With National Signing Day in the books, we take a look at how each team in the Power Five performed and give them a grade. Today, we start with the Pac-12:
Note: Transfer portal additions are not including in these team rankings.
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MORE NSD: Biggest stings | Texas A&M wins 2022 recruiting title | The Gorney Awards | Recruiter of the Year | Winners and losers
ONE-ON-ONE COACH INTERVIEWS: Oklahoma's Brent Venables | Rutgers' Greg Schiano | Clemson's Dabo Swinney | Vanderbilt's Clark Lea | Illinois' Bret Bielema | West Virginia's Neal Brown | Virginia's Tony Elliott | Indiana's Tom Allen | Utah's Kyle Whittingham | South Carolina's Shane Beamer | Arizona's Jedd Fisch | Stanford's David Shaw | Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman | Florida State's Mike Norvell | Michigan State's Mel Tucker | Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz
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ARIZONA (No. 1 Pac-12, No. 19 overall)
Analysis: Coming off a 1-11 season, recruiting could have been ugly for the Wildcats but instead they finished with the No. 1 class in the Pac-12. The late addition of five-star receiver Tetairoa McMillan was huge after he flipped from Oregon following the coaching change there. He and three other Anaheim (Calif.) Servite teammates including high three-star quarterback Noah Fifita could have a massive impact in the conference. Four-star running back Rayshon Luke and four-star cornerback Ephesians Prysock were solid pickups as well in December and January.
Grade: A
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ARIZONA STATE (No. 12th Pac-12, NR overall)
Analysis: Not to be harsh but we also have to be fair and the news coming out of the Arizona State program has not been positive. Coaches have either been fired or resigned and the only news coming from the Sun Devils on signing day was that defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce was resigning as well. Arizona State signed only nine prospects, seven of them three-stars. ASU finished last in the Pac-12 rankings and did not make the national team recruiting rankings since it cuts off at 100.
Grade: F
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CAL (No. 6 Pac-12, No. 57 overall)
Analysis: The only real news during the late signing period was that two-star quarterback Fernando Mendoza from Miami (Fla.) Columbus de-committed from Yale and signed with the Golden Bears. It is an interesting late addition for Cal which could pay dividends down the road. The early signing period was especially good late for the Golden Bears as four-star RB Jaydn Ott re-committed, Cal went to Florida for four-star OL Trent Ramsey and three-star running back Ashton Hayes flipped from Nebraska to Cal.
Grade: B-
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COLORADO (No. 3 Pac-12, No. 42 overall)
Analysis: Amazingly, Colorado finished third in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings without a four-star commitment but 20 of the Buffaloes’ 24 pledges were three-star prospects. The state of Texas was very good in Colorado’s recruiting efforts as high three-stars QB Owen McCown, WR Jordyn Tyson and DB Dylan Dixson are all from there. A late pickup of undersized South Florida RB Anthony Hankerson could be helpful in the years to come.
Grade: B
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OREGON (No. 5 Pac-12, No. 45 overall)
Analysis: The Ducks closed well on National Signing Day by flipping four-star running back Jordan Bryant-James from Georgia, getting four-star OL Dave Iuli to pick Oregon over Miami and getting three-star LB Emarrion Winston back in the fold. First-year coach Dan Lanning and his staff were extra busy in the days before signing day as well getting four-star CB Jahlil Florence to re-commit over USC and three-star DB Khamari Terrell committed as well. There were de-commitments along the way and none hurt more than losing five-star receiver Tetairoa McMillan but that always happens during a high-profile coaching change.
Grade: B
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OREGON STATE (No. 8 Pac-12, No. 60 overall)
Analysis: After Oregon State’s first winning season since 2013, the Beavers put together a fine recruiting class but does lack that star power although coach Jonathan Smith has proven many of his players have been under-ranked through the recruiting process. The lone four-star in the class is Clearwater (Fla.) Calvary Christian’s Melvin Jordan, who did have some pledges before getting to Oregon State so it was important to keep him. Three-star defensive end Mathias Malaki-Donaldson has incredible length so if he can fill out even more then he could be even more dominant in Corvallis.
Grade: B-
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STANFORD (No. 2 Pac-12, No. 23 overall)
Analysis: Stanford is coming off its worst season since 2006 which is before the Jim Harbaugh era but recruiting did not suffer because of it. The Cardinal landed an impressive class led by a conference high six four-stars including four-star edge rusher David Bailey, who picked Stanford over USC, and four-star DE Ernest Cooper among others. Stanford also loaded up on offensive linemen with four-stars Fisher Anderson and Lucas Heyer being the best of the bunch.
Grade: A
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UCLA (No. 9 Pac-12, No. 62 overall)
Analysis: If the team recruiting rankings were based solely on average star ranking then UCLA would have finished second in the conference but the Bruins also got dinged because transfer rankings don’t play a factor yet in this rankings cycle. Four-stars QB Justyn Martin and DBs Clint Stephens and Kamari Ramsey are all local prospects where the Bruins won out and four-star TE Carsen Ryan could be the next big one in UCLA’s offense.
Grade: B-
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USC (No. 7 Pac-12, No. 59 overall)
Analysis: New coach Lincoln Riley and his staff focused tons on the transfer portal and the Trojans were highly successful there landing QB Caleb Williams and WR Mario Williams to start it off but those transfer players are not reflected in the high school rankings. Still, even with only eight total high school commitments, USC loaded up led by Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star teammates RB Raleek Brown and CB Domani Jackson. Landing former Notre Dame commit and four-star receiver CJ Williams, also from Santa Ana Mater Dei, could be a huge benefit.
Grade: B-
UTAH (No. 4 Pac-12, No. 44 overall)
Analysis: Four-star linebacker Lander Barton is a special prospect with incredible skills already and we all know players only get better when coached by Kyle Whittingham and his staff. Barton could be the anchor of the Utes’ defense for years to come and Utah beat out a bunch of national programs for him. Four-star RB Jaylon Glover got a lot of pressure from programs closer to home but he stuck with the Utes and that was huge. There are always sleepers in Utah’s recruiting class and two to watch are three-star OL Tyler Knaak and three-star ATH Carson Tabaracci, who could make an argument for a four-star ranking.
Grade: B
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WASHINGTON (No. 11 Pac-12, No. 95 overall)
Analysis: : This is another situation where Washington’s new coaching staff utilized the transfer portal but from a high school perspective out of nine signees only one is a four-star prospect. That’s not good enough to compete for conference championships. In-state tight end Ryan Otton is the only four-star as the Huskies didn’t build a fence around local talent this cycle. If the Huskies can keep five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly home (he’s expected to decide sometime in March) then that would be big. Three-star DB Tristan Dunn has star potential.
Grade: D
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WASHINGTON STATE (No. 10 Pac-12, No. 74 overall)
Analysis: Ranked No. 74 nationally, Washington State dealt with a coaching change during the season that mucked up the recruiting process for the 2022 class and the Cougars struggled closing. Out of 19 commitments, there were no five- or four-stars and just seven three-stars. There is little doubt that some of these players will outplay their ranking and things should be much better with the 2023 class now that there is coaching clarity but this was not a loaded class.
Grade: C-
