College Football Recruiting 2012: Power Ranking the Top 25 Classes

Ranking the top 25 classes at this point of the year is always a tough task, but I'm going to attempt to do so. I'm sure these rankings will continue to fluctuate at a very fluid pace through the year as we move forward.

There are some very special classes being built by some of the normal juggernauts, while some surprise programs have begun to make their marks on the trail.

So come see who the top 25 recruiting classes are right now!

25. Vanderbilt

Vandy is a surprise showing on any top 25 recruiting list. But you have to give credit to James Franklin and his staff, as they are aiming big and thinking big for the Commodore future.

Franklin's prized pupil is RB/ATH Brian Kimbrow. Kimbrow may not be the biggest player in the world, but he's a speedy and shifty offensive weapon that Franklin will deploy all over the field. With a solid 12 commits in the fold, Vandy will look to stay in the gist of the class rankings.

24. Penn State

Joe Pa has gotten with the times and is Skyping to recruits this cycle. Wowsers. Times are changing, eh?

Penn State has 13 commits, and this could be the year they get back into the swing of things, as the past few recruiting cycles have been a roller coaster ride as far as rankings go. The player I really like in this class is Camren Williams, a speedy, athletic and rangy 6'2", 200 pound OLB.

23. North Carolina

It'll be interesting to see how UNC does from here on out and if they will lose some recruits with the shocking firing of Butch Davis. Yet, as of now, they have 12 pledges in the fold.

Their top prospect is TE Justin Meredith, a 4-star player that stands 6'5", 220 pounds. But as I said before, UNC will be interesting study here on out.

22. Virginia

Mike London is going after numbers to fill up his class and replenish his roster with good talent. London and his staff are all over the Eastern seaboard to get great players.

DE Michael Moore is a talented defender that stands 6'4", 255 pounds. He can play the strongside end spot or an OLB spot. I also really like LB Kwontie Moore, a 6'1", 245 pound MLB prospect with a solid skill set. 

21. Stanford

The Cardinal have 11 commits right now, and according to ESPNU two of those are inside their top 150. Alex Carter is a talented safety, but the jewel is OLB/DE Noor Davis.

Davis is a 6'4", 225 pound defender with great athletic ability and will be a three down defender on The Farm.

20. Arizona State

ASU checks in at this notch of 20, but I need to see a little more star power and pizzaz for them to move up as we go forward. Maybe if the Sun Devils get off to a good start, they'll see some bigger names commit.

For now, their best player is a 6'5", 205 pound QB from Texas named TJ Milleweard. Milleweard shows good touch and has a bit of a clutch gene.

19. TCU

TCU is immediately reaping the benefits of what a move to a BCS conference will do for you in recruiting. By the time their 2012 recruits develop, this class could be foundation of a Big East title team.

With 15 commits already, the Horned Frogs even have two prospects ranked inside the ESPNU 150. Their top prospect is DE Davonte Fields, and I think TCU could actually move up in the rankings, as they are on some other good prospects.

18. Missouri

I love Missouri's class, as they have some pretty good talents pledged. Out of their 15 commits, the top player is obviously OL Evan Boehm.

Whether you see him as a future OG or OC, Boehm will be a multi year starter for Gary Pinkel's front. He'll be snapping to QB Maty Mauk and opening up holes for RB Jonathan Williams.

17. Virginia Tech

Can you believe the Hokies are inside the top 25 recruiting rankings? It's not like they have been awful; it's just that they usually go after players that fit their program better over the sexy prospect names each year.

This year, they have 23 committed players, and we're just seeing August roll around. I really like CB Donaldven Manning out of Florida; he's a quick athlete with great short area quickness and closing speed.

16. Georgia

Georgia is fresh off a great recruiting class last year and are on a solid pace again in 2012 recruiting. Thye have 12 commits, and there's two specific players I really like.

OT John Theus is a 5-star player via Scout and Rivals and one of the top overall recruits in the country. DT Jonathan Taylor could develop into an All-SEC player under Todd Grantham in Athens.

15. Notre Dame

Twelve commitments. Four inside the ESPNU 150. Two of the top DB prospects in the country. Notre Dame is coming back with a vengeance on the trail.

You have love the look of a tandem of Tee Shepard and Ronald Darby in South Bend in the backend for the Irish. Nick Barratti could get a look at QB, and Deontay Greenberry is a heck of talent at WR. 

14 Texas Tech

The Red Raiders are another surprise team to make this list. But, Tommy Tuberville recruited well at Auburn, so you had to figure at some point he'd get Texas Tech going good in recruiting.

Tech has 16 pledges, including two from OL Michael Starts and WR Dominique Wheeler. I think Wheeler is talented enough to come to Lubbock and catch some balls as a true freshman, while Starts could be a great one as a DL or OL.

