College Football Recruiting: ESPN 150 Debuts with Michigan and SEC Leading Way

For the last several years, the always-fun "Recruiting National Championship" has resided in the south. Alabama, Florida, Miami, Florida State and LSU have taken home the title for their haul of committed players, according to ESPN's service.

This year, a new challenger has emerged, looking to wrestle the title out of the south and bring it up north for a change. In the debut of the ESPN 150, it is the Michigan Wolverines that have done the most damage.

Out of their 17 commitments to date, the Wolverines have 11 kids in the Top 150. It's a heck of an early show that Brady Hoke is putting on in his first true recruiting cycle. The second-year coach is doing work and while he doesn't have any of the players in the top 30, his cluster of 11 between 37 and 121 speaks volumes about what he's been able to do for the Wolverines.

However, Michigan is not the only team making strides. While the Wolverines are in the hunt for that top recruiting class, their league as a whole is squarely in second place, well behind the chief competitors for the best signing group.

The SEC is outworking everyone, again, when it comes to recruiting. Alabama and Georgia have six commits in the Top 150. Auburn has four, plus newcomer Texas A&M boasts five kids in the Top 150. The Florida Gators are setting the pace, though, at seven Top 150 commitments for Will Muschamp.

There are 26 Top 150 commitments for the SEC. That's just one short of the 27 the Big 12 (11), Pac-12 (eight), ACC (eight) and Big East (zero) have combined.

The scariest thing about these numbers early is that in the SEC states of Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky and Arkansas, there are still some 32 unpledged Top 150 recruits. Throw in North Carolina, a state where the SEC has historically done well, plus the new states of Missouri and Texas, and there are an additional 10 Top 150 recruits to be had. That's a lot of kids who will have the recruiting sharks clawing at them.

Michigan is setting the pace right now by the sheer volume of its class, but the SEC is not far behind. Keep in mind things will be changing; the uncommitted kids will commit and recruits will inevitably flip.

Ohio State is sitting on a respectable five commits right now and we know the Buckeyes don't like losing to Michigan, on or off the field. Florida State has recruited well since Jimbo Fisher's takeover, so expect the Noles to get hot and build on their three Top 150 kids going forward.

As for the rest of the schools, Baylor, Northwestern, UCLA and Virginia Tech each have one Top 150 commit. We'll see if any other schools elbow their way into the mix with the standard cast of recruiting giants.