Ranking Top 25 Recruiting Classes Heading into 2019 Early Signing Period

While the College Football Playoff is peeking over the horizon, every coach and program is focused on the early signing period for the 2020 recruiting class.

Recruiting doesn't conclude in this three-day period running from Wednesday to Friday, but a majority of the work wraps up before bowl season begins. Most prospects will sign national letters of intent and formally declare their college choices.

The early NSD period can be hectic, though.

Let's assess the current recruiting outlook and lay down a foundation ahead of what could turn into a dramatic few days of commitments, flips and surprises.

25-21. Wisconsin, Florida State, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Stanford

25. Wisconsin Badgers

Class size: 17 (three 4-stars)

Notable recruit: It's commonplace for prospects to change their commitments, and there's not necessarily anything wrong with it. These players are teenagers, after all. Thus, it's notable when someone like 4-star offensive tackle Jack Nelson has held a verbal pledge to Wisconsin since October 2017.

24. Florida State Seminoles

Class size: 13 (seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Demorie Tate, who is ranked No. 50 nationally, is the Seminoles' highest-rated player. Florida State has lost eight commits since firing Willie Taggart and hiring Mike Norvell, but the 4-star cornerback is sticking with his pledge.

23. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Class size: 21 (five 4-stars)

Notable recruit: How about a trio instead? Jordan Davis, Malik Heath and Tyrus Wheat all attend Copiah-Lincoln Community College and are pledged to Mississippi State. Davis is a 4-star defensive end, Heath a 4-star receiver and Wheat a 3-star linebacker.

22. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Class size: 23 (five 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Not only is Jahmyr Gibbs the highest-ranked commit, but the 4-star running back is also the 10th-best in program history. For good measure, 4-star cornerback Miles Brooks is narrowly behind at No. 11 on the all-time list.

21. Stanford Cardinal

Class size: 19 (six 4-stars)

Notable recruit: John Humphreys lit up the box score in high school. After catching 55 passes for 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore, the 4-star wideout posted back-to-back seasons with 100-plus receptions and at least 1,700 yards. He caught 77 touchdowns in high school, per MaxPreps.

20-16. Nebraska, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Oregon

20. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Class size: 19 (seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Scott Frost pulled off a nice steal of linebacker Keyshawn Greene. Previously committed to Florida State, the 4-star had been heavily linked to Miami. Greene instead chose Nebraska after taking an official visit in mid-December.

19. Tennessee Volunteers

Class size: 18 (nine 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Harrison Bailey, a 4-star quarterback out of Marietta, Georgia, guided his high school to its first state championship in 52 years. Bailey's key targets included 5-star LSU commit Arik Gilbert and 3-star Michigan State pledge Ricky White.

18. South Carolina Gamecocks

Class size: 19 (seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Will Muschamp and his staff have reeled in the state's Mr. Football winner for the third straight year. After signing Dakereon Joyner and Zacch Pickens, South Carolina is poised to add 4-star quarterback Luke Doty.

17. North Carolina Tar Heels

Class size: 26 (seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: For the first time since 2009, the Tar Heels have commitments from three of the state's four best players. Those 4-star pledges include a trio of defensive ends in Desmond Evans, Myles Murphy and Kedrick Bingley-Jones.

16. Oregon Ducks

Class size: 22 (one 5-star, seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: High expectations will accompany Noah Sewell to Eugene. He's both a 5-star linebacker and the brother of All-American left tackle Penei Sewell. Noah also has brothers who play for Nevada (Gabriel) and Nephi (Utah).

15-11. Miami, Penn State, Washington, Notre Dame, Michigan

15. Miami Hurricanes

Class size: 20 (11 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Despite an ugly 6-6 season in Manny Diaz's first year as head coach, Miami is clinging to a respectable class. The Hurricanes will sign a borderline 5-star in running back Don Chaney Jr., who is ranked No. 35 overall in this cycle.

14. Penn State Nittany Lions

Class size: 27 (11 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Penn State crossed the border for Theo Johnson, a 4-star tight end from Windsor, Ontario. He's the highest-rated Canadian prospect in 2020 at No. 84 overall.

13. Washington Huskies

Class size: 22 (one 5-star, nine 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Sav'ell Smalls is the third-best recruit in program history. The 5-star linebacker trails only current Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson and former NFL receiver Reggie Williams on Washington's all-time list.

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Class size: 17 (two 5-stars, seven 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Notre Dame is ready to sign two 5-stars in running back Chris Tyree and wideout Jordan Johnson. However, the most head-turning player is an unexpected 3-star: Alexander Ehrensberger, a defensive end from Germany.

11. Michigan Wolverines

Class size: 25 (13 4-stars)

Notable recruit: Michigan has swiped the top player from Illinois for the second straight year. In 2019, the Wolverines grabbed offensive tackle Trevor Keegan. This year, they're set to sign 4-star receiver A.J. Henning, a top-100 prospect who could be an immediate contributor if a couple of key wideouts declare for the NFL draft.

10. Oklahoma Sooners

Class size: 20 (13 4-stars)

Top prospect: Jase McClellan (No. 8 RB, No. 43 OVR)

Notable recruits

Yes, the Sooners have enjoyed a remarkable string of quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts with Spencer Rattler likely to take over. But the lesser-discussed reason for the program's success is a strong offensive line.

That trend should continue since Oklahoma is set to sign Nate Anderson, Andrew Raym and Aaryn Parks, who are considered the Nos. 1, 2 and 6 guard prospects in this class.

