College Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the Top Classes in 2012

As the end of summer camp season nears its end and college football coaches turn there attention more to prepping for fall camp, we have now entered a sort of unofficial midpoint in recruiting for the class of 2012. Most of the guys who are going to decide "early" have made their decision at this point or are slated to do so by the end of August. Often times, prospects will move their time-line until after their own seasons so that they can focus on actually playing football in their final year of High School.

This "midpoint" marks an appropriate time to start tracking overall team recruiting rankings and I'll break down that list today. 

It has become Texas custom at this point to maintain the top recruiting class early in the recruiting season and nothing has changed this year. Texas keeps things in-state and usually gains a commitment the moment they offer, so they get out to a quick start. They lead the way with three 5-Star recruits from the 5Q Top 100 already committed of their 18 total commitments. Another six 4-Star players have pledged to the Longhorns and the class has been rounded out with seven more 3-Star players.

Elite teams will often catch up to the Longhorns by National Signing Day in February, but that will be a tall task this year with Texas maintaining three 5-Star prospects. That is a huge boost to their overall rankings and not many teams will add three players of that caliber in one year. 

Michigan finds itself in the number two position with an impressive 20 commitments already in their 2012 class. New Head Coach Brady Hoke has wasted no time in adding quantity and quality to his first full class as the Wolverines head man. The Wolverines are looking at being pretty selective with their final few spots so they should be able to maintain a top five ranking when it is all said and done. This is a very deep class and will round out at about 26 total prospects, so anything less than a top seven class would be a surprise at this point.

The three major Florida schools round out the top five to this point: Miami, Florida State and Florida. I expect Florida and Florida State to remain in the top 5 range with Miami falling out as the recruiting season moves towards it's conclusion.

That is not to take anything away from the job Al Golden has done in his first year on the job in Miami. Miami isn't quite where it once was as a program, but Golden has done a great job so far at plucking talented players out of talent-rich Southern Florida region. I just don't think that they will have the elite talent in this year's class to hang on to their current position.

Florida and Florida State will likely stay atop the rankings for the remainder of the year with Florida State potentially vying for the number one ranking. The Seminoles have been outstanding on the recruiting trail to this point under Head Coach Jimbo Fisher.

Expect Auburn to come on strong after their BCS Championship last season. They started a little slow, but find themselves with the second highest avg. star rating at 3.40, behind only Texas. Not too mention an impressive seven out of twelve prospects in the 5Q Top 250. Auburn could easily find themselves in the top five after National Signing Day if they continue their current momentum. 

Other teams you can expect to make a climb in the rankings as we get closer to February include Alabama and Oklahoma. Both teams are biding their time with this 2012 class, but they were both recently on the losing end of the Gunner Kiel (5Q No. 1 QB) sweepstakes. Kiel would have added an instant boost to either class, but losing out on Kiel won't stop either recruiting powerhouse from a great overall class.

A great story line to continue tracking in this class will be Ohio State's recruiting struggles. They currently find themselves ranked 21 overall on the list, which is certainly an unfamiliar position for the Buckeyes. The recently received good news (relatively speaking) when the NCAA announced no additional finding from their investigation. This was always going to be a small class for the Buckeyes, but can they find a way grab some elite players down the stretch with so much uncertainty on the coaching staff?

Continue to follow the 2012 Team Recruiting Rankings as we head towards National Signing Day. 

Check out my website, www.5thQuartersports.com, which features this story along with other articles and reports on college and other major sports. You can also follow me on Twitter for real-time updates on recruiting and other breaking news, @5thQuarterMatt.