receiver in Garrett Wilson.
Offensive line
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 11
Top uncommitted offensive lineman: Savion Byrd
Offensive line is another position group with quite a few top prospects still on the board, with 11 ESPN 300 prospects still uncommitted. Most of those uncommitted recruits are tackles, including Byrd out of Texas, Amarius Mims from Georgia, Tristan Leigh in Virginia and Nolan Rucci from Pennsylvania.
Though there are quite a few top linemen still uncommitted, the top tackle, guard and center prospects have already made their commitments. Tommy Brockermeyer is the No. 1 tackle in the class and twin James Brockermeyer is the top center. Both have committed to Alabama, while the top guard, Rocco Spindler, announced his commitment to Notre Dame.
Alabama leads the way with four ESPN 300 offensive linemen in the class, followed by Georgia, Oregon, Clemson and Michigan, which each have three. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Miami each are holding two ESPN 300 offensive line commits in the class.
That means prospects such as Byrd are highly sought-after. He released his top list that includes Oklahoma, Texas, SMU and LSU, among others. Alabama and Georgia are in the running for Mims, while Leigh is considering Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and LSU, among others.
Linebacker
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 6
Top uncommitted linebacker: Ethan Calvert
Of the 38 ESPN 300 linebackers in the 2021 class, 32 have committed. The No. 1 inside linebacker, Reid Carrico, is committed to Ohio State, while the No. 1 outside linebacker, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., is committed to Clemson.
Clemson has two ESPN 300 linebacker commits in the class, but LSU has cleaned up so far with four. Alabama currently has three while Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan each have two of their own.
Calvert, who is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect out of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California, is considering UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington. The next-highest-ranked linebacker is another West Coast prospect in Jonathan Flowe, whose older brother, Justin Flowe, is currently at Oregon.
Running back
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 5
Top uncommitted running back: Camar Wheaton
The top two running backs have already committed in TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State) and Will Shipley (Clemson).
There are still plenty of good options at running back, though, with the No. 3 back in the class, Camar Wheaton, from Garland, Texas, still on the board. Donovan Edwards, out of West Bloomfield, Michigan, and L.J. Johnson, from Cypress, Texas, are still available as well.
All three are outstanding prospects, with Wheaton ranked No. 41 overall, Edwards at No. 66 and Johnson at 83. Having three top-100 running backs still uncommitted speaks to the depth of the class. Wheaton has interest in Texas and Oklahoma, among others, while Michigan is trying to keep Edwards in-state and away from schools like Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama. Texas A&M is in the running for the Texas native Johnson.
Cornerback
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 5
Top uncommitted cornerback: Ceyair Wright
There are only 18 ESPN 300 cornerbacks in this class, and four are still uncommitted, which includes two among the top 10 of the position rankings. The top-ranked corner is Isaiah Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound recruit out of Playa Del Rey, California, who is committed to Arizona State.
The Sun Devils aren't the only team to make a big splash. The second-ranked corner in the class, Jason Marshall, committed to Florida from Miami Palmetto High School on Sunday, while Minnesota landed the No. 3-ranked corner, Avante Dickerson, a 6-foot, 170-pound prospect out of Omaha, Nebraska.
Wright, the No. 108 prospect overall and seventh-ranked corner, is the best available corner in the class. A 6-foot, 175-pound defensive back for Loyola High School in California, he has offers from Oregon, Arizona State and Washington, among others.
Safety
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 5
Top uncommitted safety: Derrick Davis Jr.
Twelve of the 17 ESPN 300 safeties made commitments already. Alabama and North Carolina each have two ESPN 300 safety commitments, and while Penn State currently has one, the Nittany Lions could add another.
The top-ranked safety, Davis, is heavily considering Penn State, along with Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Pitt and USC. Davis is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound recruit out of Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Keeping him in-state would be a big boost to a Nittany Lions class that currently only has three ESPN 300 commitments (OL Landon Tengwall, S Jaylen Reed and WR Zakee Wheatley).
Athlete
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 5
Top uncommitted athlete: Smael Mondon
The athlete group is always interesting, because these prospects could technically be part of some other position groups. They're listed as athletes because of their versatility; they could end up at a variety of positions in college.
There are 24 ESPN 300 athletes in total and five are uncommitted. In fact, the top three athletes are not committed, starting with Mondon, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound recruit out of Dallas, Georgia. Mondon is likely a linebacker and has a top list that includes Georgia, Auburn, Florida, LSU and Tennessee.
Xavian Sorey is the next-highest-ranked athlete and also projects as a linebacker at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. Sorey released his top list of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and LSU in June.
Ga'Quincy McKinstry is next in line, although he is likely a defensive back at the next level. McKinstry has a similar top five that includes Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and LSU.
Tight end
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 4
Top uncommitted tight end: Dametrious Crownover
The group of ESPN 300 tight ends is smaller, with only 11 total prospects, so it's surprising to see that four are still available. Florida has two ESPN 300 tight end commitments in Gage Wilcox and Nick Elksnis, while Notre Dame has a commitment from the highest-ranked tight end, Cane Berrong (No. 50 overall). Jake Briningstool is next at No. 70 and is committed to Clemson, giving the Tigers a 6-foot-6, 215-pound option within the future offense.
Among the uncommitted recruits, Crownover, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound tight end out of Grandview, Texas, is the highest-ranked at 152 overall, followed by Michael Trigg and Thomas Fidone Jr.
Crownover released his top five in July consisting of Baylor, Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas and Texas A&M. Triggs released his top three of LSU, South Carolina and USC. Fidone is considering Nebraska, LSU, Michigan and Iowa, among others.
Quarterback
Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects: 0
There are no ESPN 300 quarterbacks left who are currently uncommitted. There were 28 ESPN 300 quarterbacks in this class and all are locked into a school. The highest-ranked quarterback yet to announce a decision is four-star Kaden McMullen out of O'Fallon, Missouri.
The top dual-threat quarterback, Caleb Williams, is committed to Oklahoma, and the top pocket-passing quarterback, Sam Huard, is committed to Washington.
The interesting part about this class is it could be difficult for a college program still searching for a quarterback to unearth a hidden gem. With some states moving high school football seasons to the spring, we may not see as many unheralded recruits at quarterback -- or any position for that matter -- receive offers late in the process unless they play in the fall.
With so many classes filling up in the early signing period in December, then finalizing in February, that aspect of the recruiting process is going to be a detriment to some prospects still hoping for a scholarship offer.