College Football Recruiting: The Top 10 Teams Coming on Strong

College football recruiting isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.

So in this piece we'll pay homage to a few of the teams that didn't get off the block quickly, but have picked up the pace lately and are starting to close in on the pack, if they haven't already joined the leaders. 

One key pickup can get the ball rolling and turn a poor man's class into a king's. That's the case with a lot of these schools, but with others aggressive pursuit in the last couple of months deserves the credit for their success. 

We'll be looking at the top 10 schools who started slow, but are picking up steam. That means that the likes of Alabama and Texas are excluded from the list regardless of recent pickups. 

To set parameters, commitments in June, July and August will be weighted against those that came in the months prior. 

10. Arkansas

Arkansas currently has a top 25 recruiting class, but if you'd looked for them on the rankings prior to June you wouldn't have found too much to be excited about short of receiver Keante Minor—a borderline 4-star talent. 

Since then, Arkansas has brought in nine new commitments headlined by offensive tackle Brey Cook. Cook ranks out as a top 10 offensive lineman in the 2011 class, but the truth is he's just a notch below super elite talents like La'El Collins or Cyrus Kouandjio. He'll serve as an anchor on the Arkansas offensive line for years. 

That doesn't make up for the loss of quarterback Kiehl Frazier, the Arkansas native who opted for Auburn rather than staying at home and playing for the Razorbacks, but it's a big step in the right direction.

Cook's addition should set the team up for commitments down the line especially considering Arkansas was also able to get another top 20 offensive tackle in Mitch Smothers.

9. Michigan

Michigan hasn't had much success recruiting this year, but if you were to look at their class a couple weeks ago the situation would look much more bleak than it does now.

We'll stick to the format though. The Wolverines had only five commitments prior to June with Brennen Beyer the only 4-star talent of the bunch. Since then, they've added four more names to the docket, but in this case it really comes down to the last two players to commit. 

Offensive tackle Jake Fisher and linebacker Kellen Jones. 

Both of these 4-star prospects committed in the last two weeks of July and are arguably the top two names in Michigan's recruiting class. Jones is an especially good grab that this program sorely needed in what was turning out to be a very poor recruiting class. 

8. Notre Dame

Notre Dame doesn't quite fit the mold, but you'll see why they're included shortly. The Irish had a relatively strong class through April, with several 4-star recruits and 5-star tight end Ben Koyack on the books, but they weren't among the elite with that group of talent. 

In June and July, Notre Dame added seven commitments to the nine they already had, including key pieces at areas of need with 4-star safety Eilar Hardy, 4-star running back Justice Hayes and 4-star defensive end Aaron Lynch. 

The last two of those commitments came in the final weekend of July and elevated Notre Dame's 2011 class to the ranks of the top 10. 

More importantly, the momentum is really starting to build and that might have led Kasen Williams to include the Irish in his final five choices, which happened shortly after Lynch's announcement. 

7. Penn State

Penn State's recruiting class is the least impressive on this list, but they find themselves in the middle of the pack rather than at the end, because before July 1 the Nittany Lions could claim 2-star tight end Kyle Carter as their only commitment. 

For a team that finished 2010 with a top 10 recruiting class, that must have come as a serious disappointment to the entire program and its fans. Many worry that the status of coach Joe Paterno is starting to serve as a deterrent to potential recruits. 

Penn State's worries can be put on hold though, at least temporarily. 4-star defensive end Shawn Oakman committed on July 1, which sparked top five rated offensive guard Angelo Mangiro to follow suit later that month as well as 3-star defensive end Jordan Kerner.

Considering those additions quadrupled Penn State's 2011 recruiting class and gives them hope for more, that's worthy of bumping some competitors on the list. 

6. Mississippi State

Mississippi State hasn't been doing quite as well as Ole Miss—more on that later—,but they're definitely bringing in a lot of talent lately. 

They haven't really turned things around like some of the other schools on this list, considering three of their five commitments before June received 4-star grades, but the Bulldogs have definitely been coming on strong lately. 

Mississippi State has had 10 commitments since June 10, but the really impressive part is that eight of those came in the last week of July. 

With 4-star safety Darion Arrington, ranked in the top five at his position, and 4-star receiver Joe Morrow headlining the latest bunch of commitments, the Bulldogs have been able to go neck and neck with Ole Miss as the top two recruiting teams closing out the month of July. 

5. Florida

Florida's class only contained four players up until the beginning of June, but of those the Gators held defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan and quarterback Jeff Driskel; both ranked in the B/R Top 50 . Things weren't looking like they usually do for the Gators, especially after their success recruiting in 2010. 

Since June 10, Florida has added eight recruits, including 4-star receivers Javares McRoy and Ja'Juan Story, as well as 4-star outside linebacker Ryan Shazier and 4-star offensive tackle Tommy Jordan.

Their other recruits are more suburban, but overall the additions are enough to get the Gators into the top 15 recruiting classes of 2011. They're also the favorites for several 5-star prospects still on the market, so don't be surprised if Florida's slow start turns into a top five class at the end of the day. 

4. Oregon

Oregon was in the same boat as Penn State for awhile, although their situation wasn't quite as bad. Until mid-June the Ducks had only two commitments, but unlike the Nittany Lions they at least had 4-star safety Tyson Coleman among them. 

Since June 14, Oregon has had eight commitments including 4-star quarterback Jerrard Randall, 4-star offensive tackle Andre Yruretagoyena, and most recently 4-star wide receiver Tacoi Sumler. All three are great additions, but Sumler in particular should thrive in the Ducks' system. 

This lightning fast receiver is the headliner of their top 25 ranked class and has the potential to be a star for this team in a couple years. 

3. Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh had quite a close to July with two major commitments in the last couple days of the month, but their top 20 recruiting ranking for 2011 is somewhat of a new piece of hardware. Before June, the Panthers had only three commitments on the books, all of which were 3-star prospects. 

Since June 5, Pitt has had eight new commitments that catapulted them from a class outside of discussion to one that's clearly the best in its conference and slowly emerging into the national discussion. 

Of their newest additions receiver Bill Belton was the first 4-star commitment to the program, but Pitt's last three commitments have all received 4-star grades as well. 

Defensive tackle Marquise Wright, running back Jameel Poteat and safety Terrell Chestnut all rank among the top 20 at their respective positions. 

2. Ole Miss

Ole Miss has transformed themselves from a school that had one 3-star commitment on June 7, to a top 20 recruiting class in the last two months. 

The Rebels have been tearing it up on the recruiting scene since the start of June with 13 new commitments coming since June 8. 

Things really got going on July 4, when Miami Southridge teammates Gerrod Holliman and Andrew Johnson, both 4-star defensive backs, committed to Ole Miss on the same day. Since then, 4-star receiver Donte Moncrief and 4-star cornerback Senquez Golson headline the eight commitments that followed. 

1. North Carolina

No one has picked up more steam over the last couple months than North Carolina. Like Florida and Notre Dame, the Tar Heels have catapulted themselves into the top 15 recruiting classes over the last couple of months. But unlike those programs, North Carolina did it mostly from the group up starting in June. 

North Carolina has had 10 commitments since June 12 as apposed to six before then. That isn't as drastic a shift as some of the other teams on this list have seen, but in terms of comparing the pre-June talent to what's come since, the Tar Heels take the top spot. 

To headline North Carolina's class, there's two big-time recruits to chose from. You can either go with 4-star quarterback Marquise Williams, who's one of the most dangerous dual-threat passers in the country and will likely be a 5-star prospect by the end of his senior year. Or you can go with 5-star offensive tackle Kiaro Holts, one of the top lineman in the country.