Alabama is currently holding on to the No. 1-ranked football recruiting class for the 2023 cycle, which at this point, under Nick Saban, is to be expected.
It hasn't been the typical recruiting cycle beyond the Crimson Tide, though, as we have seen some new programs emerge at the top of the rankings and some blue bloods off to a slow start. Notre Dame skyrocketed to the top of the rankings very early in the cycle, only to get passed by Alabama, and is now fending for its position at No. 2.
Texas A&M finished the 2022 class with the No. 1 overall class and five five-star commitments, but now sits outside the top 25. There's still time to make moves up and down the class rankings.
Nine teams have, for better or worse, gotten off to surprising starts in recruiting for the 2023 cycle. With just over three months until the early signing period, we break down the teams overachieving and underachieving this recruiting cycle.
Overachieving
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Class rank: 2nd | ESPN 300 commits: 15
Previous three cycles: 7th (2022), 9th (2021), 14th (2020)
The Irish, who haven't finished inside the top five since 2013, are tied with Alabama for the most ESPN 300 commitments (15) and are ranked second, right behind the Crimson Tide.
Seven of Notre Dame's commits are ranked inside the top 100 overall and nine are in the top 10 at their respective positions. The top-ranked commits in the class are safety Peyton Bowen, linebacker Jaiden Ausberry and wide receiver Braylon James.
Marcus Freeman is in his first season as head coach and has shown he can land recruits from some of the more highly contested and talent-rich states. Four ESPN 300 commits are from Texas, one is from California, one is from New Jersey, one is from Ohio and one is from Louisiana.
For a first-year (and first-time) head coach to have the Irish off to such an impressive start is a sign that he'll have Notre Dame playing and recruiting at a high level in the future. Because the staff has 23 total commitments, it will be difficult to keep the current ranking as other programs continue to add to their classes.
But Notre Dame does have some big targets, including ESPN 300 athlete Samuel M'Pemba and ESPN 300 running back Jeremiyah Love. If the staff can close with those two, or a few other highly ranked recruits, they will give themselves a chance to stay in the top three.
It seems unlikely that even M'Pemba and Love could push the Irish past the Crimson Tide, who have six top-25 recruits compared to Notre Dame's zero. The Irish have three more ESPN 300 recruits than Ohio State and Texas, so holding them off -- which is possible -- will be key.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Class rank: 15th | ESPN 300 commits: 6
Previous three cycles: 21st (2022), 21st (2021), 29th (2020)
Arkansas finished with the No. 51 class in 2018 but has landed in the 20s since the 2019 cycle. That bump has coincided with Sam Pittman's hiring.
Pittman and his staff have six ESPN 300 commitments, led by tight ends Luke Hasz, Shamar Easter and Jaden Hamm, along with offensive tackle Luke Brown, receiver Micah Tease and running back Isaiah Augustave.
By comparison, the staff had two ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class, two in the 2021 cycle, five in 2020 and four in 2019. Arkansas is already ahead of where it typically finishes, considering there are still three months before the early signing period.
Arkansas has four additional unranked four-star prospects and offensive playmakers aplenty in the class. However, with 23 total commitments, there aren't many spots remaining, so Pittman and his staff will need to swing big to complete what should be one of the program's best classes in a while. The staff still has a few big targets available, including ESPN 300 defensive tackle Markis Deal and ESPN 300 receiver Adam Hopkins.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Class rank: 16th | ESPN 300 commits: 7
Previous three cycles: 17th (2022), unranked (2021), 20th (2020)
South Carolina finished with the No. 18 class in 2018 and No. 17 class in 2019. After the big dip in the 2021 cycle, Shane Beamer came aboard as head coach and was able to steer the program headed in the right direction.
Beamer has supplemented recruiting with the transfer portal for this season, which should help high school recruiting going forward if the product on the field keeps improving. Beamer brings a youthful energy, excitement and concentrated approach on recruiting that South Carolina needed. His approach is translating on the recruiting trail, as the Gamecocks have seven ESPN 300 commits.
