Winners and Losers of June on the 2017 College Football Recruiting Trail
College football recruiting has now hit its latest dead period, and things will be mostly quiet on the trail for the next few weeks as the calendar creeps closer to the 2016 season.
That impending dead period made for a flurry of activity all across the country, from commitments to flips and satellite camps to traditional on-campus contact.
With major summer combines and school practices coming up, more and more recruits started narrowing down their choices or going ahead with their pledges during the month of June.
Between the camp circuits and the calendar crunch, a lot of moves were made. Teams caught fire with monster stretches of commitments and jumped up in the 247Sports composite team rankings. However, there were a few schools that were on the wrong end of the frenzy in June.
Here are a handful of winner and loser schools on the 2017 college football recruiting trail during the month of June. But, remember—it's still early, so fortune can change quickly between now and the stretch run of the cycle. That should give hope to fans of the teams who were on the losing end and cautious celebration for those coming off a great month.
Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes
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At one point in June, it looked like the Alabama Crimson Tide was going to restore their usual stranglehold on the top spot of the recruiting team rankings. That only lasted for a single day.
Ohio State reclaimed No. 1 with a huge commitment from 5-star California native Wyatt Davis, who is the nation's No. 1-rated offensive guard. That pledge gave Ohio State what is now a 13.04-point lead over Alabama, according to 247Sports' composite team rankings.
Davis' commitment was one of two major pledges for the Buckeyes, with the second being 4-star Nevada quarterback Tate Martell, the No. 1 dual-threat prospect in the class of 2017. Martell, who decommitted from the Texas A&M Aggies last month, unofficially visited Columbus on June 11 and announced his commitment one day later.
Now Ohio State has the nation's top recruit at two important offensive positions, and there's still plenty of room for more elite talent in what is trending toward a legendary class. Ohio State currently has 14 commitments, with three of them consensus 5-stars and 10 of them rated as 4-stars. The only non-blue-chip in the class is 3-star Blake Haubeil, who is the No. 1 kicker in the country.
The Buckeyes are getting the best of the best all over the field and from all over the country. There's still a ways to go in this cycle, but Ohio State is simply killing it on the recruiting trail after a fantastic combo of June commitments.
Winner: Florida State Seminoles
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Florida State is another powerhouse program that is going for the highest quality in its commitments so far this cycle, and it had an incredibly successful month of June.
The Seminoles picked up a pledge from their first 2017 5-star, cornerback Stanford Samuels. The 6'2" Florida native and FSU legacy recruit is the No. 23 overall recruit and third-best cornerback in his class. Samuels has drawn comparisons to the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Derwin James with his versatility and physical tools in the secondary.
Florida State, which currently has the second-highest average commitment ranking in the country, also picked up commitments in June from 4-star safety Daniel Wright and 3-star tight end Alexander Marshall, who is a potential matchup nightmare at 6'7" and 240 pounds.
And while it's doesn't concern the current class of prospects, it's also worth noting Florida State also snagged commitments from a trio of 2018 blue-chip recruits in the same week it picked up Samuels, Wright and Marshall.
The Seminoles are expected to take a small class in 2017, but there's still enough spots for the likes of 5-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and 5-star running back Cam Akers, who both camped at Florida State this month. FSU could be big winners several more times in the coming months.
Loser: Miami Hurricanes
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Miami wasn't able to completely sustain its momentum from a great spring start on the recruiting trail under new head coach Mark Richt into the early portion of summer.
In the month of June, the Hurricanes lost its lead as the ACC's top recruiting class to rival Florida State and saw 3-star cornerback Nick Roberts decommit. According to Ryan Bartow of 247Sports, the split between Roberts and Miami was expected.
However, it wasn't a complete loss for Miami in the month of June. On Tuesday afternoon, the Hurricanes picked up a commitment from punter Zach Feagles, the unranked son of former Miami punter Jeff Feagles, who spent over two decades in the NFL.
Miami currently sits at No. 11 nationally for the class of 2017 with 15 commitments, and Richt has plenty of high-value targets still left on the board, including 4-star running back Anthony McFarland Jr. and 4-star cornerback Marco Wilson.
The former Georgia Bulldogs head coach will hope things are going to heat up again in the South Florida sun after a quiet June.
