Top College Football Recruiting Classes 2015: Highlighting Elite Programs

National signing day proved to be big for many major college football programs, but a familiar powerhouse stood out at the top.

The Alabama Crimson Tide signed five 247Sports 5-star recruits on Wednesday, ensuring their status as having the country's best crop of incoming freshman talent.

A huge push by UCLA saw the Bruins jump up 12 spots in 247Sports' recruiting rankings to No. 7. Another big riser was Michigan, soaring 33 positions to have the 38th-ranked 2015 class. It appears the influence of new coach Jim Harbaugh is already being exacted with great success.

But the biggest move of all was made by the Florida Gators. In just one day, they went up 45 positions to No. 21.

Below is an overview of the top 10 schools from 247Sports after an eventful Wednesday full of top prospects announcing their college decisions:

Rank	Team	5-Star	4-Star	3-Star
1	Alabama	6	14	4
2	USC	4	14	8
3	Florida State	4	10	6
4	Tennessee	1	15	12
5	LSU	2	11	10
6	Ohio State	1	14	11
7	UCLA	3	11	6
8	Clemson	3	9	11
9	Auburn	1	18	8
10	Georgia	2	11	15

Wide receiver Calvin Ridley and running back Damien Harris are the No. 1 players at their respective positions in 247Sports' composite rankings. Both are taking their talents to Tuscaloosa.

Bleacher Report lead SEC writer Barrett Sallee praised the batch of stars Alabama brought in:

It also appears the Pac-12 is surging in Los Angeles. As was mentioned before, UCLA got a load of exceptional players to set itself up for conference championship contention.

Among the notables from UCLA's signing-day commitments were Snoop Dogg's son Cordell Broadus, a 4-star receiver, along with 5-star running back Soso Jamabo and dynamic pass-catching tight end Chris Clark.

The latter two weapons are great for 5-star pocket passer Josh Rosen, but Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports notes how Broadus also fits in with UCLA's prospective quarterback of the future:

The Bruins' task to ascend to the top of that competitive cluster will be made difficult by their rival USC, though, who ranks second in 247Sports' evaluation.

Consensus No. 1 cornerback Iman Marshall broke news of his decision to go to the Trojans in a crafty, innovative music video produced by Bleacher Report:

Marshall figures to develop into one of the better cornerbacks in the college game to boost USC's secondary, but another 5-star stud in defensive tackle Rasheem Green is tasked with shoring up the Trojan trenches.

The departure of top NFL draft prospect Leonard Williams from the defensive line offers Green at least a chance to get into the rotation as a true freshman.

As for Harbaugh, he landed a 6'6", 260-pound tight end in the 4-star Tyrone Wheatley Jr., along with a ton of 3-star recruits. However, Harbaugh bolstered a program at Stanford heavily based on academics, so he can win in the short term with marginal talent and then attract the elite prospects thereafter.

CBS Sports logged what Harbaugh had to say ahead of his maiden season in Ann Arbor:

To hop back to the SEC and discuss those who hope to compete with Alabama, coach Butch Jones did an outstanding job in landing a ton of commitments for Tennessee.

The Volunteers have a big incoming class of 29 players that should supply them with the necessary depth to contend in the nation's toughest conference.

LSU had a strong showing—hardly a surprise with a personable head coach in Les Miles at the helm. The Auburn Tigers' efforts paid off to land 5-star defensive end Byron Cowart, a development that has to have new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp fired up.

But there is a bit of controversy regarding Cowart's decision, as Scout.com's Jamie Newberg reports:

Although the Gators missed out on Cowart, they landed the No. 2 prospect in the country in offensive tackle Martez Ivey as the crown jewel of their maiden haul under first-year head coach Jim McElwain.

A pair of 4-star ball-carriers in Jordan Scarlett (from powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas) and D'Anfernee McGriff gives Florida a viable future backfield tandem.

The big score of the day among the 19 signings the Gators made was 5-star defensive end CeCe Jefferson. Derek Tyson of ESPN weighed in:

ESPN Stats & Info notes how important consistency in recruiting is to sustainable greatness on the gridiron:

It's therefore little surprise that the program Saban has built in Tuscaloosa has once more attracted the most top-tier talent to Alabama.

As was hinted in the analysis on Harbaugh before, though, there is plenty of good coaching across the country and in the Tide's own conference to present formidable competition. Recruits who aren't as highly touted and get their chance to shine in college can help lift a team to another level.

The reigning champion Ohio State Buckeyes seem to have stocked up with a strong class, which is scary for opponents to fathom since OSU has so many returning from this last year's title-winning team.

While a few familiar NCAA football institutions dominated Wednesday's action, surges by the likes of Tennessee, UCLA and others will be worth bearing in mind during the 2015 season and beyond.

Note: All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.