Now that college football's February signing period is over, we have a clear view of how each program was able to fill needs with high school prospects.
Texas A&M finished with the No. 1 class overall, but there were plenty of other teams that recruited well across the board. To give a different look at how each team performed, we break down the best classes by position, starting with the offense.
Quarterback
The Gamecocks have added a ton to their quarterback room this offseason. For this exercise, we're only grading out the high school hauls, but South Carolina is bringing in Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler at quarterback. From the recruiting class, Shane Beamer and his staff added two ESPN 300 quarterbacks in Tanner Bailey and Braden Davis.
Bailey is the No. 132 prospect overall and a 6-foot-1 and 190-pound prospect out of Gordo, Alabama. Davis is ranked No. 237 overall and is a 6-6, 195-pound quarterback out of Middletown, Delaware. Landing two ESPN 300 quarterbacks and a transfer should set up the quarterback position very well for the future.
Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has some options for the future at quarterback after this recruiting cycle.
Penn State added ESPN 300 quarterback Drew Allar and four-star Beau Pribula. Allar is the No. 50 prospect at 6-4, 230 pounds out of Medina, Ohio. His stock rose as he progressed through high school, and he is one of the quarterbacks with the highest ceiling in this class.
Pribula is a dual-threat quarterback from York, Pennsylvania. Both will have an opportunity to compete for a starting spot either this year or after Sean Clifford graduates.
The Aggies signed the No. 1 overall quarterback in the class in Conner Weigman out of Cypress, Texas. He's the No. 26 recruit overall and was targeted by nearly every major program.
Texas A&M saw Zach Calzada transfer out and Max Johnson transfer in with Haynes King still on the roster. Weigman doesn't need to play right away, but sets the staff up for long-term quality quarterback play and an excellent option if an injury occurs the way it did this past season with King.
The Tigers landed the No. 2 overall quarterback in Cade Klubnik, who is ranked No. 28 in the ESPN 300. Klubnik has an interesting opportunity, as current Clemson starter D.J. Uiagalelei struggled in the 2021 season.
Klubnik will have every opportunity to compete right away, as Taisun Phommachanh transferred out, and the Tigers brought in Hunter Johnson, who transferred from Clemson to Northwestern back to Clemson.
Running back
The Sooners have lost leading rusher Kennedy Brooks, third-leading rusher Caleb Williams, as well as Spencer Rattler from this past season. The staff is adding in quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who will be able to impact the run game, and also signed two ESPN 300 running backs in the 2022 class.
Gavin Sawchuk is the No. 60 recruit overall and the fourth-best running back in the class out of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He's joined by Jovantae Barnes, who is ranked No. 93 overall and as the No. 7 running back. He's a 5-11, 185-pound back out of Las Vegas, and both should be able to provide some impact in 2022.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions' run game struggled in 2021, and the team is losing Noah Cain and John Lovett. Keyvone Lee and Devyn Ford are returning, but the offense needs an infusion of talent.
The coaches signed two ESPN 300 running backs in this class to help. Nicholas Singleton is the No. 3 back in the class at No. 56 overall out of Shillington, Pennsylvania. He's joined in the class by Kaytron Allen, who is ranked No. 141 overall and is the No. 10 back, out of IMG Academy.
The Dawgs seem to roll in new running backs every class, and the 2022 cycle was no different. Kirby Smart added the No. 1 back in 5-10, 220-pound Branson Robinson from Madison, Mississippi.
Georgia was also able to sign four-star Andrew Paul in the February signing period. Paul became one of the more sought-after prospects after the early signing period with Clemson, Michigan and a few others after him. Georgia is losing Zamir White and James Cook, but the staff has Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards still on the roster.
The Tar Heels were another team that signed two ESPN 300 backs in this cycle.
George Pettaway is the No. 6 back in the class, ranked No. 88 overall, at 5-11, 175 pounds out of Suffolk, Virginia. Omarion Hampton is the No. 15 running back and the No. 180 prospect overall out of Clayton, North Carolina.
Wide receiver
The Crimson Tide cleaned up recruiting receivers in the 2022 cycle, landing four ESPN 300 wideouts. Shazz Preston is the highest-ranked as a five-star and the No. 15 recruit overall. He's a 5-11, 180-pound recruit out of Saint James, Louisiana.
He's joined by Aaron Anderson, the No. 8 receiver, as well as Isaiah Bond and Kobe Prentice, who were both ranked as athletes.
The Crimson Tide are losing John Metchie III, Jameson Williams and Slade Bolden to the draft, so having a big receiver class was important for depth.
Texas A&M
The Aggies added quite a bit to the receiving corps in the 2022 class with five-star Evan Stewart, who is the second-best receiver in the class, as well as ESPN 300 Chris Marshall and three-star Noah Thomas.
