JoltBlog

The early signing period is less than two weeks away. Between now and Dec. 20, some coaches will be simply looking to tie up loose ends while others — notably those recently hired — will be looking to keep a class together and engineer some last-minute flips.

Here is one recruiting thought for each ACC school. Welcome to our new friends, Cal, SMU and Stanford.

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Recruiting at Boston College is never easy, but it feels like the Eagles are behind with this class — especially considering that Jeff Hafley had a decent year on the field. The Eagles head into the hometown Fenway Bowl against SMU with a chance to reach the seven-win mark for the first time since 2018. Boston College’s class is lacking in both quality (no commits in the top 1,000 nationally) and quantity (seven commits, tied with Houston and Michigan State — two schools that have had a coaching change — for the fewest in the Power 5 ranks). The Eagles may be planning to hit the transfer portal hard, but it stands to reason Hafley and his staff have ground to make up between now and the February signing day.

Cal

The changing landscape of college football has no doubt made it more difficult to recruit to Cal in recent years, but maybe now that the Golden Bears have a secure home in a Power 5 conference, Justin Wilcox can get things back on track. Cal’s class ranks No. 58 nationally, but its average player rating of 86.78 is right on par with Duke (86.86) and Georgia Tech (86.86) and higher than Syracuse (86.18), Wake Forest (86.16), Virginia (85.78) and Boston College (85.26). Cal signed a top-40 class nine times between 2008 and 2021 but dipped to No. 59 and No. 87 in the last two cycles. Wilcox needs to get the Bears back into the top 40.

Ohio State has edged out Clemson in being the premier destination for wide receivers, but if the Tigers are going to reclaim their “Wide Receiver U” title, it very well could be because of this class. Clemson has two top-100 receivers on the way in five-star Texas native Bryant Wesco and four-star Florida native TJ Moore. Westco is the nation’s No. 20 prospect and No. 6 receiver. Moore is No. 91 overall and the No. 17 receiver. Clemson’s offense has gone through an identity crisis of sorts since Trevor Lawrence, Tee Higgins and Travis Etienne left the program. These are the types of receivers who should help the Tigers get back to national prominence.

100% Committed #ALLIN @Coach_Grisham @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/j9vVg4n4k6

— Bryant Wesco🌟✈️ (@Bryantwesco19) June 6, 2023

Duke

Texas A&M made the smart choice by hiring Mike Elko to replace Jimbo Fisher. But what a bummer for Duke and the Blue Devils’ future recruiting considering the momentum Elko had built. Duke hasn’t lost any recruits in its 2024 class since Elko’s departure, but the Blue Devils haven’t hired a new coach yet, either. The early signing period forces administrators to move quickly, and the next coach at Duke will have even less time than the other new hires across the country to hit the road recruiting. The clock is ticking. Whoever gets the job must do everything possible to hang onto four-star quarterback Tyler Cherry out of Indiana, the highest-rated prospect in the class. Cherry, the winner of Indiana’s Mr. Football for the quarterback position, recently picked up an offer from Virginia. He picked Duke over several Big Ten schools, including Michigan State and Penn State.

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I still believe the Seminoles were robbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee Sunday, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that Florida State can compete for a national championship sooner rather than later. And it starts with the 2024 class, which is the best in the conference and includes 17 blue-chippers (out of 23 commitments) and eight top-100 prospects. It’s hard to overstate just how impressive FSU has been in the state of Georgia, where the Seminoles landed commitments from four top-75 prospects — KJ Bolden (No. 11 overall), quarterback Luke Kromenhoek (No. 50), tight end Landen Thomas (No. 51) and tight end Kameron Davis (No. 66). Coach Mike Norvell and his assistants have to get this thing across the finish line, but if all of the commits sign, this will go down as FSU’s highest average player rating (91.97) since the Class of 2015. And we can’t forget about Jeremiah Smith: Can the Seminoles flip the Ohio State recruit, the nation’s No. 1 prospect?

Georgia Tech

Wide receiver Isiah Canion out of Warner Robins, Ga. — about two hours outside of Atlanta — is the exact type of prospect Brent Key and the Yellow Jackets need to land. Georgia is as talent-rich as any state in the country, and there are plenty of prospects up for grabs, even after Georgia and other traditional Power 5 programs swipe their share. Canion originally committed to Notre Dame in April but decommitted July 1 and picked Georgia Tech two days later. He also fielded offers from Florida State, Auburn, NC State, Mississippi State, Stanford and others after getting his first SEC offer in March from Vanderbilt. Kudos to Key for keeping him home once he reopened his recruitment.

110 % Committed; I’m staying home !!🐝🏡#committed #flats #ATL pic.twitter.com/XkAIbsltEP

— Isiah Canion (@CanionIsiah) July 3, 2023

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith indicated last week that his focus will be on top prospects within a three- to four-hour radius. That’s bad news for Louisville, whose lone tight end recruit in the class is four-star Michigan native Dylan Mesman. And guess who re-offered Mesman a scholarship last week? Smith and Michigan State. Mesman, the high school teammate of four-star Notre Dame quarterback commit CJ Carr, originally picked Louisville over Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Michigan State. He is a Michigan State legacy — his mother played basketball for the Spartans and his father played football. Can Louisville hang on?

