College Football Recruiting 2012: 5 Classes Every Team Is Afraid of Playing

With the recruiting process currently under way, there are several teams out there that have greatly improved their football team. Some teams that you wouldn't really expect landed some of the most talented players out of this years class.

But then there are some classes that you just don't want to play. When all of the young players take the field, they will just be a very scary team to matchup to play against. There's a difference between a normal/average recruiting class and an absolutely loaded class.

Here are five classes that teams will be afraid to play in the future.

South Carolina Gamecocks

It must be nice to lose a wide receiver like Alshon Jeffery and gain offensive playmakers like wide receiver Shaq Roland and running back Mike Davis. Both are rated at the top of their positions, and Davis will be a great fit once Marcus Lattimore moves on to the next level.

Speaking of running backs, they'll have plenty of holes to run through considering South Carolina also picked up top offensive linemen like Clayton Stadnik, Joe Harris and Brock Stadnik.

The defense is already loaded, but it doesn't hurt to add safety Jordan Diggs and cornerback Rico McWilliams for good measure.

Florida Gators

The Florida Gators could quickly become the New England Patriots of college football, as they landed the top two tight ends in the country. It's hard enough to cover one great receiver who is 6'5". Imagine having to try and cover both. Kent Taylor and Colin Thompson are very talented at the tight end position and will cause the opposing team matchup problems on defense.

Florida also loaded up on defense, landing one of the top cornerbacks in Brian Poole and one of the top safeties in Marcus Maye. Jonathan Bullard is going to be a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen at the defensive end position as well.

Florida also is a front-runner to land wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who will go well with those two tight ends.

Alabama Crimson Tide

As if Alabama needed to add any more talent to a championship team, they did. They landed one of the top linebackers in this year's class with Reggie Ragland. He has great size and is extremely athletic, which will help replace the Tide players that recently left. Adding linebacker Dillon Lee won't hurt either.

The defense also picked up two of the country's top safeties in Landon Collins and Eddie Williams, along with cornerback Geno Smith.

On offense, the Tide lost running back Trent Richardson, but will be able to replace him with T.J. Yeldon and added a speedster wide receivers in Cyrus Jones and Amari Cooper.

Alabama is always a front-runner to win the BCS National Championship, and with classes like this, they'll remain at the top heading into next year as well.

Texas Longhorns

Texas may have had two sub-par seasons by their standards, but that should change with this year's class coming in. Texas has 16 players that are inside the top 20 (on most recruiting sites) at their respective positions. 

The defense has picked up the top defensive tackle in Malcolm Brown, a top cornerback in Bryson Echols and a trio of linebackers in Peter Jenkins, Alex De La Torre and Timothy Cole.

On offense, they landed one of the top running backs in Johnathan Gray, who has great acceleration and is a tough runner that will fit this team well. They also picked up a top quarterback in Connor Brewer and gave him a weapon in wide receiver Cayleb Jones.

I think it's safe to say that the Longhorns are on the rise.

California Golden Bears

There is really no recruiting class out there that I'm more excited about than California. They landed one of the top quarterbacks in Zach Kline and two of the nation's top wide receivers in Jordan Payton and Bryce Treggs. Those offensive weapons alone will make things very interesting in the Pac-12.

But then you look at the defense and see they also picked up the No. 1 safety in Shaq Thompson and one of the top defensive tackles in Ellis McCarthy. Both of those players are game-changers on the defensive side of the ball and will make a huge difference.

Once this class takes the field, there will no longer be just two great teams in the Pac-12. And the scary thing is, they still have a great shot at landing other top players as well.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]