Winners, Losers from the College Football Recruiting Trail for the Month of July
July brought the heat—in temperature and recruiting.
While June proved to be a busy recruiting month, July was just as entertaining for those who follow college football recruiting. Ohio State is still the nation's leader, according to the 247Sports composite team rankings, but the race to be in the top five has been a classic back-and-forth battle with roughly seven months remaining until national signing day.
With all the action, there were some definite winners in July. In addition, A few teams didn't fare well with recruiting during the month. Here are the winners and losers as we prepare for what is anticipated to be an exciting August.
Winner: South Florida
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Few schools, from the Power Five powerhouse to college football's cellar-dwellers, can claim a month like the one South Florida had. The Bulls landed a dozen commitments—11 in the 2017 class and one in the 2018 class in 4-star athlete Jermaine Eskridge.
Here's what most impressive: South Florida had only one pledge before July 19—3-star wide receiver Jernard Phillips, who committed on April 17.
Credit the Bulls' Saturday Night Live event for producing one of the best five-day stretches in college football recruiting. South Florida scored a huge recruiting win on Wednesday when 4-star athlete Bruce Judson gave his verbal commitment. Judson is the school's top-rated commit and was one of four players to commit to the Bulls on Wednesday.
All 12 South Florida pledges hail from the state of Florida—something that head coach Willie Taggart and his staff must be proud of.
Loser: Michigan
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Is Michigan ever really losing? The Wolverines have been a topic of discussion, and head coach Jim Harbaugh made a splash in and out of Big Ten media days—the rap video is proof.
From a recruiting standpoint, however, July was relatively quiet for the Wolverines. June included five commitments in the 2017 class and two more in the 2018 class, but after 4-star offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert's commitment—courtesy of a highly discussed Bleacher Report commitment video—recruiting was subdued for Michigan this month.
It probably doesn't help that Michigan's nemesis, Ohio State, has the top-rated 2017 class and also jump-started its 2018 class this month with a 4-star backfield of quarterback Emory Jones and running back Brian Snead.
Don't expect many consecutive weeks where Michigan sees a drought in recruiting. The Wolverines are high on the list of several top uncommitted athletes.
Winner: Alabama
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The phrase "the rich get richer" may sound redundant when discussing Alabama recruiting. But in this case, being redundant also means being accurate for the defending national champs.
The Crimson Tide picked up four commitments in July. The biggest took place Thursday night, when 4-star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy announced his verbal commitment. Jeudy is a dynamic receiver who has made all kinds of noise throughout the summer with his play at The Opening and at summer camps.
Joining Jeudy in committing this month were 4-star defensive tackle Akial Byers, 4-star JUCO cornerback Jhavonte Dean and 3-star offensive tackle Hunter Brannon. Collectively, Alabama now has 18 commitments and is ranked No. 2 in the 247Sports composite team rankings, a few points behind Ohio State.
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Winner: Miami
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As 4-star offensive tackle Navaughn Donaldson recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of his commitment to Miami, four athletes chose to make Coral Gables, Florida, their future college home this month.
The Hurricanes picked up commitments from four prospects in the 2017 class and one in the 2018 class in 3-star offensive tackle Delone Scaife. The commitment of the 3-star trio of offensive tackle Zalontae Hillery, cornerback Brian Edwards and Evidence Njoku was a nice mid-July present for new head coach Mark Richt.
Miami's biggest get not only of the month but of the year was 4-star defensive end D.J. Johnson, who committed Monday. Johnson claims 100 offers but chose the Hurricanes in a recent commitment video. He is Miami's top-rated defensive pledge.
Loser: USC
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With nine commitments, USC is set up well for a strong finish in 2017 recruiting. The Trojans, however, are looking to get off a slump of sorts. USC didn't land a July commit and hasn't picked up a pledge since the 3-star duo of tight end Erik Krommenhoek and safety C.J. Miller both announced on June 20.
USC has a 5-star running back pledge in Stephen Carr, as well as a 4-star offensive lineman pledge in Brett Neilon. Aside from those two, the Trojans do not have another 4-star commit, and other schools around them are starting to pick up pace in the Pac-12 recruiting race.