9. Auburn Tigers

Class size: 20 (one 5-star, 10 4-stars)

Top prospect: Tank Bigsby (No. 4 RB, No. 27 OVR)

Notable recruits

Highlighted by top-100 prospect Kobe Hudson, Auburn has plucked a trio of 4-star receivers in this haul. Hudson—a tremendous athlete who also played quarterback in high school—is ranked as the No. 93 overall prospect for the cycle.

Ze'Vian Capers and J.J. Evans complete the triumvirate, and the Tigers also have a 3-star wideout in Elijah Canion. Bo Nix could have a plethora of new targets next season.

8. Florida Gators

Class size: 24 commits (16 4-stars)

Top prospect: Gervon Dexter (No. 3 DT, No. 31 OVR)

Notable recruits

According to Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports, the Gators already have three early enrollees on campus: 4-star quarterback Anthony Richardson, 4-star offensive tackle Joshua Braun and 3-star offensive guard Richard Leonard.

Florida is padding the secondary with a pair of top-10 cornerbacks too. Jahari Rogers and Ethan Pouncey are considered the seventh- and ninth-best players at the position, respectively.

7. Texas Longhorns

Class size: 17 commits (one 5-star, 13 4-stars)

Top prospect: Bijan Robinson (No. 2 RB, No. 15 OVR)

Notable recruits

Robinson posted three consecutive 2,000-yard seasons in high school, according to MaxPreps. Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer profiled the 5-star running back.

The Longhorns also tapped into the Lake Travis quarterback pipeline, plucking 4-star Hudson Card. Along with Baker Mayfield, the high school also produced current Baylor starter Charlie Brewer, TCU backup Matthew Baldwin and former Texas/SMU and Virginia Tech starters Garrett Gilbert and Michael Brewer.

6. Georgia Bulldogs

Class size: 15 (two 5-stars, 11 4-stars)

Top prospect: Mekhail Sherman (No. 2 OLB, No. 18 OVR)

Notable recruits

Low on volume doesn't mean short on talent. Plus, Georgia packed a ton of size into the relatively small class.

Five-star offensive tackle Broderick Jones headlines a group of blockers that includes 4-stars Tate Ratledge, Sedrick Van Pran and Chad Lindberg. On defense, the Dawgs hold pledges from 4-star linemen Jalen Carter, Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse.

5. Texas A&M Aggies

Class size: 20 (one 5-star, 10 4-stars)

Top prospect: Demond Demas (No. 3 WR, No. 22 OVR)

Notable recruits

Demas attracts the most attention because of his 5-star billing, but Jaylon Jones narrowly missed the mark. The nation's top-rated safety, he's also the second-highest-ranked 4-star in the 2020 cycle behind Clemson commit Trenton Simpson.

Muhsin Muhammad III is the son of former NFL receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who ranks 32nd in league history with 11,438 yards. The younger Muhummad is a 4-star wideout.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

Class size: 25 (two 5-stars, 14 4-stars)

Top prospect: Julian Fleming (No. 1 WR, No. 2 OVR)

Notable recruits

In today's era of dynamic spread offenses, you can hardly have enough pass-catchers. Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline deserves a ton of credit for this stellar group of wideouts.

Fleming is the unquestioned prize, considering he's the country's second-best overall prospect behind Clemson pledge Bryan Bresee. The Buckeyes also have Jaxon Smith-Njigba (33rd nationally), Gee Scott Jr. (62nd) and Mookie Cooper (82nd) committed.

3. LSU Tigers

Class size: 23 (three 5-stars, 14 4-stars)

Top prospect: Arik Gilbert (No. 1 TE, No. 9 OVR)

Notable recruits

Similar to Ohio State, LSU has a recruiting haul stacked with pass-catching talent. In addition to Gilbert, the Tigers hold pledges from 5-star wideout Rakim Jarrett and a trio of 4-stars in Kayshon Boutte—the highest-rated prospect from Louisiana—Jermaine Burton and Koy Moore. Boutte and Burton are top-60 players.

Demon Clowney, a 4-star defensive end, is the cousin of South Carolina legend and NFL star Jadeveon Clowney.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Class size: 25 (three 5-stars, 18 4-stars)

Top prospect: Bryce Young (No. 1 QB, No. 6 OVR)

Notable recruits

Under the assumption Tua Tagovailoa will declare for the NFL draft, Alabama will have a new starter in 2020. Mac Jones and Taulia Tagovailoa may return, but Young will provide great competition. He threw for 13,250 yards, scampered for 1,084 and totaled 178 touchdowns in high school, according to MaxPreps.

Nick Saban and Co. nearly locked down the state, securing pledges from eight of Alabama's 10 best prospects. Four-star linebackers Demouy Kennedy and Quandarrius Robinson are top-50 players.

1. Clemson Tigers

Class size: 22 (six 5-stars, 10 4-stars)

Top prospect: Bryan Bresee (No. 1 DT, No. 1 OVR)

Notable recruits

Do you remember how Clemson had Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Austin Bryant—the "Power Rangers" defensive line—to lead the 2018 championship team? The Tigers may have another elite unit brewing with Bresee, end Myles Murphy and tackle Demonte Capehart, all 5-stars. Four-star tackle Tre Williams is viewed as the No. 87 prospect nationally too.

Clemson might also be signing Trevor Lawrence's successor in 5-star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. He tossed 123 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions in high school, per MaxPreps.

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.