College Football Final Four 2014: Who'll Have the Best Shot Based on Recruiting?

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program in college athletics. That's a fact.

Besides academics and current player development via coaching, it's the single most important aspect to any program.

College football accents that claim, and recruiting can set your program up for 3-5 years of success, per cycle. 

With the current BCS format on its last leg and a playoff system likely coming to college football in 2014, a final four model will likely be adopted. So, which teams project to have the best shot to play in the likely inaugural College Football Final Four in 2014 based on their recruiting efforts?

15. Clemson

Clemson has assembled two consecutive Top 10 classes in 2012 and 2011. Dabo Swinney has always been a great recruiter wherever he's been, and now that he's lead Tiger, Clemson has some top talent.

With players such as Sammy Watkins, Stephone Anthony, Mike Bellamy, Travis Blanks and Tony Steward suited to still be on the roster when the Final Four model comes into play, Clemson will be in the ACC title conversation and will have a chance to get in.  

14. Stanford

Oh, you thought just because Andrew Luck is gone that the Cardinal will go back to their old ways?

They won't, because I think 2013 QB recruit Ryan Burns has the talent to be the next stud QB on The Farm.

The Cardinal will also have a top-tier OL with players like Andrus Peat, Josh Garnett and Kyle Murphy. Barry Sanders, Jr. will be toting the rock, and James Vaughters will be the leader of the defense by then.

Stanford has netted two consecutive Top 25 classes, including a Top 15 class in 2012. 

13. Oklahoma

The Sooners are always going to be in the mix for college football titles. On the trail, they are a pretty good power and do a good job of getting players from Texas and other areas.

By the time the Final Four comes, Trey Metoyer likely will be a household name at WR. Blake Bell could still be there tossing him the rock, and RBs like Greg Bryant, Alex Ross and Keith Ford will make a dangerous trio.

Defensively, recent signees such as Jordan Wade and Nathan Hughes will be helped by D.J. Ward and Derrick Woods. 

12. Oregon

The Ducks have excellent facilities, play in a small college town and Autzen Stadium rocks and rolls on Saturdays. Recruits will be coming to Eugene.

When the Final Four comes into play, a team with Thomas Tyner at RB, Arik Armstead at DL, Bralon Addison at WR, Reggie Daniels at DB, Anthony Wallace at LB and TEs Colt Lyerla and Evan Baylis running around will be formidable.

Byron Marshall will be on the team, and De'Anthony Thomas could still be there. Either Jake Rodrigues or Bryan Bennett will be the QB. 

11. LSU

The Tigers will definitely be in the mix, as they've recruited very, very well as of late.

The 2011 class was among the nation's best and will be the foundation for some very good teams in the future.

With talents such as Anthony Johnson, Odell Beckham, La'el Collins, Zach Mettenberger, Jarvis Landry, Kwon Alexander, Vadal Alexander and Avery Johnson, Les Miles has put himself in position to be a Final Four team in a few years. 

10. Ohio State

Oh yes, the Buckeyes also will be in the mix; last year, Urban Meyer showed that he means business on the trail for OSU.

A solid defensive line will be the strong point of the team, with Noah Spence, Kenny Hayes, Adolphus Washington, Se'Von Pittman and Tommy Schutt leading the way.

Brionte Dunn and Warren Ball will be a solid RB tandem, and they'll be joined by Jalin Marshall on offense.

Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett will be the QBs, while Doran Grant, Curtis Grant, Ryan Shazier, Eli Woodard, Steve Miller, Chase Farris, Joey Bosa and Cameron Burrows will help anchor the defense.

9. Notre Dame

Recruiting-wise, Notre Dame deserves to be on this list. I'm just not sure if they'll ever take another step to get back to where they want to be.

The Irish have recruited very well recently, with a top name like QB Gunner Kiel leading a Final Four-hungry team of Ishaq Williams, DaVaris Daniels, Sheldon Day, Jarron Jones, William Mahone and Elijah Shumate.

8. Georgia

When Aaron Murray leaves, Mark Richt will be looking for a new QB and leader of the UGA program.

Christian LeMay and Brice Ramsey will be licking their chops for the role. With excellent talent like Keith Marshall, Isaiah Crowell and Derrick Henry in the backfield, their jobs will be that much easier. Malcolm Mitchell and Jay Rome will be the top targets in the passing game as well.

