College football's rivalry weekend is here. The biggest rivalries in the sport go beyond the field and extend onto the recruiting trail as well.
Conference rivals battle for the top prospects year in and year out. In-state rivals try to make sure the top recruits stay home but don't don their rival's colors.
We look at four of college football rivalries and break down the recruiting numbers, from the number of ESPN 300 prospects the teams have to how they fare when it comes to recruiting in the same territory (or each other's).
Ohio State-Michigan
ESPN 300 commits 2018-21
Ohio State: 63
Michigan: 37
Poaching each other's territory
Michigan commits from Ohio (2018-21): 7
Ohio State commits from Michigan (2018-21): 2
Biggest recent battle: CB William Johnson
This hasn't been much of a rivalry on the recruiting trail between these two teams of late. One of the few big battles recently has been for ESPN 300 corner Johnson, who committed to Michigan. Johnson is a Michigan legacy, as his father, Deon, played for the Wolverines. Before Michigan made changes on the defensive staff, Johnson was considering the Buckeyes.
Ohio State has been recruiting at a very high level and had the No. 2-ranked class in 2018, No. 16 in 2019 (when Ryan Day took over as head coach), the No. 5 class in 2020 and the No. 2 class in 2021. Compare that with Michigan, which had the No. 20 class in 2018, No. 8 in 2019, No. 11 in 2020 and No. 14 in 2021. The Buckeyes have signed eight five-star prospects over the past four classes, while Michigan has signed one: Daxton Hill.
Michigan has had seven commitments from Ohio over the past four classes, while Ohio State has had only two commitments from Michigan. One key note: There are fewer high-end recruits in Michigan annually than there are in Ohio. Michigan really has only one Ohio prospect who will have an impact on this game: tight end Erick All, who has 324 receiving yards and a touchdown that helped give Michigan a win over Penn State two weeks ago.
There won't be any prominent Michigan prospects playing for the Buckeyes this year, either. In fact, this game likely is more national than it had ever been. Between the two teams, the more prominent players who will make an impact in this game represent 19 states outside of Ohio and Michigan.
Looking ahead to what these rosters will look like in the future, Michigan currently has two ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class, Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Morris. The Wolverines have the No. 18 class in the recruiting ranks, behind conference opponents Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State.
The Buckeyes have the No. 8 class overall with 10 ESPN 300 commitments. Ohio State still has some big names on its recruiting board as well, so the coaches could see their class continue to move up in the rankings.
Alabama-Auburn
ESPN 300 commits 2018-21
Alabama: 77
Auburn: 40
Inside the Iron Bowl
Alabama ESPN 300 in-state commits (2018-21): 16
Auburn ESPN 300 in-state commits (2018-21): 8
Biggest recent battle: LB Robert Woodyard
It's no secret Alabama has been recruiting at an unbelievable level under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide signed the No. 6 class in 2018, the No. 1 classes in 2019 and 2021, and No. 3 in 2020.
Saban and his staff have signed an incredible 77 ESPN 300 recruits in the past four classes, which includes nine five-stars and 43 prospects ranked inside the top 100 of their respective classes. The Tide have more top 100 commits over the past four cycles than Auburn has ESPN 300 recruits.
One of the more impressive aspects of Alabama's recruiting efforts is that the staff has gone anywhere in the country to sign the prospects the Tide want. There is no better example than Saban going into California and landing quarterback Bryce Young, flipping him from USC. Young had been committed to the Trojans and was the No. 1 quarterback in his class, but Alabama swooped in and was able to pull him out of California.
The Tigers had the No. 12 classes in 2018 and 2019 and signed the No. 7 class in 2020. The rankings haven't been bad for Auburn, but it has been about getting production from those prospects. The 2021 class fell to No. 28 as the Tigers dealt with a coaching change after firing Gus Malzahn.
That 2021 class finished with only five ESPN 300 commitments, but new coach Bryan Harsin has done a commendable job of picking up the pieces and putting together this 2022 class in what ended up as a strange recruiting cycle with disruptions from COVID-19. Auburn currently has three ESPN 300 commitments, including quarterback Holden Geriner, and seven four-star commitments.
That's not up to the level that Auburn wants to be, but given the circumstances, Harsin is going to get some slack. Auburn currently has the No. 34 class overall, which is ranked 11th out of 14 SEC teams. A one-year blip isn't a cause for concern, but if that slide becomes a trend, it will catch up with the staff.
Alabama, on the other hand, is holding on to the No. 1-ranked class and fighting to stay there once the early signing period is over. The staff currently has 14 ESPN 300 commitments in the class comprised of two five-stars, nine top-100 players and 12 players ranked in the top 10 of their respective positions. The Crimson Tide still have a large number of elite prospects left on their recruiting board that could help keep them at No. 1, but they are battling Georgia and Texas A&M down the stretch to the early signing period with many of those prospects.
