2021 college football recruiting: Where prospects, classes stand (2024)

Despite some college football conferences and programs postponing their seasons and the coronavirus pandemic having major impacts on the 2020 season, recruiting has continued.

Creating -- then extending -- a dead period has made an impact, but it hasn't stopped recruits from making their commitments and college coaches from trying to fill up their classes before the early signing period in December.

A lot has happened since the last signing day in February, so here is a look at where things stand for 2021 recruiting class and what's next.

Uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects

There are 63 uncommitted ESPN 300 prospects left on the board. The top two recruits -- defensive end Jack Sawyer (Ohio State) and offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer (Alabama) -- are both committed.

Among the five-star prospects, only three haven't announced a commitment yet. Defensive end Korey Foreman is the highest-ranked uncommitted recruit, No. 3 overall, after he decommitted from Clemson in April.

His top list consisted of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Howard, LSU, Oregon and USC. The Trojans are among the favorites, and Georgia and Alabama have also pushed hard. However, Foreman has yet to announce a new decision date.

Defensive tackle J.T. Tuimoloau is the next-highest-ranked recruit who is uncommitted, at No. 4 overall. Tuimoloau, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound lineman out of Bellevue, Washington, isn't expected to make a decision any time soon but has Ohio State, Washington and Alabama after him, among others.

Athlete Smael Mondon is the last uncommitted five-star prospect. He's a 6-3, 220-pound recruit out of Dallas, Georgia. Mondon released his top five of Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee in July and hasn't put out a decision date.

Outside of the five-stars, 14 of the top 50 recruits, 25 of the top 100 and 36 of the top 150 have yet to make their decision, so there are still a lot of talented recruits left to add to a class.

Dead period

Some of those uncommitted recruits have not made their decisions yet because of how the recruiting calendar has been affected. The Division I Council created a dead period in March and has extended it through Sept. 30.

It doesn't seem as though that dead period will get lifted any time soon, and a few coaches have said it might not make sense to allow recruits and their families to travel across the country and mingle with the current college players, who are trying to stay in as much of a bubble as possible.

If that dead period doesn't get lifted before the early signing period, that will mean this 2021 class won't take official visits. Normally, the prospects are able to visit in the spring and during the season, and those visits can be an integral part of the process.

Many unofficial visits in the spring also were interrupted, so there could be a shift in how many recruits sign in the early signing period if they feel they aren't ready. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said he doesn't think the early signing period should be changed or removed because some prospects already know where they want to go and should be given that option.

Recruits don't have to sign in December and can wait until the February signing period, but the fear for some coaches is that recruits will be pressured into signing in December to ensure recruiting classes are filled up on schedule.

The combination of no visits taking place and keeping the early signing period in place could benefit some of the smaller schools, which, in a normal year, might see commitments take visits late in the process and flip to another program.

On the other hand, it could create more uncertainty for some prospects and cause a larger than usual number of decommitments as we get closer to December.

Classes on the rise

It might not be surprising to see Alabama at the top of the class rankings, but consider that the Crimson Tide started outside the top 25 in May and have since been the hottest team on the recruiting trail.

In Alabama's 2017, 2019 and 2020 classes, the Crimson Tide were ranked in the top two in May. It is pretty rare to see their staff get off to a slow start, but the Tide have more than made up for it by adding 14 ESPN 300 commitments, including five-star tackles Brockermeyer and J.C. Latham and five-star defensive end Dallas Turner.

Florida has continued to move up in the rankings as well and is now sitting at No. 5. The Gators have 12 ESPN 300 commitments, including five recruits ranked in the top 10 of their position.

The class is led by the No. 2-ranked corner in the class, Jason Marshall, and the No. 12-ranked pocket-passing quarterback, Carlos Del Rio. The staff has two quarterbacks in the class with Del Rio and four-star Jalen Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna.

LSU also has steadily risen in the rankings. The Tigers were ranked No. 11 in June and have risen to No. 6. The staff has added five ESPN 300 commitments since the beginning of June, including Clarkston, Michigan, offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger, the No. 31-ranked recruit.

Notre Dame has risen four spots since the last rankings were released and has added two ESPN 300 commits in August: offensive lineman Rocco Spindler, Dellinger's teammate, and linebacker Prince Kollie.

Teams with some work to do

After finishing with the No. 12-ranked class in the 2020 cycle, Penn State is currently ranked No. 24. The Nittany Lions have the sixth-best class in the Big Ten, uncharacteristically low for them.

The staff has three ESPN 300 commitments: offensive lineman Landon Tengwall, safety Jaylen Reed and wide receiver Zakee Wheatley. Penn State still has some big targets on the board, including ESPN 300 offensive lineman Nolan Rucci and ESPN 300 safety Derrick Davis Jr.

Texas A&M, which finished as the No. 6 team in 2020 and No. 3 in 2019, is currently ranked No. 16. The Aggies still have some work to do to get back near the top of the rankings.

Part of their low ranking is that the staff has only 14 commitments in the class, eight of which are ranked in the ESPN 300. That's a good ratio and there is talent, but that total commit number is going to prevent Texas A&M from moving up.

Georgia (No. 12) and Auburn (No. 17) are in a similar position, as the Dawgs have 14 commitments and the Tigers have 13. They aren't bad classes, but the smaller number of commits is holding them back.

It's unusual to see Georgia ranked outside the top 15, as the staff finished No. 2 in 2020 and 2019 and No. 1 in 2018. A smaller class will do that, although 11 of Georgia's 14 commitments are ranked in the ESPN 300. That number of ESPN 300 commitments trails only Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU and Florida.