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Winner: Tennessee Volunteers
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Tennessee had one of the single-best recruiting days in program history this month as the Volunteers picked up an incredible eight commitments on "Orange Carpet Day" in Knoxville—seven of them in the class of 2017.
A week that started with the addition of 4-star safety Maleik Gray, who is the No. 5-rated player at his position, continued with pledges on June 18 from safety Jaquan Henderson, defensive end LaTrell Bumphus, safety Theo Jackson, wide receiver Princeton Fant, defensive end Tre Lawson, offensive tackle Jordan Tucker and athlete Trey Coleman.
For the class of 2018, Tennessee picked up 4-star athlete Alontae Taylor, who joined 5-star offensive tackle Cade Mays in the Volunteers' future haul.
While the seven 2017 recruits who committed to Tennessee on "Orange Carpet Day" are all 3-stars, the huge day boosted Tennessee into the Top 10 of 247Sports' composite team rankings. Two days later, Tennessee snagged 3-star defensive tackle Kivon Bennett from Florida high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas.
Although Tennessee lost a commitment from 4-star wide receiver KD Nixon in June, the huge month was an overwhelming net positive for Butch Jones and his staff. They'll look to continue the momentum from "Orange Carpet Day"—a lot of top targets were in Knoxville that weekend—into the rest of the cycle.
Loser: Kentucky Wildcats
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As Tennessee celebrated a huge month of June, SEC East rival Kentucky had a much different reaction to the start of the summer.
Kentucky lost a commitment from 4-star quarterback Mac Jones, who flipped to Alabama on June 7. Jones was Kentucky's second-highest commitment at the time and a player who was considered to be an extremely high priority for new co-offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw.
Unfortunately, Hinshaw made things worse for Kentucky by appearing to subtweet Jones after his flip. His social media move netted a lot of negative feedback across the college football landscape, and he was even retweeted by Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin in a slick trolling move.
"It's a childish, immature reaction to being scorned, similar to that time you spread that viscous rumor about your ex around middle school," Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote. "Be better than that. Jones was right: Hinshaw's not-so-subtle subtweet is something a 12-year-old would do."
Kentucky picked up a commitment from 3-star athlete Joshua Ali late in the month, but the loss of Jones—and how Hinshaw handled it—is definitely going to sting for the Wildcats.
Winner: Texas A&M Aggies
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Texas A&M had a solid May on the recruiting trail, and things got even better for the Aggies in June. Kevin Sumlin and Co. picked up seven pledges this month, giving them 15 for the class of 2017 and what is now the No. 8-rated class in the country.
The biggest one, without a doubt, was 4-star dual-threat quarterback Kellen Mond. The IMG Academy product decommitted from Baylor on June 1, and it came down to Auburn and Texas A&M for his services. While it appeared the Tigers were leading, Mond announced on June 27 that he would be an Aggie.
After the recent quarterback turmoil in College Station, Mond's commitment was extremely vital for Texas A&M and the future of its offense. He'll be a contender to start from the moment he steps onto campus, as the athletic passer has the arm and the poise in the pocket to be a dream fit for Sumlin's offense.
But Mond was far from the only big-time recruit to pledge to Texas A&M in June. The Aggies also got commitments from Mond's IMG teammate and 4-star inside linebacker Santino Marchiol, 4-star Louisiana athlete Keldrick Carper, 3-star Louisiana running back Travis Etienne, 3-star Texas tight end Keynel McZeal, 3-star 6'5" athlete Camron Horry and 3-star in-state athlete Debione Renfro.
Three more blue-chip prospects—including a potentially program-changing quarterback—and several intriguing 3-stars made for an outstanding month for Texas A&M. If Sumlin and his staff can keep it up, watch out.
Loser: Baylor Bears
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Baylor's recruiting continued to plummet in the wake of its sexual assault scandal and the dismissal of head coach Art Briles.
The Bears released five class of 2016 players from their national letters of intent earlier in the month—offensive lineman Patrick Hudson, offensive tackle J.P. Urquidez, running back Kameron Martin, cornerback Parrish Cobb and wide receiver Donovan Duvernay.
Th rival Texas Longhorns picked up Hudson, Duvernay, his twin brother Devin Duvernay—who was able to be released earlier due to a clerical error—and Urquidez. Martin landed at Auburn.
