The 3 Schools Capable of Ending Alabama's Recruiting Dynasty

Want to know why Alabama is in the running for the national championship basically every year? Don't just look at head coach Nick Saban. Check out this trend: 

Should Alabama stay at No. 1 in 247Sports' recruiting team rankings over the next 36 hours or so, it will be the fifth year in a row the Tide have finished with the nation's top class. 

Five. One, two, three, four, five. 

There's an argument to be made that the Tide are in the middle of a dynasty on the field. There's no argument, however, about Alabama's dynasty on the recruiting trail. 

To provide some context, the gap between the Tide and the class closest behind them (No. 2 Florida State) is about 25 composite points via 247Sports as of Tuesday morning.

What exactly does that mean?

Composite rankings provide a better overall evaluation of prospects and classes because they use an algorithm that takes numerous averages into account, rather than one set of opinions. 

That 25-point gap also represents the distance between Mississippi State, which has the No. 18 class, and Nebraska, which has the No. 30 class.  

Of course, this is "crootin'", meaning plenty of things can change in 24 hours. Can any program end Alabama's streak as the best recruiting school in major college football?

There are a few schools with a fighting chance of overtaking Alabama this year. Falling short of that, they could end up No. 1 on other sites, like Rivals.com or Scout.com.

In the bigger picture, though, these are also programs capable of stealing the recruiting crown away from Alabama in the future.  

USC

USC has the No. 3 class right now, but it feels like the Trojans have the highest ceiling of anyone on signing day. That was noted by B/R recruiting specialist Damon Sayles earlier this week. 

This is already building up to be a solid class for head coach Steve Sarkisian, even if nothing changes in the next day. For that reason alone, the Trojans are the best option to leapfrog Alabama. 

Cornerback Iman Marshall, the No. 1 player at his position and a top-five prospect nationally, is extremely interested in USC. In addition to Marshall, USC is also in the running for 5-star defensive tackle Rasheem Green, 4-star linebackers Porter Gustin and John Houston and a handful of other 4-star players. 

The good news for Sarkisian is that Green, Gustin and Houston aren't considering Alabama. Per Sayles, USC is in great position to land all three. Marshall is the wild card since he didn't take an official visit to USC. 

Landing all four? That would be huge for USC's chances at nabbing the top class. 

"I think it’s going to be like Christmas," USC quarterback Ricky Town told Brian McLaughlin of Sporting News. "It’ll be an anxious couple of days, but it’ll be great to see what actually happens. If all goes to plan, we’d be getting all of those guys."

Florida State

The Seminoles have been a recruiting machine under head coach Jimbo Fisher, and the 2015 class is shaping up to be stellar. In fact, Florida State is No. 2 in the country with four 5-star commits. 

What Florida State needs to do is secure a few remaining 5-stars who, at the moment, could be headed elsewhere. Since the Noles have only 19 recruits in their 2015 class, seven of which are early enrollees, there's still some room for Fisher to add players. 

Marshall and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. have Florida State listed among their top choices. Byron Cowart, the top defensive end in the country and a Florida prospect, appears bound for either Florida or Auburn. 

The likelihood of getting all three is low, but nabbing one ore two—coupled with Alabama losing a player or two to decommitments—could give Florida State a shot. Fisher, along with two other coaches, recently visited Marshall. How did the visit go? We'll find out on Wednesday. 

Tennessee

If we're being honest, Tennessee is a long shot for a couple of reasons. That said, head coach Butch Jones has been crushing it on the recruiting trail. 

The Vols flipped 4-star lineman Drew Richmond, previously an Ole Miss commit, according to Ryan Bartow and David Johnson of 247Sports. Because Richmond hasn't offered his verbal or written pledge to Tennessee, he won't count toward the class just yet. As a result, there's some room for Tennessee to move up. 

But therein lies a roadblock for the Vols: Their class is already 28 members strong. The only other recruit that could boost Tennessee's class ranking is 4-star lineman Patrick Allen, who has the Vols listed among his top four.

Beyond that, Jones and Co. would need to conjure some signing-day magic. Essentially, everything would have to fall apart for Alabama and the schools above with Tennessee being the primary, if not sole, benefactor.  

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.