Top 10 recruiting teams since '09
Ranking programs that have landed most blue-chip prospects in last 5 years
Last year we ranked college football's top 10 programs based solely on the total number of ESPN 150 recruits they signed from 2007 to 2012. The reasoning behind including six years was to give readers a snapshot of where every top prospect had landed since ESPN's RecruitingNation began evaluating them in earnest.
But anyone who follows recruiting knows that a school's ability to sign blue-chip talent is as cyclical as its ability to win championships. So with another signing day in our rearview mirror, we reassessed the top 10, looking only at the last five-year window (2009-13). While you won't find a single new name in our rankings (last year's was actually more of a top 11, since two teams tied at No. 10), only two teams held their positions (Florida State and Oklahoma), and the Miami (FL) Hurricanes spiraled out after coming in at No. 9 in 2012.
Again, our rankings are based solely on total ESPN 150 recruits, which doesn't tell the full story but is a reliable barometer for measuring the most attractive programs among elite preps.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
55 ESPN 150 recruits since 2009Top states: Alabama (19); Florida and Georgia (eight)
You know the names: QB A.J. McCarron (Mobile), OT D.J. Fluker (Foley), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Gadsden), RB T.J. Yeldon (Daphne) ... and those are just from inside the Tide's home-state borders. The Tide went into Florida for RB Trent Richardson (Pensacola), safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix (Orlando) and WR Amari Cooper (Miami); RB Eddie Lacy came out of Geismar, La., and OT Cyrus Kouandjio came all the way from Hyattsville, Md.
To read LaRue Cook's full list of programs that have landed the most ESPN 150 prospects over the last five years, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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