Who won the month of August in recruiting?
June and July had prospects popping off with commitments almost every day it seemed like. August really slowed down with it being in the dead period and no visits or face-to-face contact allowed.
There were still some big commitments made, though. In July, On3 named Alabama, Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Penn State as the winners on the recruiting trail.
So, who won the month of August?
Auburn
The month of August got off to a great start for Auburn when in-state four-star Caden Story committed to the Tigers over UCF. Story is a versatile defensive lineman out of Lanett High. That was the beginning of what was a very big month for the SEC West program.
After Story committed on the 1st, another in-state target, Ja’Kobi Albert committed. Albert is an athlete that is known for his speed out of Fairfield Prep that will likely line up at cornerback for the Tigers.
On the 19th, Tallahassee (Fla.) FSU School two-sport star Tre Donaldson committed to the Tigers. A few hours later, Auburn landed another one from its home state in Omari Kelly. Donaldson is a big-time safety that will also play guard on the basketball court at Auburn. Kelly will play receiver at Auburn.
Oklahoma
Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma Sooners are just building for the future. They did not pick up any 2022 commitments in August after landing seven in July but OU picked up four verbals for the class of 2023.
In-state tight end Luke Hasz got it started Aug. 6. A day later, Makai Lemon of Los Alamitos, Calif., made his commitment public. Colorado offensive lineman Joshua Bates committed to the Sooners on the 13th, and then Florida wide receiver Brandon Innis pledged on Aug. 22.
Landing Bixby High four-star Hasz, a top-10 tight end for On3 was big for Riley and his offense. Then to go out of state and continue to add key pieces for the 2023 class was huge.
Lemon is teammates with five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson who committed to Oklahoma in July. He is likely a receiver for the Sooners, but he could play cornerback, too. Innis is one of the more advanced, polished receivers in the 2023 class, and he is a national recruit out of the powerful American Heritage program in Plantation, Fla.
Oklahoma now has six commits in the 2023 class.
Oregon
Oregon landed a trio of four-stars in the 2022 On300 out of California in August.
Cornerback Jalil Tucker of San Diego Lincoln leads the way as the No. 59 player in the country. Right behind Tucker is Anaheim Servite wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at No. 62. Mario Cristobal and the Ducks were not done at Lincoln. They also landed Jahlil Florence, a teammate of Tucker’s, and another top cornerback.
The biggest pull out of this trio might have been McMillan. Arizona was thought to be the front runner for some time because he has two teammates committed to the Wildcats, including his quarterback Noah Fifita. Oregon came on over the summer landed his commitment Aug. 16.
Texas
Nobody closed out the month of August the way the Texas Longhorns did. Steve Sarkisian and his program in Austin will have a lot of eyes on it this fall, and this season will not only impact the rest of the 2022 class but especially the 2023 class.
In the last week of August, Texas landed commitments from three defensive linemen. Aaron Bryant out of Mississippi got things started on the 26th. This one was over when Bryant visited Austin in June. He made it official last week.
Four days later, Jaray Bledsoe, an in-state prospect out of Marlin High, placed his name on the commitment list. He also gave schools like Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas A&M consideration. He is a top 100 talent.
Closing the month out on Aug. 30, the same day Bledsoe announced, was J’Mond Tapp, more of an EDGE out of Louisiana. Being from the Boot State, pulling this four-star away from LSU was another huge win for Sarkisian, Bo Davis and the staff in Austin.
As strong as the month ended for Texas, you can’t forget about the commitments from cornerback Ronald Lewis and linebacker Eoghan Kerry.
Both are three-star prospects and Lewis flipped his commitment from Colorado to Texas.
Texas A&M
Some could argue that other programs should be on this list because they had more commitments than Texas A&M, but the two the Aggies landed were huge.
Jimbo Fisher and the staff in College Station had a very successful summer. Not all the news has hit the media yet, and a lot may not until the class is signed, but they made big moves with national prospects the last few months.
In August, Texas A&M landed commitments from two elite defensive backs. They beat Texas for in-state safety Bryce Anderson, then beat Georgia for Peach State cornerback Deyon Bouie.
Landing Anderson was huge for the Aggies. Not only is he an in-state talent they beat Texas for, but Anderson is No. 1 safety and No. 20 player in the country.
Bouie is a one-time Georgia commit that attends Bainbridge High, Kirby Smart’s alma mater, so this one stung in Athens. Bouie is the No. 68 player in the 2022 On300.