For the class of 2017, Kellen Mond's decommitment on June 1 and pledge to Texas A&M later in the month left Baylor with only one player committed, 3-star safety Jalen Pitre. The Stafford, Texas, native appears to be solid to Baylor at this point.
After a massive exodus of decommitments in late May and Mond's move, Baylor will have to start nearly from scratch with a little less than eight months to go before national signing day.
Winner: Arizona Wildcats
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A red-hot start for the 2017 recruiting class reached scalding levels of heat in the Arizona desert this June as the Arizona Wildcats picked up a massive 10 3-star commitments.
Rich Rodriguez's program received a big boost in May with the pledge from California 4-star quarterback Braxton Burmeister, and he has a lot of future weapons around him if they stay firm to the Wildcats. On offense alone, Arizona received commitments from wide receivers Brian Casteel, Bryce Gilbert and Warren Jackson, along with offensive tackle Edgar Burrola and versatile athlete Drew Dixon.
Defensively, new coordinator Marcel Yates' squad potentially picked up safety Scott Young, cornerback Malik Hausman, inside linebacker Joshua Brown, outside linebacker Bryce Brand and safety Xavier Bell. Those pledges filled some key needs for an Arizona team looking to find its edge again on the defensive side of the ball after a rough 2015 season.
"Yes, Arizona has 17 commitments. That number is certainly driving their class rankings up through the roof, into the top 15," Gabe Encinas of Arizona Desert Swarm wrote. "Regardless, the Wildcats are landing some extremely versatile depth in this class and that's going to be huge in a couple of years."
Rodriguez has to love the numbers he's building with his 2017 class at Arizona, and there are still several 4-star targets out there for the Wildcats to potentially grab. They might not be in the top 15 of the team rankings long-term, but this has been a phenomenal spring and summer so far for the Wildcats.
Loser: Clemson Tigers
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In April, Bleacher Report's Damon Sayles put Clemson in the "loser" portion of this column for a quiet month on the trail.
"Let's be honest: There's no way to truly consider Clemson a loser, but in the month of April, the Tigers failed to land a pledge," Sayles wrote then. "Not landing a player in April could mean an opportunity for a big month of May—something that coach Dabo Swinney and his staff wouldn't mind."
Clemson didn't get that big breakthrough in May, but it did land a commitment from 4-star defensive end Logan Rudolph. In June, however, the Tigers seem to be destined for another 0-for in terms of pledges.
An extremely high average recruit rating has made Clemson's small class of 10 commits, led by new No. 1 overall pro-style quarterback Hunter Johnson, good enough for No. 14 in the entire country. The Tigers are waiting to add to those numbers after another flip of the calendar without a commitment.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they are far from permanent losers on the recruiting trail. Five-stars Tee Higgins, D'Andre Swift and JaCoby Stevens are seriously considering Clemson, and there's a laundry list of 4-stars who could pledge to Swinney's staff at any moment. Bank on Clemson being a big winner in this monthly column at least once between now and the heat of the fall.
Winner: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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The top 20 recruiting classes right now for 2017 contain a lot of familiar faces and a few other programs that are known to get off to hot starts in cycles. Rutgers doesn't fit either of those categories, but there the Scarlet Knights sit at No. 16 in the country—above the likes of Auburn, Florida and USC.
Rutgers already has 18 commitments for 2017 under new head coach Chris Ash, who learned from one of the best recruiters in the game in Urban Meyer. Eight of them committed to Rutgers in June, including 4-star outside linebacker Tyshon Fogg, the program's second-best pledge right now in terms of rating.
Fogg's commitment on June 26 over the likes of home state Maryland, Michigan State and North Carolina sparked a nice run for the Scarlet Knights. Three-star running back Johnathan Lovett made his decision to join the Scarlet Knights the next day. Fellow outside linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi and wide receiver Shameen Jones committed to Rutgers two days later.
As Matt Brown of SB Nation tweeted, Rutgers' high spot in the recruiting rankings isn't built to last, but it's still an impressive streak from a school that hasn't had a class finish better than 50th nationally since 2012.
Ash was hired to make Rutgers relevant in the Big Ten, and his 2017 class is currently ranked No. 3 in the conference. He's off to a great start with the talent he's pulled so far on the recruiting trail.
Recruiting rankings are courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is a National College Football Analyst at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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