That number is significant; South Carolina has had two recruiting classes with more than seven top-300 recruits since ESPN expanded its prospect ranking list from 150 to 300 players in 2013. The 2020 class had eight and the 2014 class had 10. Now, Beamer, with his second full recruiting class, could already eclipse that number.
The staff is after ESPN 300 athlete Nyckoles Harbor, ESPN 300 corner Chris Peal and a handful of others.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Class rank: 17th | ESPN 300 commits: 2
Previous three cycles: 44th (2022), 59th (2021), 50th (2020)
The Red Raiders, who also finished No. 63 in 2019 and No. 67 in 2018, hired Joey McGuire as head coach at the end of 2021, after McGuire had spent a few years at Baylor.
Prior to his stint with Baylor, McGuire was one of the more successful Texas high school coaches at Cedar Hill High School, where he won three Texas state championships, made 12 consecutive playoff appearances and accumulated a 141-42 record. McGuire has relationships throughout Texas and is starting to ramp up recruiting now that he has his feet underneath him at Texas Tech.
The program currently has two ESPN 300 commitments, which might not seem like a lot compared to other teams, but Texas Tech has had more than two ESPN 300 commitments in one class only once, when it had four ranked prospects in 2014. Other than that, Texas Tech has had two ESPN 300 commits only one time: the 2021 class.
Texas Tech still has a ways to go to get to the level of Oklahoma (13 ESPN 300 commits) or Texas (12), but those are the only two Big 12 schools with more ranked recruits than the Red Raiders. (Iowa State and TCU are tied with Texas Tech.)
Twenty-two of the Red Raiders' 25 commits are from Texas, which shows McGuire's ability to build deep relationships and land helpful in-state recruits. The state is littered with talent -- 43 ESPN 300 recruits, one five-star prospect and 72 four-star recruits are from Texas. McGuire has landed nine of the top 100 in-state recruits, topping the seven the program had in 2022 and the five it had in 2021.
If McGuire can continue to elevate Texas Tech's in-state recruiting efforts, it can become a constant fixture inside the top 25, rather than outside the top 50.
Louisville Cardinals
Class rank: 19th | ESPN 300 commits: 7
Previous three cycles: 60th (2022), 40th (2021), 37th (2020)
It's not just that Louisville, which also ranked 68th in the 2019 cycle, has seven ESPN 300 commits, but Scott Satterfield and his staff have just 14 total commitments so far. There is still room for the Cardinals to add big names to a class that already features some highly sought-after commits.
The Cardinals were ranked No. 60 overall in 2022, No. 40 in 2021, No. 37 in 2020, No. 68 in 2019 and 28 in 2018.
ESPN 300 quarterback Pierce Clarkson, the No. 8 pocket-passer in the class, started a snowball effect by committing in January. Once Clarkson got on board, the staff was able to get commitments from Rueben Owens II, the No. 3 running back overall, DeAndre Moore Jr., the No. 9 receiver in the class, and William Fowles, the No. 28 receiver overall.
Of the 14 total commitments, nine are ranked as four stars and six are in the top 150 overall. Miami is the only ACC team with more ESPN 300 commitments than Louisville (nine), while the Cardinals are tied with Clemson for the next-most in the conference. As talented as Louisville's class is, adding a few offensive linemen and playmakers in the secondary, along with linebackers, could be a big help to the roster.
The staff has leaned into building its presence in the name, image and likeness space, which has become a bigger fixture in recruiting. Satterfield continuing down that path has worked thus far, and but whether or not the Cardinals' high ranking becomes a norm remains to be seen.
After all, Satterfield had a 6-7 record last season and started this season with a 31-7 loss to Syracuse. This class is a step in the right direction, but if the record on the field doesn't improve, the recruiting could take a hit.
Underachieving
Texas A&M Aggies
Class rank: 32nd | ESPN 300 commits: 5
Previous three cycles: 1st (2022), 7th (2021), 6th (2020)
This is one of the more drastic changes in recruiting rankings from last year when the Aggies finished No. 1 overall in the rankings. Twenty-four of the 31 total commitments were ranked in the ESPN 300, with five of them rated as five-star prospects.
