With the start of a new college football season fast approaching, a new recruiting cycle is slowly sneaking up on us as well.
Instituted a couple of years ago, the Early Signing Period in mid-December means we’re just five months or so away from the vast majority of the Class of 2020 signing with their respective schools of choice. Already the reigning College Football Playoff champions, Clemson currently sits atop the 2020 team rankings on 247Sports.com‘s composite board. The Tigers have a total of 18 commitments in next year’s class; five are five-stars and another nine are four-stars.
To put the number of five-stars in perspective, no other program has more than two -- No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 6 Georgia being in that group. The remainder of the current Top Ten is rounded out by No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Miami, No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Penn State.
And the highest-ranked teams per Power Five conference?
- ACC: Clemson, No. 1.
- Big 12: Oklahoma, No. 16.
- Big Ten: Ohio State, No. 4.
- Pac-12: Oregon, No. 15.
- SEC: Alabama, No. 2.
At No. 43, Memphis is the highest-ranked of the Group of Five programs.
Obviously, decommitments between now and December will shuffle the rankings. Additionally, 11 of the 29 five-star 2020 prospects remain uncommitted; stretching it out even further, 16 of the Top 50 recruits on 247Sports.com‘s composite board remain uncommitted.