In most recent classes, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State and now Texas A&M have been the main schools battling with Alabama on the recruiting trail.
Florida State-Florida
ESPN 300 commits 2018-21
Florida State: 46
Florida: 31
Sunshine State by the numbers
FSU ESPN 300 in-state commits (2018-21): 27
Florida ESPN 300 in-state commits (2018-21): 19
Looking at the in-state commit numbers, it might seem as though 27 and 19 are good numbers for both programs. But consider that there were 197 ESPN 300 recruits in Florida from 2018 to 2021.
During that time period, Alabama signed 17 ESPN 300 recruits from Florida, Georgia 13, Clemson 12, Auburn nine, and Ohio State and LSU six apiece. Sixty-three ESPN 300 recruits from Florida left to just those six schools.
What's more, the last time either Florida or Florida State signed the No. 1 in-state prospect was 2013, when Florida signed Vernon Hargreaves III. It should be noted that prospects from IMG Academy, who might have transferred in from different states, are included in these numbers, but they were in the state of Florida at the school.
Since 2018, Alabama and Clemson have signed the top Florida prospect once and Georgia has done so twice.
It's remarkable, even amid Florida and Florida State's on-field struggles, to see how many top recruits are going out of state. It would be disingenuous to say that the Gators and Seminoles were recruiting every single ESPN 300 recruit from the state, but to have six teams take 63 of the top prospects out of the state in four years is a lot.
Florida State's 2022 class has some major improvements in key areas, including at quarterback. The Seminoles have ESPN 300 quarterback A.J. Duffy, the No. 39 recruit overall and the No. 3 pocket passer in the class, committed. Duffy was a big get for the staff to add talent to the quarterback room and for the future of the position.
The coaches also have five-star cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 1 corner in the class, committed. Other programs, including Georgia, have tried to pry Hunter away from Florida State, but he has remained committed and has said he will stay with the Seminoles.
Florida State has five ESPN 300 commitments and 16 total commitments. Given what has happened on the field the past two seasons, this is an encouraging class for Mike Norvell and his staff.
Florida, on the other hand, was headed in the wrong direction before Dan Mullen's firing. The Gators currently have five ESPN 300 commitments but have only 11 total commits in the class. There have been seven decommitments in this cycle for Florida, five of which happened since October.
ESPN 300 linebacker Shemar James, ESPN 300 corner Julian Humphrey and ESPN 300 athlete Isaiah Bond were all part of that group that recently left the class. With Mullen fired and only a few weeks until the early signing period, it is going to be difficult for the new coaching staff, regardless of who takes over, to finish this class on a high note.
Oklahoma-Oklahoma State
ESPN 300 commits 2018-21
Oklahoma: 40
Oklahoma State: 7
Bedlam by the numbers
OU ESPN 300 commits from Texas and Oklahoma (2018-21): 23
OSU ESPN 300 commits from Texas and Oklahoma (2018-21): 6
Biggest recent battle: WR Talyn Shettron
The numbers listed above aren't an indictment on Oklahoma State. If anything, it shows that the staff has been able to field good teams without landing top-end prospects.
The Cowboys are currently the No. 7 team in the College Football Playoff rankings, and the coaches have done it with only seven ESPN 300 commitments over the past four recruiting classes. You would be hard-pressed to find many other programs that can say the same.
Oklahoma State's top rusher this season, Jaylen Warren, wasn't ranked out of high school. Neither was leading receiver Tay Martin. Brennan Presley, second on the team in receiving yards, was ranked a three-star out of high school.
Quarterback Spencer Sanders was an ESPN 300 commitment in the 2018 class, ranked as the No. 8 dual-threat quarterback. The staff has put together a veteran team that wasn't highly sought-after out of high school and developed the players into a top-10 team this season.
Mike Gundy and his coaches now have two ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class, both from Oklahoma or Texas, in Shettron, who flipped from Oklahoma, and quarterback Garret Rangel.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, has been recruiting at a very high level when it comes to landing top-300 prospects. The staff has been able to land explosive recruits on offense, and, as the numbers above show, both teams are using prospects from Texas as well as in-state recruits to help fill the rosters.
Oklahoma has had a huge amount of success at quarterback, as Lincoln Riley has added four ESPN 300 quarterbacks in the past four classes. Spencer Rattler had been the starter this season, but the staff brought in Caleb Williams, who was the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class and has now taken on the starting job.
For as much success as the Sooners have had on offense, the staff is making a big push on defense as well. In this 2022 class, the coaches have five ESPN 300 defenders in their class, led by five-star defensive tackle Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, the No. 2 tackle overall.
There are still a few more big defensive recruits Oklahoma could add in this cycle, as well, which could help move the Sooners up from their current No. 4 spot in the class rankings.