Is the Big Ten the new recruiting bully? Thoughts on the trail as national signing day nears

If it feels like the college football season just ended and we’re already on to the next thing on the calendar … well, we are. Just like that, next Wednesday is national signing day.

Although most prospects are off the board after signing in December — making the February period a lot tamer than it used to be — there’s still plenty of intrigue heading into next week, as teams look to put the finishing touches on their classes.

With that, some recruiting thoughts as we gear up for the final push.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite. 

• The SEC is used to dominating the recruiting rankings, but the crown belongs to the Big Ten this year. Three of the nation’s top five classes come from the Big Ten — No. 1 USC, No. 3 Oregon and No. 5 Ohio State. Oregon, at 92.37, has the highest average player rating in a class that includes nine top-100 prospects. The headliner is five-star offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho from Georgetown Preparatory in Maryland. The signings of five-star recruits from North Carolina (tight end Kendre Harrison), Texas (wide receiver Jalen Lott) and Alabama (edge Anthony Jones) prove once again that Oregon can go national and has no problem marching right into the SEC’s backyard.

• All of the top-100 prospects are already signed, making four-star defensive lineman Dylan Berymon the highest-rated unsigned prospect heading into Wednesday. Berymon, a Louisiana native who is ranked No. 191 overall, committed to Texas in June but backed off that pledge in November. He has taken official visits to Kentucky and Nebraska, and as recently as last week was posting on social media about spending time with coaches from Nebraska — including head coach Matt Rhule — and Oklahoma State. Should Nebraska land him, he’d give the Cornhuskers a much-needed boost after they signed two top-160 prospects in December, but no other players ranked inside the top 600.

• Four-star running back Brandon Smith is the second-highest-ranked prospect on the board. Smith signed with Arizona in December but announced on Jan. 17 that he’d been granted a release. He committed to Oregon two days later and will now join a Ducks running back group that could have used more depth through the College Football Playoff. Smith is ranked No. 293 overall and the No. 21 running back.

• Teddy Jarrard is the top unsigned quarterback, but he has been committed to Notre Dame since July. The Georgia native, who ranks No. 314 overall, recently reclassified to the Class of 2026 and is expected to sign with the Irish next week. He will be the second quarterback in Notre Dame’s class, joining four-star Florida native Noah Grubbs. The Irish are on track to finish with their first top-five class in more than a decade.

• Speaking of impressive classes, USC has been the group to beat all year, and the Trojans are on pace to finish with the nation’s No. 1 class for the first time since 2006. Head coach Lincoln Riley already signed 35 players in December, and this is the type of crew that could help USC return to its glory days … or at least stay competitive with Oregon. The class is headlined by five top-50 prospects — tight end Mark Bowman, wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster, defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield, edge Luke Wafle and cornerback Elbert Hill. USC also has its potential future quarterback in four-star Illinois native Jonas Williams, the nation’s No. 9 QB who flipped from Oregon to the Trojans in February. It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for Riley in his first few years with the Trojans, but he spent a big chunk of 2025 recruiting like someone who has something to prove.

• Lane Kiffin may be known for his affinity for the transfer portal, but LSU’s new head coach did some strong work on the high school front this cycle, too. The Tigers currently have the nation’s No. 11 class with an average player rating that ranks third nationally, behind Oregon and Alabama. Retaining five-star, in-state defensive linemen Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson — ranked No. 4 and No. 25 in the nation, respectively — from the Brian Kelly tenure was huge. The Tigers have five top-100 prospects, and 11 of their 17 commits are blue-chippers.

• Ole Miss, Kiffin’s old team, came out … fine? The Rebels’ class is ranked No. 22 nationally, with an average player rating of 89.13 that ranks 20th. The biggest concern for coach Pete Golding — aside from the tampering allegations that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney laid out against him — is that Ole Miss signed just two of the top 10 in-state prospects. Tennessee and Alabama also signed two, which isn’t great news if coaches still care about keeping top talent at home.

• Michigan lost five recruits after former head coach Sherrone Moore was arrested, many of whom were already signed and had to ask for their release. The Wolverines are still on pace to finish with a top-15 class, but it was a messy December for the Wolverines. One decommit, Bear McWhorter — who has since signed with Auburn — told The Athletic that a lot of Michigan recruits were shocked about the Moore situation, but also “kind of mad, actually” because they didn’t know how long the university had known about Moore’s alleged behavior and/or potentially had been considering firing him but decided to keep it quiet.

“We felt kind of lied to that they didn’t say anything and let us sign and gave us no type of warning that anything was going on,” McWhorter said. “And then right after we signed, that happens. I completely trust the staff that was there that they didn’t know because I fully believe that they would have told us, but I don’t know about the higher ups — the AD and all of that — what they knew, and I think that’s kind of how everybody was: unsure if we were lied to or if they actually had no idea until it got announced.”

• Don’t look now, but North Carolina has actually fared well on the recruiting trail heading into Bill Belichick’s second season with the program. The Tar Heels’ No. 17 ranking is due in large part to the 39 (!) signees in the class, but there’s some talent in this group, too. After signing just one four-star and 29 three-stars in the Class of 2025, UNC currently has 13 four-stars and 26 three-stars in this cycle. The Tar Heels’ average player rating has jumped almost three points from 85.95 a year ago to 88.54. And perhaps most importantly, Belichick seems to have a legitimate quarterback of the future in four-star Georgia native Travis Burgess, who played at Georgia powerhouse Grayson High School. After the disaster that was 2025 for UNC, things might be looking up.

• Staying in the Carolinas, how about South Carolina? The Gamecocks had a rough year in 2025, finishing with a 4-8 record, but that hasn’t prevented coach Shane Beamer and his staff from picking up some impressive talent. South Carolina currently has a top-20 class, but it’s the average player rating that stands out. The Gamecocks’ 91.69 mark ranks eighth nationally, right below Notre Dame and right above Texas. That’s nearly a three-point jump from this time a year ago and is on pace to be the Gamecocks’ highest rating of the modern recruiting era.

• For the second time in the last three cycles, Georgia was on the wrong side of a late quarterback flip. In 2024, it was five-star Dylan Raiola who flipped from the Bulldogs to Nebraska at the last second. This time, it was five-star Jared Curtis, the nation’s No. 2 overall player, who elected to stay home in Nashville and flipped to Vanderbilt a day before the start of the early signing period. Kirby Smart and company rebounded nicely, though, by landing Bryson Beaver as a transfer after the Class of 2025 signee bailed on Oregon after Dante Moore decided to return and the Ducks signed Raiola as a transfer. Beaver, a California native, is ranked No. 212 nationally.

• Would you be surprised to hear that this year’s national champion heads into next week with just the nation’s No. 33 class? If it were any team besides Indiana, you might be. But the Hoosiers haven’t built their team on four- and five-star phenoms, and we can’t question head coach Curt Cignetti’s methods now. The Hoosiers have zero five-stars, seven four-stars and 13 three-stars in this class, for an average player rating of 88.15. No prospect ranks in the top 200, and 14 have a ranking below No. 700.

• Last but not least, kudos to Washington, which we don’t talk nearly enough about relative to the Huskies’ West Coast Big Ten brethren. Jedd Fisch and his staff quietly put together a top-15 class, featuring five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene (right out of USC’s backyard) and 11 other blue-chippers. It’s not a flashy class, but the Huskies deserve their flowers.