John Theus will anchor the OL, and the defense will be top notch, with Ray Drew, Shaq Wiggins, Johnny O'Neal, Jordan Jenkins, Jonathan Taylor, Nick Marshall and Kent Turene, among others. 

7. Michigan

The 2013 recruiting class combined with he 2012 class is where Brady Hoke is going to find the foundation of his Final Four teams in the coming seasons.

He has a QB coming in Shane Morris, DeVeon Smith will be a stud RB and Wyatt Shallman will be a great FB. Hoke's OL also will be top notch, with Kyle Kalis, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Patrick Kugler, Erik Magnuson and A.J. Williams.

The defense will actually be the strength of the team, as LBs Joe Bolden, Kaleb Ringer, Royce Jenkins-Stone and James Ross will be good, not to mention Michael McCrary.

Ondre Pipkins will be the DL's leader, with Tom Strobel, Mario Ojemudia, Chris Wormley and Taco Charlton on the unit. Terry Richardson will be the leader of the secondary. 

6. USC

For the Trojans to remain in the upper echelon of college football acclaim, they are going have to be smart about roster management when Matt Barkley leaves.

USC is very limited in scholarships, so the coaching staff is going to have to hit on basically every recruit they sign. QB Max Browne is tops in the country for 2013, and presumably, he'll lead a team that includes the following:

Kenny Bigelow, Cyrus Hobbi, Victor Blackwell, Tre Madden, Nelson Agholor, Leonard Williams, Scott Starr, Lamar Dawson, Zach Banner and Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, among many other talents. 

5. Texas

The Longhorns haven't enjoyed much success on the field,—as much as we're used to—but their past couple recruiting classes will certainly help them get back.

With names such as Ricky Seals-Jones, Malcolm Brown, Malcom Brown, Tyrone Swoopes, Caleb Jones, Darius James, Josh Turner, Desmond Jackson, Steve Edmond, Jaxon Shipley, Johnathan Gray, Toshiro Davis, Tim Cole, Peter Jinkens and Kendall Sanders,—among many more elite recruits—you see why Austin will be rockin' and rollin' in a few seasons. 

4. Auburn

I know you may be a bit surprised to see Auburn on this list, but the Tigers will be in a position to be a Final Four team in a few seasons.

Gene Chizik has recruited like a big boy school the past few years, with 2010 and 2011 being banner years on the trail. Even the 2012 class wasn't a slouch.

There's a ton of talent, albeit young, on The Plains, and the Auburn Tigers will be a major player in the SEC again very, very soon.

3. Florida

Florida will be back—in fact, maybe even as early as this 2012 season. If not, they'll be a dominant power again soon, because Will Muschamp has lured in top talent to Gainesville since taking over.

Muschamp has two QBs to work with in Jacoby Brisset and Jeff Driskel, an elite LT in D.J. Humphries, two TEs in Kent Taylor and Colin Thompson, and a RB in Kelvin Taylor.

On defense, Marcus Roberson, Marcus Maye, Brian Poole, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Bullard, Jeremi Powell, Jabari Gorman, Graham Stewart and Daniel McMillan will be standouts on a future Final Four-hungry team. 

2. Florida State

Jimbo Fisher already has established himself as a dominant recruiting head coach in Tallahassee. The 'Noles have recruited extremely, extremely well as of late.

I'm not going to go through the elite names of all the young talent up and down the Seminoles roster, but right now, based on recruiting, the ACC is going to be Florida State's year in and year out for the next couple seasons.

The Final Four model be in play soon, and FSU will be a prime program to be among the top four teams in the country, based on recruiting projections.

1. Alabama

If you want to see how recruiting works from start to finish, then take a look at Alabama the past few years. With two of the last three BCS titles, the 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes were the foundation for these past 'Bama teams.

That's where they got Marcell Dareus and Dre Kirkpatrick and Julio Jones and Mark Barron and Trent Richardson and D.J. Fluker and Mark Ingram and Dont'a Hightower.

These past two years have seen 'Bama recruit on another level, and the Tide undoubtedly will be among the Final four teams in 2014, as their recruiting classes have set them up to be.