Stewart is the No. 12 prospect, a 6-0, 175-pound recruit from Frisco, Texas, and is the third-best recruit in the state. Marshall is the No. 21 prospect overall and the No. 4 receiver out of Missouri City, Texas.
The Aggies ranked No. 98 in total receiving yards last season, so Stewart and Marshall could have a chance to make an impact early on.
The Missouri Tigers were also able to get two ESPN 300 receivers, and the staff reeled in the No. 1 receiver in Luther Burden.
The five-star had been committed to Oklahoma at one point, but flipped to Missouri. Burden is the No. 5 recruit overall and a prospect who should contribute right away.
Fellow ESPN 300 receiver Ja'Marion Wayne, the No. 206 prospect, and three-star Mekhi Miller round out an excellent haul for the Missouri staff.
LUTHER BURDEN. WOW.
— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2022
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Penn State
The Nittany Lions did a great job adding offensive playmakers this cycle, and that includes the receiver position. Penn State ranked 25th in total receiving yards last season and is losing leading receiver Jahan Dotson to the NFL.
The coaches added Western Kentucky receiver Mitchell Tinsley through the transfer portal, and they also signed two ESPN 300 receivers and two four-stars. Kaden Saunders is the highest-ranked signee at No. 31 overall, followed by Anthony Ivey at No. 248 with Tyler Johnson and Omari Evans both unranked four-stars.
Tight end
Texas A&M
With the No. 1 class overall, it makes sense the Aggies are showing up so much in positional rankings. Jimbo Fisher and his staff signed three ESPN 300 tight ends after it initially looked as though it would only be one.
Donovan Green, the No. 103 recruit, committed in January 2021. Jake Johnson, the No. 105 prospect, was committed to LSU until the coaching change and flipped to Texas A&M on the first day of the early signing period.
In addition to those two, Theodor Melin Ohrstrom reclassified from the 2023 class to 2022. Despite reclassifying, he's still the No. 155 prospect overall, giving Texas A&M three tight ends ranked inside the top 155 overall.
The Bruins did a great job filling a need at tight end by signing two ESPN 300 recruits in the 2022 class.
The top-ranked recruit is tight end Jack Pedersen, who is the No. 138 recruit overall. He's a 6-4, 230-pounder from Murrieta, California, and the No. 3 tight end in the class.
Pedersen is joined by Carsen Ryan, the No. 261 prospect overall.
Dave Aranda and his staff signed three tight ends in this class, giving them a few good options for the future.
Kaian Roberts-Day is ranked the highest at No. 251 overall. He's a 6-4, 220-pound recruit from Festus, Missouri.
He's joined in the class by four-star tight end Cody Mladenka and three-star Kelsey Johnson, both prospects out of Texas.
The Irish already have Michael Mayer on the roster and are adding two more good prospects.
ESPN 300 Holden Staes is the No. 277 recruit overall and a 6-4, 220-pound prospect from Atlanta. He's joined in the class by four-star Eli Raridon from West Des Moines, Iowa.
Offensive line
The Longhorns did very well in adding quality players up front to help reshape their future offensive line.
The staff got a commitment from five-star lineman Devon Campbell in the February signing period. Campbell is ranked No. 9 overall and chose Texas over Oklahoma.
Steve Sarkisian and his staff also added ESPN 300 linemen Neto Umeozulu and Cameron Williams, as well as four-stars Malik Agbo and Cole Hutson and three-star Connor Robertson. Adding a lot of prospects at one position group will help bring eventual competition and depth.
Notre Dame
The Irish brought back Harry Hiestand as the offensive line coach, and he's returning at a great time, as the staff signed four ESPN 300 offensive linemen in this class.
The highest-ranked lineman is Aamil Wagner, the No. 112 recruit overall, followed by the No. 1 center, Joey Tanona, and ESPN 300 linemen Billy Schrauth and Ty Chan. The coaches also signed three-star tackle Ashton Craig in an excellent offensive line class.
Texas A&M
The Aggies show up again in this position group after signing two ESPN 300 linemen in P.J. Williams, the No. 6 tackle in the class, and Kam Dewberry, the No. 11 tackle.
Those two are joined in the class by four-star guard Hunter Erb and three-star guard Mark Nabou.
The Seminoles ranked 107th in FBS in sacks allowed (36) in 2021, and the coaches made the offensive line group a priority.
The class is led by the No. 17 tackle, Julian Armella, and the No. 8 guard, Jaylen Early. In addition to the two ESPN 300 linemen, Florida State also signed four-star tackles Daughtry Richardson and Qae'shon Sapp, as well as three-star guard Kanaya Charlton.
They might not all contribute right away, but this class will go a long way to getting that group consistent in the future.