Power Ranking Every Pac-12 Team's 2015 Recruiting Class
The 2015 national signing day is now officially in the books, and it was a very productive day for the Pac-12. Teams ushered in great amounts of talent to the conference.
Staying true to form, the usual suspects signed very good classes. Rising programs within the conference also added some promising pieces.
This article will rank the 2015 classes for each Pac-12 school—from the bottom class to the top class. These rankings are based upon overall talent and how well each program met its respective needs.
12. Colorado
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Colorado has won 10 games in the last four years combined. This track record won't result in too many 4- and 5-star recruits.
The current class for head coach Mike MacIntyre isn't stellar by any stretch. The lack of high-end talent and name recognition lends itself to making this class one of the poorer ones in the conference.
With that said, there's a lot to like about what MacIntyre and his staff did.
There was a concerted effort to improve both the offensive and defensive lines. Colorado signed five defensive linemen and three offensive linemen—including in-state studs Tim Lynott and Dillon Middlemiss. Both should instantly pop up within the two-deep the minute they step onto the campus in Boulder.
California running back Donald Gordon may be one of the most underrated players on the West Coast. He's got big-play ability and should be able to garner playing time as a true freshman. Fellow running back Patrick Carr out of Texas is also a talented prospect.
Lastly, tight end Chris Bounds is an intriguing tight end prospect. Not only does he have good hands in the passing game, but he's also a very good blocker.
It's a process for Colorado, which appears to be back on track to respectability.
11. Oregon State
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Despite having less than a month to essentially build a recruiting class, Gary Andersen and his staff did a great job closing strong.
The class was punctuated on national signing day with the announcements of defensive end Simi Moala, defensive back Treston DeCoud and running back Paul Lucas. Lucas in particular has a chance at playing early. The Phoenix native has terrific speed and very good elusiveness. He flipped over to the Beavers after previously opting for Arizona State.
Signing linebacker Christian Folau and athlete Tuli Wily-Matagi give OSU two jumbo athletes with the versatility to play multiple positions. Wily-Matagi in particular could be the most intriguing athlete Andersen signed in 2015.
Lastly, the Beavers infiltrated the state of Florida. OSU was able to poach a few prospects from the Sunshine State. Deltron Sands, Jay Irvine and Taylor Thomas instantly upgrade the overall speed on the roster.
With a limited amount of time, Anderson and his staff did quite well for themselves.
10. Utah
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With the team coming off of its best season since 2010, one would've thought Utah could be in line for an uptick in regard to its 2015 recruiting class.
Unfortunately for the Utes, this scenario didn't exactly play out. Kyle Whittingham and his staff struck out on the vast majority of the elite in-state prospects (Porter Gustin, Andre James, Osa Masina, Branden Bowen).
The top prospect is likely junior college transfer Cory Butler. With Dres Anderson headed to the NFL, expect Butler to step right into the starting lineup. He's a slippery player with good run-after-the-catch ability.
Utah also emphasized the offensive line within this class, as the Utes signed six prospects. Darrin Paulo and James Empey appear to be the best of the bunch. At 6'7", 330 pounds, Paulo looks primed to contribute early.
As a means to improve the skill positions, Utah signed a plethora of wide receiver prospects (in addition to Butler). Keep an eye on Alfred Smith and George Wilson.
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9. Washington State
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Despite his team finishing this past year with a 3-9 record, Mike Leach signed perhaps his best recruiting class at WSU to date.
There was a concerted effort to improve on the defensive side of the ball. It starts with the headliner of the class in 4-star defensive tackle Thomas Toki. He, along with junior college transfer Jeremiah Mitchell, should help the defensive line play immediately.
Leach loves his receivers, and he landed perhaps the most underrated one on the West Coast in Santa Margarita High School (California) product Kyle Sweet. He's eerily similar to current WSU pass-catcher River Cracraft (who was a high school teammate of Sweet's). Don't be surprised to see Sweet have an all-conference-type career by the end of his time in Pullman.
This class is one chock-full of unknowns. There are a lot of sleepers and lightly regarded players. However, it could ultimately be a class with the potential to surprise some people down the line.
8. Arizona
5 of 12Arizona had the vast majority of its recruiting class committed by October. In fact, only five prospects came on board with the Wildcats after Oct. 12.
While most publications won't rank Arizona's class among the tops in the conference, it's chock-full of kids with intriguing upside.
Offensive tackle Keenan Walker is one of the best in the country. He possesses considerable athleticism to go with tremendous overall length. Walker did recently suffer an ACL injury, likely forcing a redshirt year. Regardless, he's still the headliner in this class. Assuming he recovers, he'll be a staple on the UA line for years to come.
Rich Rodriguez and his staff dipped into the state of Louisiana for four prospects. Of the quartet, keep an eye on running back Orlando Bradford. He chose Arizona over a host of schools, including Tennessee and Utah.
Junior college transfer Anthony Fotu plays like a man amongst boys. It would be a surprise to see him not start next year up front for the Wildcats at either defensive tackle or end. Of the players signed in this class, he's likely the one to make the quickest impact on the field.
This is a vintage Rodriguez class. Regardless of players' star ranking, he targets kids that fit his system. Those athletes are traditionally hard-nosed and play with a chip on their shoulder. This is the case with the 2015 recruiting class for the Arizona Wildcats.
7. California
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Is there a record for most receivers signed in one class?
Staying true to his "Bear Raid" offense, Sonny Dukes loaded up on pass-catching options in this class—signing six wide receivers. The potential jewels of the class are receivers Carlos Strickland and Jaylinn Hawkins. Strickland in particular has the look of a future all-conference performer.
