Winners and Losers from College Football Recruiting Trail for the Month of April
We're another month closer to national signing day 2016, and the past four weeks have produced plenty of newsworthy developments. The recruiting trail continues to pick up pace, as premier prospects have begun to announce commitments and alter decisions with more frequency.
As the dust settles and we leap into May, let's look back at the college football programs that flourished and floundered during the month of April based on the success of their recruiting.
Winner: Ohio State
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It's good to be the king.
The reigning national champions have carried momentum into this recruiting cycle and continue to put the pieces together for future postseason runs. Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer claimed four commitments in April, headlined by his latest high-profile passer.
Quarterback Tristen Wallace pledged to Ohio State on April 15, giving the Buckeyes another versatile dual-threat playmaker to work with in coming years. The 4-star prospect stands 6'3", 228 pounds and previously committed to Texas Tech.
He joins a class that already features three of the nation's top five running backs in 247Sports' composite rankings. In-state offensive lineman Jack Wohlabaugh, who committed April 18, will look to open holes for them when he gets his shot in Columbus.
Ohio State also addressed defensive needs.
The Buckeyes landed Florida defensive tackle Malik Barrow and Illinois linebacker Tuf Borland, both 4-star talents.
Loser: Baylor
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Baylor held one of the country's most star-studded 2016 class just a few months ago, but things have unraveled a bit. The Bears suffered their second frustrating decommitment since February, as 4-star defensive tackle Jordan Elliott backed off his pledge to the program.
Elliott, a Houston product who is rated 83rd overall in 247Sports' composite rankings, is among the premier defenders in Texas. He collected 78 tackles—31 for loss—and 12 sacks as a junior.
His decision follows suit with another in-state playmaker who previously decommitted from Baylor. Elliott joins 4-star wide receiver Tren'Davian Dickson on the list of players who are no longer bound for Waco.
Dickson, who set an all-time national record with 39 touchdown catches last season, left the class in February.
Baylor did offset some of the pain in April by landing 4-star offensive lineman JP Urquidez, but it's proving difficult to keep together a class that was once ranked top-five nationally.
Winner: Tennessee
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Volunteers head coach Butch Jones has revitalized his roster with impressive recruiting hauls during each of the past two cycles. He has Tennessee well on its way toward another successful signing day, increasing sentiment that the Vols are on the verge of making a leap in SEC competition.
Even when Tennessee held a commitment from 4-star North Carolina quarterback Austin Kendall, the team never stopped pursuing Jarrett Guarantano. Kendall has since moved on to an Oklahoma pledge, but the Vols landed their man on April 15 when Guarantano announced intentions to play in Knoxville.
"It's kind of crazy how Coach Jones came in there and really changed the game with these recruiting classes," he told Bleacher Report. "'Brick-by-brick' is a great philosophy because they are building something special there with talented players, and I think that will continue. Coach Jones does a great job selling that vision to recruits like me and makes it feel like he'll be a second dad for the next four years, taking care of you on and off the field."
His father, Rutgers Hall of Fame wide receiver James Guarantano, played for Jones when the Vols coach served as a Scarlet Knights graduate assistant.
Tennessee added another key offensive piece 10 days later, landing 4-star Georgia lineman Brodarious Hamm, while Alabama athlete TaDarryl Marshall chose the Vols over Alabama and Auburn on April 28.
Marshall stars at quarterback in high school but is likely to line up at wide receiver or defensive back in Knoxville.
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Loser: Rutgers
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Rutgers appeared to be in prime position to land top in-state passer Jarrett Guarantano when April arrived but ultimately fell short in those ambitions. As we mentioned in the previous segment on Tennessee, Guarantano is the son of a Scarlet Knights Hall of Fame alum.
James Guarantano wrapped up his career in Piscataway as the program's all-time leading receiver, and his son landed a Rutgers scholarship offer before high school. Jarrett grew up a short car ride away from campus and spent significant time communicating with head coach Kyle Flood's coaching staff throughout his recruitment.
