CFB Recruiting 2013: One Main Recruiting Priority for Each Preseason Top 25 Team

With college football season set to start next month, surely preseason polls will start spill out and we'll start to have our first concrete rankings for 2012.

ESPN and College Football Live have already unveiled their preseason poll earlier this spring, which I will be using for basis of this story.

For this read, I'm just going to take the top 25 preseason teams and list one main recruiting priority for each as we head into the start of training camp.

Here we go.

25. Florida

For Florida, I think their main recruiting priority is landing 5-star OL Laremy Tunsil. I list this because Tunsil could easily end up at SEC rival schools Alabama or Georgia.

So Will Muschamp has to put the press on he 6'6", 295-pound OT prospect and keep him away from two of his conference rivals.

24. Notre Dame

The Irish have to find a way to keep within close distance of Michigan and Ohio State.

Both of their Midwestern rivals are enjoying great recruiting classes, and while Notre Dame's class isn't a sneezer, the Irish still have to make sure they keep pace with the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

23. Boise State

The Broncos are not a sexy school in recruiting, and it's tough for them to make significant noise on the trail.

However, I think their priority needs to be landing 5'11", 180-pound San Diego RB prospect Pierre Cormier. Cormier likely should be a 4-star prospect and would impact the Broncos program quickly.

22. Texas

The Longhorns have a top-five class, bar none right now. However, it's obvious that their main recruiting priority right now has to be re-securing a commitment from WR Ricky Seals-Jones.

I think RS-J will eventually opt back in with Texas, but don't count out Baylor or LSU. However, Texas needs to be lathering him with love right now.

21. Oklahoma State

The Pokes' main recruiting priority right now likely should be getting Wes Lunt some weapons as they move forward. Lunt has shocked many by entrenching himself as a serious contender for the starting QB job as a true freshman.

Even if he doesn't start this year, it's clear OSU has a future gem and it needs to be making sure it is surrounding him with good weapons for years to come.

20. Ohio State

Urban Meyer has shown already that he can recruit in Columbus and that Ohio State will be a force on the trail.

Right now, as the season approaches, I think his top recruiting priority must be keeping pace with Michigan which would help by prying Vernon Hargreaves III out of Florida.

Working on Hargreaves to get him to trip to Columbus has to be among the top notches on Meyer's list.

19. Virginia Tech

NFL scouts are going to be circling around Blacksburg all fall and winter because Logan Thomas is an intriguing QB prospect.

However, in recruiting, Virginia Tech obviously needs to be going all out for CB Kendall Fuller. Fuller has ties to the Hokies, and missing out on him would be a defeating blow.

18. Clemson

Easy one here for Dabo Swinney, as his main priority is obviously keeping Robert Nkemdiche committed and making sure he receives a signed LOI from the nation's No. 1 overall prospect.

Enough said...

17. Nebraska

The Cornhuskers likely won't land any top 5-star recruits this year, but they still have a chance at landing elite 4-star DE/DT Joe Mathis.

Mathis has to be their main priority right now, as making him a blackshirt defender would help Big Red combat some offenses around the Big Ten.

16. Wisconsin

Even though Wisconsin got QB Bart Houston last year, it seems they want another signal caller in this class.

I think that is the Badgers' main recruiting priority, and one QB they are looking hard at is Johnny Stanton from Southern California.

15. Stanford

The Cardinal have a commitment from QB Ryan Burns, who I feel will be their next great starter. They need to give him some weapons in this class.

Starting wit pass catchers like WR Jordan Cunningham of Florida and TE Hunter Henry of Arkansas would be very good.

14. TCU

TCU is entering Big 12 play this year, and its recruiting profile should rise with BCS association moving forward. 

Just in their backyard is 4-star DT Justin Manning, and the Horned Frogs should be working hard to not let him get out of their site. Manning would be a good fit for TCU.

13. Kansas State

The Wildcats' recruiting class was impressive at all last year. I think their priority this year is a simple one: just don't repeat what happened last year on the recruiting trail.

12. Michigan State

The Spartans are not going to catch Michigan, probably not Ohio State and maybe not even Notre Dame. So their priority must be to get players to combat those three programs on the field that may be getting overlooked.

11. West Virginia

The Mountaineers are moving into Big 12 conference play, and their head coach has some connections around the region.

WVU must use this recruiting cycle and make it a priority to be more visible in the Big 12 region so prospects and high school coaches start to recognize the team and build relationships to help in future recruiting.

10. Michigan

The Wolverines are almost filled up for their 2013 class, and boy is it one for the ages.

Now, Brady Hoke and his staff must prioritize their top remaining prospects while balancing the art of keeping their current class together and starting to work on the 2014 class.

Oh, almost forgot, Kendall Fuller and Laquon Treadwell are also targets who I think the Hokester has his eye on.

9. Arkansas

The main recruiting priority for Arkansas has to be ensuring recruits that this is a stable program still.

Sure, Hunter Henry and Altee Tenpenny are top targets, but the priority has to be stressing to recruits that Arkansas is stable and will have a concrete leader soon.

8. South Carolina

The Gamecocks have a solid class working this year, but clearly they are getting outshined by Clemson.

The recruiting priority for South Carolina has to be reclaiming the Palmetto state. If they don't watch it, before too long Clemson will be ruling the state and pipelining each top-tier recruit that South Carolina wants.

7. Florida State

The Seminoles are a bit behind their pace of the last several years, yet their class is pretty solid still.

Their top recruiting priority must be working hard to get fall visits from Laremy Tunsil, Matthew Thomas, Stacy Coley and Vernon Hargreaves.

Organizing a huge recruiting weekend to nab a couple more elite prospects has to be the focus in Tallahassee. 

6. Georgia

The Bulldogs have two main priorities: landing Laremy Tunsil and re-securing a commitment from Derrick Henry.

With the dismissal of RB Isaiah Crowell, Henry becomes that much more important to their RB depth chart. Both of these players are main priorities also because it's not out of the question that they both could end up at SEC rival Alabama.

5. Oklahoma

The Sooners want a QB in this class. They went hard after Max Browne but came up with Cody Thomas.

Thomas has a huge upside, but he also is a great baseball prospect. OU is going to have to continue recruiting Thomas like he's uncommitted, this time recruiting against the thought of playing Major League Baseball.

4. Oregon

The Ducks have to get Eddie Vanderdoes. With Arik Armstead, Vanderdoes could join to form a devastating DL tandem with size and strength to combat the Pac-12 offenses.

Also, prospects like RB's Derrick Green, WR Alvin Kamara and others remain priorities.

A last priority must be to not let USC and Washington pull so far away from them this year on the trail.

3. Alabama

The Tide have a top-notch recruiting class right now and will go into 2012 looking to repeat as national champs.

However, their main recruiting priority must be to keep Reuben Foster committed. Foster is quite comfy with the Georgia coaches and will also likely take some visits elsewhere.

Perhaps the best LB prospect ever, keeping Foster committed to 'Bama has to be up there on Nick Saban's checklist.

2. LSU

The Tigers shockingly lost Landon Collins to Alabama last year on national television. So this year, as Tim Williams and Kendell Beckwith like both 'Bama and LSU, keeping the two top Louisiana prospects away from their archrivals must be the main priority.

1. USC

The Trojans have put together a great recruiting class this year with several 5-star prospects and not one commit being rated less than 4-stars.

Their main priority as we move forward in this cycle is to really be thorough in who else they take in this recruiting class. With so little wiggle room scholarship-wise, the Trojans have to hit on each and every prospect they sign.

Evaluating is the top priority for the Trojans right now.

Edwin Weathersby has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects and writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (now ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL draft magazine.