Although a 3-star prospect, athlete Lonny Powell out of Sacramento, California, is a very talented player. He's capable of playing as both a running back and also as a linebacker. Junior college prospects DeVante Wilson and Derron Brown figure to impact the lineup right from the start.
However, Cal failed to address the offensive line. The Golden Bears did do well to sign Hawaiian prospect Semisi Uluave. However, he's possibly headed for an LDS mission which could delay his enrollment. Cal also had an offensive line prospect in Nick Buchanan flip his commitment to Florida.
While Cal did well in certain spots, it didn't impact depth along the offensive front as well as it could have.
6. Washington
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Chris Petersen signed a very solid class for the Washington Huskies.
There's good positional versatility within much of the signees. Many of the skill position players can function as both receivers and defensive backs. The likes of Chico McClatcher, Austin Joyner, Isaiah Renfro and Myles Gaskin also help to enhance the overall amount of athleticism within the team.
Petersen made it a point to target jumbo athletes as well, such as Benning Potoae, Jason Scrempos and Tevis Bartlett. All three should be able to see time on the defensive side of the ball as true freshmen.
This is the first full recruiting cycle for Petersen in Washington. While it may not be as star-studded as those under previous coach Steve Sarkisian, Petersen knows what he wants in a prospect. You can bet this group will be disciplined, intelligent and hard-working.
If there's to be a renaissance with Washington football, this class could be the backbone of a potential resurgence.
5. Stanford
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Stanford was workmanlike in its approach. While it might not have had the same type of star power as classes in the past few years, it was a very good one nonetheless.
Head coach David Shaw cast a wide net with this class. Interestingly enough, he landed a good chunk of the class from the Southeast region of the country. Two of the more talented members of the class—offensive guard Nick Wilson and center Brian Chaffin—hail from Georgia and North Carolina, respectively.
The running back tandem of Cameron Scarlett and Bryce Love gives Stanford a bit of a thunder-and-lightning combination. Southern California corners Frank Buncom IV and Quenton Meeks are long, tall corners with nice upsides.
Receiver Trent Irwin is the one to watch for in this class. He is already incredibly polished and catches virtually everything in sight. It would not be a shock to see him lead the Cardinal in catches next season.
He's that good.
4. Arizona State
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Head coach Todd Graham capitalized on the recent success of his program and came out with a very good 2015 recruiting class for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Southern California was a heavily targeted area—as evidenced by nine signees in the region alone. The group is led by quarterback Brady White. The Hart High School product has been one of the most productive signal-callers in the state for the past few seasons.
Stanley "Scrappy" Norman out of Serra High School should instantly impact on special teams for the Sun Devils. Landing elite defensive tackle prospect Joseph Wicker from Long Beach Poly High School was also significant.
Speaking of jumbo athletes, ASU signed three very good ones in Jaason Lewis, Jay Jay Wilson and Davon Durant. Lewis and Wilson can play multiple positions on either side of the ball, and both have the ability to play on Sundays. It will be a matter of finding where they function best.
Durant is perhaps the best junior college prospect in the nation. There's no question he'll have a major role in Graham's defense next season.
3. Oregon
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Unsurprisingly, Mark Helfrich and the Oregon Ducks signed a quality class.
Oregon has long been criticized as having problems against bigger, more physical teams up front. In order to combat that notion, the Ducks signed five offensive linemen and five defensive linemen.
The crown jewel of the class is Hawaiian defensive end Canton Kaumatule. At 6'7", 290 pounds, there aren't too many more impressive-looking prospects. Kaumatule is incredibly similar to current UO defensive end DeForest Buckner.
Oregon also has some national flavor to its class, inking players from Minnesota, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri and Georgia, among other places.
And it looks primed to continue its strong run on excellent skill position players. Taj Griffin, Alex Ofodile, Kirk Merritt and Malik Lovette are all electric with the ball in their hands.
2. UCLA
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All things considered, this was a monster class for Jim Mora and the UCLA Bruins.
Per the Scout.com recruiting rankings, UCLA finished second to Alabama for the highest star rating average per recruit (4.0) in the entire country.
UCLA did exceptionally well on the offensive side of the ball, landing quarterback Josh Rosen, running back Soso Jamabo and tight end Chris Clark. It also addressed the offensive line, led by Andre James, Josh Wariboko and Fred Ulu-Perry.
Defensively, the team signed six defensive backs and landed one of the premier pass-rushing prospects in the entire country in Keisean Lucier-South.
There were some disappointments, though, namely in regards to Ryan Newsome, Cassius Peat and Joseph Wicker. The commitment of Roquan Smith (and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich) is unsettled as well.
However, UCLA did up the talent level in its program considerably with this class. Rosen, Clark and Jamabo all have a very good chance to contribute as true freshmen this year.
1. Southern Cal
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It was a banner class for Steve Sarkisian and the Southern Cal Trojans.
USC potentially signed the best collection of talent in the entire nation. Corner Iman "Biggie" Marshall is one of the best corner prospects to come out of California in quite some time. He will be joined on the defensive side of the ball by fellow elite prospects Rasheem Green, John Houston, Porter Gustin and Osa Masina.
The Trojans also enhanced the athleticism on the roster with the additions of Ykili Ross, Marvell Tell, Isaiah Langley and Ronald Jones. Jones in particular looks like a star in the making from the running back position.
This class is deep and talented and fulfills a lot of vital needs on the USC roster. More than anything, it replenishes some of the depth the team has lost due to the sanctions on the program. For the first time in years, the Trojans will have a full roster to work with heading into next season.
Simply put, this was a massive day for Sarkisian's program.
*Unless otherwise noted, recruit information via 247Sports.com.
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