The Scarlet Knights faced off against fellow finalists Tennessee and Ohio State for his commitment, with the former landing his pledge. Rutgers likely isn't done pursuing Guarantano, but it's obviously a major blow to recruiting efforts that span three years.
"Rutgers is a place I've always loved, and it's been a big part of my life," Guarantano told Bleacher Report. "That coaching staff has made me feel like family more than anyone else in the country. Rutgers will forever be a great place in my heart."
The Scarlet Knights also lost a commitment from the team's first 2016 pickup.
Massive Pennsylvania offensive lineman Ted Field shared he had a change of heart on Twitter. His departure leaves Rutgers with four commitments in the class.
Winner: Stanford
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Stanford shot up to 20th in 247Sports' national recruiting rankings with a huge April effort. Following a late March pledge from top-rated California quarterback KJ Costello, things continued moving in the right direction for head coach David Shaw.
The Cardinal secured another impressive offensive weapon with a commitment from 4-star Texas tight end Kaden Smith, who may be the top player at his position in this class.
"They had the best education I was looking for," Smith told Kevin Gemmell of ESPN.com. "They use multiple tight ends in a game, three, maybe four next year. And just the campus life, it is great, something that I'm looking for."
Just days after Smith hopped on board, more good news arrived for Stanford recruiting.
California linebacker Curtis Robinson and Tennessee cornerback Nygel Edmonds—both 4-star recruits—committed to Stanford within 24 hours of each other.
Less than a week later, the defensive haul became even better when Louisiana safety Malik Antoine announced plans to play in Palo Alto.
Loser: Florida
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Gators head coach Jim McElwain has arguably been the most effective recruiter among first-year head coaches, but April wasn't exactly beneficial for Florida. In fact, it was downright bizarre toward the end.
The final weekend of the month seemed to give the Gators a 4-star running back commit in Robert Washington. The prolific North Carolina prospect announced his pledge to Florida in an exclusive Bleacher Report commitment video that was published at approximately 2:30 p.m ET on April 25.
Florida fans reacted with joy on social media, and it seemed to be another key pickup for McElwain. In the video, Washington expressed excitement about his future in Gainesville and the possibility of pairing up with childhood friend Will Grier, who is currently fighting for the team's starting quarterback job.
However, it was a short-lived match.
Washington held a live announcement ceremony at 3 p.m., revealing an unexpected change of heart by declaring plans to play for Syracuse. Suddenly, things in the recruiting spectrum got silly, and the Gators missed out on a running back with nearly 6,000 rushing yards in high school.
You can't necessarily blame Florida for this one, but it stings nonetheless.
It was a wild conclusion for an April that was otherwise relatively quiet. Florida failed to land a 2016 commitment for the first month this year.
Winner: Michigan
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Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't secure a single 2016 commitment during his first three months in Ann Arbor. His program underwent a momentum switch in April, bringing aboard four new prospects from three different states.
Indiana quarterback Brandon Peters kicked things off by announcing his commitment while on campus for the spring game. He elected to end his recruitment just weeks after naming Michigan, Wisconsin and LSU as a few of his favorites.
Peters drew strong praise from Harbaugh during the process.
"He compared me to Andrew Luck," he told Bleacher Report. "It's a similar situation to what he had at Stanford, with Luck being the first quarterback recruit he brought in [with a full cycle]. He thinks I'm a really good fit for him at Michigan like Luck was for him there."
Peters was soon joined in the future Wolverines backfield by top in-state running back Matthew Falcon. The versatile rusher grew up minutes away from Ann Arbor, but his announcement came earlier than expected, as he was set to visit Tennessee before reaching a decision.
“Michigan is so close to home. It’s probably about a 15-minute drive going up to Ann Arbor, which is great," Falcon told Bleacher Report. "Coach Harbaugh came in with a whole new staff, and they’re doing big things. They’re on the rebuilding path to get Michigan back to where it once was.”
Michigan also landed a pair of 3-star prospects who attended the spring game when Michigan linebacker David Reese flipped from Louisville and Alabama fullback Kingston Davis declared his intentions.
All quotes obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report National Recruiting Analyst Tyler Donohue.
Recruit ratings courtesy of 247Sports.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