Based on that, Jimbo Fisher and his staff will likely bring in a smaller class in comparison, but they are behind schedule for what the program is doing. The Aggies presently have 10 total commits, five of whom are ranked in the ESPN 300.
That doesn't mean that the Aggies can't finish strong, and given who they still have left on their board, they should. Some of the top recruits haven't yet made their commitments, so it isn't necessarily time to hit the panic button just yet.
Some of their remaining targets include ESPN 300 receiver Hykeem Williams, ESPN 300 defensive lineman Nigel Smith II. Adding them to their current group of commits -- five-star linebacker Anthony Hill and fellow ESPN 300 recruits Chase Bisontis, Bravion Rogers, Dalton Brooks and Jayvon Thomas -- could put the Aggies back on track.
Auburn Tigers
Class rank: Outside the top 40 | ESPN 300 commits: 4
Previous three cycles: 18th (2022), 28th (2021), 7th (2020)
The past several years have seen Auburn drop severely in the recruiting rankings, especially after eight straight top-15 finishes from 2013 to 2020. Right now, with four ESPN 300 commits (eight total), Auburn is out of the top 40.
ESPN 300 wide receivers Karmello English and Daquayvious Sorey lead the class, followed by running back Jeremiah Cobb and safety Terrance Love. Outside of those ESPN 300 recruits, defensive lineman Wilky Denaud is the only other four-star in the class.
Auburn's eight total commits are the fewest of any SEC team and tied for the third fewest of any Power 5 program. The only SEC schools with fewer ESPN 300 commits than Auburn are Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri.
Second-year coach Bryan Harsin had been at Boise State from 2014 to 2020. From the 2015 to 2020 recruiting classes, Harsin landed two recruits from Florida and one from Georgia, so he didn't have many pre-established relationships in the battleground areas he now finds himself at Auburn.
Amid an investigation into the football program following an exodus of players and assistant coaches, and paired with the slow start to this recruiting class, it will be difficult for Harsin and his staff to dig out.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Class rank: Outside the top-40 | ESPN 300 commits: 0
Previous three cycles: unranked (2022), 36th (2021), 23rd (2020)
Arizona State hasn't finished near the top of the rankings in recent years, but to be ranked outside the top 40 and the top 75 over the last two recruiting classes is not expected. On top of not having any top-300 recruits in the class, Arizona State has only six total commitments.
The Sun Devils and UCLA are tied for the least number of total commitments in the Pac-12, which is not the position they want to be in with a few months until the early signing period in December.
The only offensive commit in the class thus far is unranked quarterback Israel Carter; the other five are linebackers, defensive linemen and defensive backs. Arizona State doesn't have a commitment from a top-25 in-state recruit. Its highest-ranked recruit, safety Chase Davis, is the No. 110 recruit in the state of Texas.
The staff had just six high school recruits in the 2022 class and added three junior college players, leaning heavily on the transfer portal -- namely former Alabama quarterback Paul Tyson and Florida quarterback Emory Jones, as well as Miami defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera.
Coach Herm Edwards is already on the hot seat. Utilizing portal players to transform the roster can be a quick fix and wouldn't indicate a need for a big high school class, but it may not necessarily work long term.
That begs the question: Is Arizona State using the portal to build its roster to adapt to the new college football landscape, or because it has to?
UCLA Bruins
Class rank: Outside the top 40 | ESPN 300 commits: 1
Previous three cycles: 35th (2022), 38th (2021), 35th (2020)
The Bruins have typically gotten off to slower starts and have a different approach to recruiting that lends itself to a longer scouting process, but the staff has only six total commitments as of now.
The current class is led by ESPN 300 linebacker Tre Edwards, the No. 7 inside linebacker, from Chula Vista, California, and four-star running back Roderick Robinson II. They are the only four-stars in the class and the only two commitments ranked inside the top 30 of their respective positions.
UCLA and Arizona State both have the fewest total commitments of any Power 5 program as the class stands. It is possible to have a smaller number of total commits with ESPN 300 prospects mixed in, similar to what Texas A&M currently has, but neither UCLA or Arizona State have that.