July Recruiting Winners: Big months on the trail for Alabama, LSU, Miami, Auburn and Tennnessee
Few months are more exciting in the world of college football recruiting than July.
Prospects, fresh off their summer official visits, are looking to cut down their list and often make early commitments with those trips recent in their minds. The summer has become the unofficial second peak of recruiting only to the December early signing period, which kicks off the first Wednesday of the month this year.
This July had no shortage of fireworks — including a few big announcements on the 4th — and a number of teams made big moves in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings because of that. A few programs were especially hot on the trail, including four of the SEC’s recruiting powerhouses:
Alabama
Average Rating Per Commit: 95.48
Total July Commitments: 4
After a scorching hot — or ice cold as the Tide’s recruiting staff likes to refer to it — month of June, Alabama followed up with a handful of massive commitments in July. California-based blue-chip tight end Kaleb Edwards was the first of the month. Then elite four-star EDGE Justin Hill (No. 51 NATL.) added his name to the commit list on July 3, choosing the Tide over Ohio State and Oregon.
Ten days later, five-star wideout Caleb Cunningham chose Alabama over Auburn, Ole Miss and others, giving five-star quarterback Keelon Russell a huge weapon. Twenty-four hours after that, five-star Ty Haywood came off the board in a surprise announcement, picking Alabama over Oklahoma and a handful of others. The commitments pushed Alabama up to the No. 1 class nationally, and they currently sit at No. 2 after a couple of decommitments to end the month.
LSU
Average Rating Per Commit: 91.66
Total July Commitments: 7
Brian Kelly and his staff again proved their recruiting chops, beating out the longtime perceived favorites for a number of key additions. None were bigger than Five-Star Plus+ cornerback DJ Pickett — thought to be headed to Oregon until the 11th hour. A top-five prospect nationally, Pickett is a monstrous addition for the Tigers’ secondary group going forward.
Three days after that, the Bayou Bengals beat out Notre Dame for elite wide receiver Derek Meadows, adding a huge piece for Five-Star Plus+ QB Bryce Underwood on offense. Those two were the headliners, but Kelly and Co. rounded things out with top-100 EDGE, Damien Shanklin, On3 top-100 defensive lineman Zion Williams, four-star DL Brandon Brown, On300 safety Jhase Thomas, and three-star linebacker Jaiden Braker.
Miami
Average Rating Per Commit: 92.46
Total July Commitments: 5
A slow start to the cycle has held Miami back in the team rankings, but a red-hot July has them moving in the right direction. Each of their current top four commits came off the board in the past month, with four-star safety Hylton Stubbs leading the charge. The former USC commit will be staying closer to home and could be a key factor in the ‘Canes pursuit of five-star wideout Jaime Ffrench.
Stubbs wasn’t the only major addition to the secondary, as Miami beat out LSU for coveted cornerback Jaboree Antoine. They also went out west to grab four-star offensive lineman SJ Alofaituli, dipped into Alabama to land four-star wideout Daylyn Upshaw and kept IMG Academy standout linebacker Gavin Nix at home as well.
Auburn
Average Rating Per Commit: 91.50
Total July Commitments: 6
The program on the Plains wasn’t willing to be outdone by their rivals in Tuscaloosa, and Hugh Freeze and Co. had a big month.
Their sixth commitments pushed them just inside the top 10 of the team rankings, and they’re trending for two more targets expected to announce in the coming days. The two big fish of the group were safeties Derick Smith (a flip from Alabama) and Anquon Fegans — both top-60 players nationally. Those two combine with Eric Winters to give the Tigers the best crop of safeties in the country.
Elsewhere in the secondary, they added four-star cornerback and ex-Ohio State pledge Blake Woodby and also poached four-star DL Antonio Coleman, who flipped from Alabama to Auburn in December before flipping back to the Tide in March. Keeping up?
Tennessee
Average Rating Per Commit: 91.58
Total July Commitments: 5
Another program on the move up the team rankings in July was Tennessee, which entered the month hovering around the top 15. Four weeks later, they sit at No. 8 with some major targets still on the board. Josh Heupel and Co. added some key skill position players this month, including four-star wide receiver Travis Smith and borderline top-100 tight end DaSaahn Brame.
They held off big June pushes from Georgia and Florida for four-star safety Lagonza Hayward and also beat out the Bulldogs and USC for four-star linebacker Christian Gass. Both Gass and Hayward rank among the top 100 players nationally, according to On3.