The Alabama Crimson Tide have won the 2021 team recruiting championship after locking in the highest rated recruiting class ever, a title previously held by Alabama’s 2017 recruiting class. While it feels odd to say it, this is the first time Nick Saban has taken home the recruiting crown since winning it four years ago for the 2017 class. It is, however, the fourth time in his run at Alabama that the Tide was No. 1 in the team recruiting rankings one month after winning the national championship.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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The race for the team rankings crown wasn’t very suspenseful this year. Alabama built a commanding lead during the Early Signing Period and held onto it as National Signing Day came to a close. The only way Alabama’s lead could have even come into question was if five-star running back Camar Wheaton, who was considering Oklahoma, decided to sign with the Sooners. He ended up signing with the Crimson Tide and secured Alabama’s hold on the top spot in the team rankings.
Wheaton joins four other five-stars in this Alabama recruiting class. The highest ranked player is offensive tackle JC Latham, who finished at No. 2 in the Rivals250, followed by fellow offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer at No. 8 in the Rivals250. Outside linebacker Dallas Turner and cornerback Ga’Quincy McKinstry are Alabama’s two five-star signees on the defensive side of the ball.
This Alabama recruiting class will inevitably be compared to their 2017 recruiting class, which was previously the highest rated ever. That class famously featured transcendent players like DeVonta Smith, Najee Harries, Alex Leatherwood, Jerry Jeudy, Dylan Moses, Jedrick Wills, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Henry Ruggs.
Even though the 2021 recruiting haul for Alabama doesn’t have the overall star power that the 2017 class did, they actually stack up very well on paper.
THE REST OF THE TOP 5
No. 2 Ohio State
The Buckeyes put together a fantastic recruiting class that features five-stars Jack Sawyer, Donovan Jackson, and Emeka Egbuka. Ryan Day and his staff have a number of important prospects coming in that should help the Buckeyes keep humming on offense and defense.
Ohio State signed quarterback Kyle McCord and defensive back Jakailin Johnson, two of the highest rated four-star prospects in the nation, and possibly the best tandem of running backs in the 2021 class in Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson. There are plenty of other playmakers headed to Columbus this year and quite possibly one more in five-star J.T. Tuimoloau but he is waiting to sign.
3. Oregon
Mario Cristobal landed some very impressive prospects in the 2021 class, but none are better than five-star quarterback Ty Thompson and five-star offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. The Ducks needed a replacement for Penei Sewell and Suamataia should be able to slid right into the line up.
Oregon also signed possibly the best group of pass-catchers this year with receivers like Troy Franklin, Dont’e Thornton Jr., and Isaiah Brevard along with tight ends Moliki Matavao and Terrance Ferguson, all are rated four-star prospects.
At the end of January, Oregon also added another key recruit in four-star running back Bryon Cardwell. Oregon reloaded at linebacker with four-star Keith Brown and in the secondary with four-star Jaylin Davies and former Minnesota four-star commit Avante Dickerson.
4. Texas A&M
The Aggies are on the rise and they recruited like one of the nation’s best this year. Four top 60 prospects are headed to College Station, led by five-stars Bryce Foster, an offensive lineman, and Tunmise Adeleye, a defensive lineman. In fact, Jimbo Fisher and his staff loaded up on linemen on both sides of the ball in this class, with five offensive lineman and six defensive linemen signing with Texas A&M. The Aggies closed strong by reeling in top 50 prospect LJ Johnson, keeping him away from Texas.
5. LSU
Coming off a subpar year the Tigers needed to have a big time recruiting class to keep their momentum going from their National Championship season and that’s exactly what they did in the 2021 class. Ed Oregon and his staff signed the No. 1 prospect in the nation in defensive tackle Maason Smith. The in-state star wasn’t the only highly rated Louisiana native to sign with the Tigers this year. Five-star Sage Ryan and four-stars Chis Hilton, Savion Jones, and Jack Bech are just a few of the other big time in-state signees for LSU this year. The Tigers also went out of state to get major additions like four-star receiver Deion Smith, four-star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, four-star safety Derrick Davis, and four-star running back Corey Kiner.