13. South Carolina

Steve Spurrier has 18 commitments right now, and for the third year in a row, he has landed the top player in South Carolina. First it was Marcus Lattimore, then Jadeveon Clowney and now Shaq Roland.

Roland is one of the best WR prospects in the nation and could be the next big WR in Columbia when Alshon Jeffrey leaves. OL Brock Stadnik is another player that should be a great one for the Gamecocks. 

12. LSU

I have LSU just outside the top 10 because I think their class is just a bit more quantity than quality right now as I write this. That's not a knock on their class, but they have 18 commits, and the bulk of them are 3-star players.

I love WR Avery Johnson and DE Toshiro Davis. Also, watch out for LB Trey Granier; he's a productive MIKE LB prospect that makes stop after stop.

11. USC

USC may not have a lot of commitments, but you can see they are aiming for good quality with each recruit they'll sign from here on out; they have to due to the sanctions.

The Trojans have nine commitments, and four of them are inside the ESPNU 150. The leader is DE/OT Arik Armstead, a 6'8", 280 pounder. Jabari Ruffin, Max Tuerk and Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick are other notables.

10. Oklahoma

Oklahoma has 12 commitments in their 2012 class, and eight are 4-star prospects. I think the Sooners have a good chance to move up in the rankings as we move forward.

I love RB Alex Ross and WR Durron Neal, as these two will be in line to be the next great Sooner offensive players. But for me, the highlight of this class is the pledges from John McGee and Ty Darlington, two of the top OL prospects in the country.

9. Miami

Al Golden has been booming on the recruiting trail, and Miami figures to be a major player with him leading the cause in Coral Gables. Golden already has 22 commitments.

From Keith Brown to Angelo Louis-Jean to Duke Johnson to Jelani Hmailton, Golden has proven that the combo of his selling skills of his vision along with his selling of returning Miami back to where it belongs has gotten recruits' attention.

8. Texas A&M

Once again, as I said when we started, we have another surprise team on this list. The Aggies have 21 committed players, and Mike Sherman is on his grind.

They have pledges from QB Matt Davis, RB Trey Williams, OL Jordan Richmond, ATH Bralon Addison and WR Corey Thompson.

7. Clemson

Clemson is back again after having an awesome 2011 recruiting class. Dabo Swinney has gotten another 14 players lined up, and eight of them are 4-star recruits.

The biggest find is DB Travis Blanks, a 6'1", 195 pounder that can play CB or DS. DE Martin Aiken is another player to watch out for.

6. Auburn

The Tigers have 13 commits, with a slew of them being 4-star or higher prospects. They have two consecutive top-10 classes and likely will settle into the same tier this year.

QB Zeke Pike is the star of the class, but not by much because WR/ATH Ricardo Louis is a future star. So is TE Ricky Parks, RB TJ Yeldon and LB Cassonava McKinzy.

5. Michigan

Just a few months ago, people were looking Michigan like "what happened?".

Now, people are looking at Michigan like "What happened!!"

Because Brady Hoke has immediately shown he and his staff can recruit with the best of 'em. Hoke has 22 commitments, three in the ESPNU top 150 and his LB class alone is great. Look for Michigan to have a great class and perhaps finish in the top five this year.

4. Florida

Another normal recruiting year in Gainesville, as the Gators have gobbled up some amazing talent. But the thing is, I don't think they're done.

Florida is in on top talents like DJ Humphries and Nelson Agholor among others. With commits like Brian Poole and Jessamen Dunker already, this class is lining up to be special for Will Muschamp.

3. Alabama

The Tide are at it yet again, with this 2012 class being another great Nick Saban compilation. Saban has 14 pledges, and five are inside the ESPNU 150.

The two headliners are LB Reggie Ragland and DS Eddie Williams. But the depth in this class is great, and a commitment from a certain in-state QB could move the Crimson Tide even higher...hmmm.

2. Florida State

The 'Noles are cleaning up this year...again. They have 14 commitments, and according to ESPNU, nine of them are among the best 150 overall players in the country. Yikes.

Mario Edwards is an elite overall player, along with talent like PJ Williams, Dalvon Stuckey, Chris Casher, Dante Fowler, Mario Pender and Marvin Bracy.

They just landed Justin Shanks and could get Chris Black.

1. Texas

Half of Texas' class of 18 pledges is in the ESPNU 150. Half. Then it's not like the other half is chopped sewey either.

RB Johnathan Gray is the headliner, then you get QB Conor Brewer, WR Cayleb Jones, OLs Kennedy Estelle, Curtis Riser and Camhron Hughes, DL Malcom Brown, CB Bryson Echols, LBs Tim Cole and Peter Jinkens and WR Thomas Johnson.

Wow.