Miami might have had a wonky year on the field with a 7-5 record, but the Hurricanes are doing work on the recruiting trail. Mario Cristobal is on pace to sign a top-five class, complete with commitments from 11 blue-chippers and six top-100 prospects. The one position the Hurricanes didn’t land a flashy prospect? Quarterback. Judd Anderson is a three-star prospect who ranks No. 1,059 nationally, but he’ll have plenty of talent around him. And maybe there’s something Miami saw that the rest of us missed out on. Stay tuned.

NC State

What a win for NC State in keeping four-star athlete and top-125 prospect Jonathan Paylor home. Paylor, a native of Burlington, N.C., committed to the Wolfpack in August and will become the program’s highest-rated signee since the Class of 2018. He chose the Wolfpack over fellow finalists Penn State, North Carolina, Maryland and South Carolina. He has been listed as both a wide receiver and a running back by the major recruiting services, but regardless of position, he should be a ton of fun to watch as he teams up with 2023 ACC rookie of the year and star receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion.

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North Carolina

The fight for top recruits in the state of North Carolina is only getting tougher for in-state schools. UNC has a commitment from only one of the top 10 prospects in the state — four-star safety Malcolm Ziglar. NC State has just two: Paylor and four-star wide receiver Terrell Anderson. Meanwhile, Michigan and Notre Dame each have two. The bad news for UNC? The Big Ten and SEC schools (which combined to land five of the top 10 in-state prospects) aren’t going anywhere. The good news? Of the top 11 to 15 in-state prospects, three are headed to Chapel Hill. Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson going to UNC should create some buzz, as well.

Pitt finished the 2023 season with a losing record for the first time since 2017, but the Panthers’ on-field struggles haven’t negatively impacted the program’s recruiting this year. The Panthers’ average player rating of 86.95 is actually their highest since the Class of 2021. The class includes only one blue-chipper — interior offensive lineman Caleb Holmes out of Georgia — but there are four other prospects who rank in the top 600. Credit Pat Narduzzi and his staff for not letting this thing go off the rails.

SMU

SMU’s 2024 class includes just 11 players and only two who rank among the top 100 in the state of Texas. But the Class of 2025 might be a different story. Four of the Mustangs’ five commitments are four-star prospects and the other is ranked in the top 500. There’s still a long way to go, but SMU has some momentum as it transitions into a power conference.

Stanford

The Cardinal scored a major win on the recruiting trail in June when the program landed four-star quarterback Elijah Brown — who, along with FSU-bound Kromenhoek, could be one of the most talented young QBs in the league. Brown played at perennial Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei, where he threw for nearly 9,000 career yards with a 70.3 percent completion percentage and 111 touchdowns against just 16 interceptions. Stanford needed a splashy quarterback to usher the school into its new league, and Brown gives coach Troy Taylor just that. Good on Stanford for keeping him in-state when he easily could have played in the SEC or Big Ten.

Syracuse

I’m not saying it will happen overnight, but watch out for Syracuse under Fran Brown. Previously the defensive backs coach at Georgia, Brown is one of the elite recruiters in the country and will no doubt tap into his northeastern roots as a native of New Jersey. Don’t judge Syracuse’s 2024 class, but pay attention to Brown moving forward. He was the primary recruiter for five-star cornerback Ellis Robinson IV and five-star linebacker Justin Williams in this class, and he is ranked as the top recruiter for the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports, thanks to his work with the Bulldogs.

Virginia

If Virginia is going to take the next step on the field, the Cavaliers will probably have to heavily rely on the transfer portal. Virginia has just two top-1,000 prospects in its 2024 class and just one who ranks in the top 20 in the state — three-star offensive tackle Benjamin York. The Cavs simply have to be better in Virginia. The silver lining: Coach Tony Elliott got a nice pickup in the transfer portal this week when Notre Dame wide receiver Chris Tyree, a Virginia native who ranked No. 70 nationally in the Class of 2020, committed to the Cavaliers.

After landing none of the top 10 in-state prospects in the 2023 cycle, Virginia Tech rebounded this year and picked up three — four-star wide receiver Keylen Adams, four-star edge Gerard Johnson and three-star wide receiver Chanz Wiggins. Adams and Johnson are from Virginia Beach in the ever-fruitful Hampton Roads area — where Frank Beamer made his living. Brent Pry was smart to focus on that area this year.

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Wake Forest

The most fascinating prospect in Wake Forest’s class has to be three-star wide receiver Jeremiah Melvin. The Cape Fear, N.C., native is ranked No. 632 in the 247Sports Composite, but 247Sports’ rankings has him 426 spots higher at No. 206. He’s the No. 84 wide receiver in the composite but No. 30 by 247Sports. On3 has him at No. 263 overall and the No. 44 wide receiver, on par with how 247Sports evaluated him. But Rivals ranks him as a two-star prospect with a 5.4 rating, dropping him into Rivals’ “low-end FBS prospect” category. What gives? Why the discrepancy? And who will be right?

(Photos: James Gilbert, Sam Wasson, Lance King / Getty Images)

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