7 Small 2013 College Football Recruiting Classes That Could Pack a Big Punch

Quality over quantity is what I prefer when it comes to a college football recruiting class. Whether you sign just one player or 30 players, they have to be quality prospects. Some highly ranked classes are chalked full of 2-star and 3-star prospects that aid their numbers.

I rather sign a class of less players but of higher quality than a class of more players with lesser quality. For this 2013 recruiting cycle, I notice seven schools have relatively small recruiting classes that could indeed still pack a big punch when they get on the field together.

Let me tell you who those seven recruiting classes are.

UCLA

The Bruins have an average-sized class right now of 17 commits. Scout.com ranks the class at No. 13, while ESPNU has them within the top 25.

This is a class that I like, as it has several great quality prospects. OLB Deon Hollins could be a top-notch Pac-12 pass-rusher; Cameron Judge will aid him. OC Scott Quessenberry will be an early starter and will be joined by 6'7", 310-pound Erik Bunte.

Jim Mora will mold this class into being very productive in Westwood.

Nebraska

Big Red has a class of just 14 commits, but it's ranked at No. 20 by Scout.com. Christian Lacouture is the headliner, but the 6'5", 250-pound DT prospect isn't alone.

AB Johnny Stanton fits Nebraska football very well. He's a dual threat QB from California that has been compared to a better passing Tim Tebow. DE AJ Natter will be a starter one day, and so will S Marcus McWilson, LB Josh Banderas and OT Dan Samuelson, among others.

Miami

The Hurricanes are not on a pace that will see them sign a big class this year. Al Golden only has 11 pledges, and there probably won't a be a dramatic increase to that number.

The class, however, is still pretty good, like No. 17 in the ESPNU class rankings good. QB Kevin Olsen could be the future player Golden builds the program around, aside from already having Duke Johnson.

Olsen will lead a class that boasts quality prospects like CB Artie Burns, TE Travis Johnson, RB Alex Collins and DT Keith Bryant, should he remain committed. This is a good recruiting class, even though the number don't show it. 

Oklahoma

The Sooners don't boast a big class at all, with only having 12 commitments thus far. Yet six of their pledges are members of the ESPNU 300. 

Bob Stoops' class is spearheaded by top-caliber prospects such as RB Keith Ford, QB Cody Thomas, DE D.J. Ward and S Hatari Byrd. I don't foresee Oklahoma making much a late cycle run at many elite names aside from DT Justin Manning, so look for this small class to pride itself on quality.

Texas

The Longhorns may have gotten beat up last weekend by their Red River Rivalry rivals, but they still have a great recruiting class that isn't too large.

Texas has just 15 commitments this year, whereas we've certainly seen it sign bigger classes in the past. The quality and punch this class packs, however, is very impressive.

Eleven of the 15 commitments are ESPNU 300 members, with OC Darius James, QB Tyrone Swoopes, OT Jake Raulerson and OLB Deoundrei Davis.

Oregon

The Ducks are enjoying an excellent season and could be on their way back to the BCS title game again. While they are doing big things on the field this year, big doesn't seem to be the theme for this 2013 recruiting cycle in Eugene.

Oregon has just 10 committed players to its class, but this small class carries a big stick. It is led by two of the better RB prospects nationally in Thomas Tyner and Dontre Wilson.

Both are speedsters, and Tyner could be the nation's fastest player. OT Evan Voeller is another prospect that will make some noise, as will John Mundt.

Stanford

Talk about a small class. As it stands right now, only seven players are set to be incoming to The Farm next season.

David Shaw may have some tricks up his sleeve, and he does have a chance to land a couple top-tier uncommitted prospects. Although seven is a low number of commitments, this is a very high-quality group.

QB Ryan Burns could be the next great Stanford field general, Peter Kalambayi and Kevin Palma fit the physical defensive profile the Cardinals like and Francis Owusu is a big 6'3", 195-pound receiver that has family ties to The Farm.

If you're going by numbers, then this class isn't for you, but I do know this is a quality class.

 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.