Winner: Tennessee
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June was an excellent recruiting month for the Tennessee Volunteers, and July has proved to be effective as well. The Volunteers had 11 players commit—10 in the 2017 class and one in the 2018 class (4-star athlete Alontae Taylor)—in June and added another six pledges to the 2017 class this month.
Adding the defensive tackle twin tandem of 4-star Breyon Gaddy and 3-star Brandon Gaddy was big for Tennessee. Combined, they had 29 reported offers. Cornerback C.J. Cotman is a 3-star prospect who is wanted by multiple schools. He has 32 reported offers.
The summer has been one to remember for head coach Butch Jones and his staff. Of the 25 total commits representing the 2017 and 2018 class, 17 have come in June and July.
Winner: Missouri
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Seven athletes chose to give their verbal commitments to Missouri and head coach Barry Odom this month. Six of them represent the 2017 class, and two of those six are the top-rated offensive and defensive prospects in the class.
The Tigers scored a big win in landing 3-star offensive tackle Case Cook, who has 24 reported offers. Cook is a versatile athlete who can play anywhere on the offensive line. On defense, Missouri added Aubrey Miller, a driven 3-star linebacker who plays with a lot of intensity and aggressiveness and also plays larger than his 6'0", 207-pound frame.
Missouri also helped its cause for the future in landing a 3-star commit in defensive end Daniel Parker. The Blue Springs, Missouri, standout is the first 2018 commit for the Tigers and could serve as a keystone as they look to continue recruiting their home state.
Loser: Texas
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On Wednesday, Texas was able to flip 3-star cornerback Josh Thompson, who once was committed to TCU. But even with Thompson's commitment, the Longhorns have only seven pledges in their 2017 class—and three of those commitments occurred last year. Texas (No. 49) is barely ranked among the nation's top 50 classes at the moment.
Here's the thing, though: Texas fans saw this movie last year and loved the ending. The Longhorns closed strong with the 2016 recruiting class and ultimately finished with a top-10 national class.
Will Texas start slow, only to close in champion fashion with the 2017 class? It's a possibility, as several top-ranked in-state prospects are still uncommitted and considering playing for head coach Charlie Strong.
Winner: Troy
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Troy is proof that you don't need to be a Power Five program to recruit well. The Trojans added six commitments this month to their 2017 class, and they're hoping to add more names in the next few days.
Troy met its offensive needs, as quarterback Will Lovett, wide receiver Luke Whittemore and running backs DeKarlos Billingsley and Brandon Archibald all gave rising head coach Neal Brown their verbal pledges. The Trojans also landed a solid defensive pledge in cornerback Tre' Young, a talented athlete who also has offers from Minnesota and Georgia State.
Troy boasts 14 commits in its 2017 class, and nine of them have come since June 21.
Winner: Colorado
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How did Colorado follow up a month of June that included seven commitments to its 2017 class? The Buffaloes added five more commits in July.
The state of Texas has been a fertile hunting ground of sorts for Colorado, as six of its 16 pledges hail from the Lone Star State. Two big July commits include Denton, Texas, offensive tackle Grant Polley and Allen, Texas, lineman Will Sherman—who former high school teammate and current Ole Miss freshman Greg Little described to Bleacher Report as "the next big thing."
Colorado's recruiting class is underrated, as it is on the outside of being a top-30 class. The class ranks third in the Pac-12 behind Arizona and Washington, and there is plenty of time for the Buffaloes to add key players to strengthen the roster.
Winner: Notre Dame
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Notre Dame is keeping the recruiting train at a steady pace. After getting seven commits last month for the 2017 and 2018 classes, the Fighting Irish added five more combined for both classes this month.
Robert Hainsey, a 4-star interior offensive lineman, committed to the Irish at The Opening on July 10. Darnell Ewell, a 4-star defensive tackle, gave his pledge to Notre Dame five days later. Another 4-star commit, versatile athlete C.J. Holmes, is ranked the No. 2 player in Connecticut.
The Irish also landed a 4-star linebacker for the 2018 class in Ovie Oghoufo, who is ranked the No. 4 player in the state of Michigan. Oghoufo is Notre Dame's fifth commit on the 2018 class. All five pledges are rated as 4-star or better.
Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles
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