July Recruiting Winners: Alabama, Florida, Miami flex their muscles

The month of July was a whirlwind in recruiting circles, with 242 prospects committing to Power Five programs over the course of the last 31 days. Six of the 32 current five-stars in the On3 Consensus also announced their decisions, leaving just 11 such prospects still on the board.

The month was particularly fruitful for a handful of school, who individually added to their 2023 recruiting hauls in a big way. A number of decisions are still to come before the high school season officially kicks off, but these schools dominated the month of July and built serious recruiting momentum heading into the fall.

Alabama

On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 1
July Commitments: 8
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 92.30

The Skinny: At this point in Nick Saban’s tenure, anything less than a top-3 recruiting class would be considered a jaw-dropper. The Crimson Tide came into the month with some recruiting momentum after the commitment of five-star safety Tony Mitchell to close out June. But Saban and his staff reminded everyone else of the behemoth they’ve built in Tuscaloosa in July.

Alabama beat out Georgia and Ohio State for five-star Hoschton (Ga.) safety Caleb Downs and held off Oregon for five-star Lehigh Acres (Fla.) running back Richard Young, pulling two major needs into their class. But arguably the biggest recruiting coup was stealing coveted four-star running back Justice Haynes from the Bulldogs, who were the legacy school and long considered the favorite. And don’t forget about taking four-star quarterback Dylan Lonergan out of Georgia, giving the Tide commitments from three of the top four players inside the Peach State.

A number of high-profile targets (namely five-stars Cormani McClain, James Smith and Qua Russaw) still remain in play, and the Tide are heavy favorites to earn a commitment from top-125 DL Hunter Osborne to kick off August later today.

Florida

On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 13
July Commitments: 8
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 90.06

The Skinny: Florida entered July with some significant questions about its recruiting chops under first-year head coach Billy Napier, especially as it relates to landing blue-chippers in its own state. Consider those questions firmly answered.

Over the course of the past four weeks, eight prospects added their names to Florida’s commitment list, including a trio of wide receivers that On3 is much higher on than the rest of the recruiting industry. Eugene Wilson III (On3 No. 62) kicked things off on July 8, followed by Orlando (Fla.) Boone playmaker Aidan Mizell (On3 No. 44) and ex-Miami commit Andy Jean (No. 170). That trio gives receivers coach Keary Colbert arguably the best class at that position group in the country right now.

In between, Napier flipped Penn State quarterback commit Marcus Stokes, and kept four-star defensive backs Jordan Castell and Ja’Keem Jackson home. To top things off, they beat out Tennessee, South Carolina and Clemson for top-50 defensive lineman T.J. Searcy. The Gators head into August as hot as anyone on the trail.

Oklahoma

On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 10
July Commitments: 9
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 90.25

The Skinny: Oklahoma coach Brent Venables made some headlines earlier this week when he made his thoughts known on committed prospects taking visits to other schools. But bigger than that, the Sooners head coach has made a major splash over the course of the last month in recruiting.

After winning out early with a pair of coveted three-stars (Logan Rowland and Phil Picciotti), OU really cranked things up during the second week of the month. Venables and Co. locked in top-75 prospect Cayden Green, holding off a late push from Missouri. Two days later, they went back into Kansas City and landed On3 five-star and top-10 prospect Adepoju Adebawore, edging Missouri, Georgia and a handful of others.

At the same time, four-star running back Daylan Smothers and top-70 wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway gave their commitments, and the Sooners sealed the deal on three more blue-chip defensive players: four-star Kissimmee (Fla.) EDGE Derrick LeBlanc, Tampa (Fla.) linebacker Lewis Carter, and Spanaway (Wash.) CB Jasiah Wagoner.

A number of key targets are still out there, namely five-star Katy (Texas) Paetlow defensive lineman David Hicks.

Miami

On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 6
July Commitments: 6
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 90.89

The Skinny: July didn’t provide the quantity of commitments for Mario Cristobal and Co. that June did, but Miami made a major statement with some of its top targets. The biggest win for the ‘Canes came on July 4, when Miami beat out Alabama, USC, Oregon and a number of others for five-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, the No. 5 prospect in the On3 Consensus. The coup was arguably Cristobal’s biggest to date as a head coach, and if the Hurricanes can land five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola, would set them up with two massive cornerstones on the offensive line.

Three days before that, Miami went into Portland and beat out Alabama and Oregon for four-star tight end Riley Williams, the No. 2 player at the position this cycle. His commitment was the culmination of nearly four years of work by Cristobal, dating back to his time at Oregon. A week later, the ‘Canes struck again in the PNW, adding Tacoma (Wash.) four-star EDGE Jayden Wayne, a top-5 player at that spot.

The month closed with two more big-time commitments, this time in the Southeast. Cristobal and Co. held off a late push from Florida to land top-60 linebacker Malik Bryant, a day before beating the Gators again for massive offensive tackle Tommy Kinsler.

If the month of July proved anything, it’s that there will be some monstrous recruiting battles in the Sunshine State over the next few months and years.

LSU

On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 9
July Commitments: 11
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 90.59

The Skinny: New LSU head coach Brian Kelly has picked up on the recruiting trail right where he left off at Notre Dame. The Tigers add a whopping 11 commitments in the month of July, pushing them as high as No. 6 in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings at one point.

The crown jewel of the month (and the class so far) is Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep wideout Jalen Brown, who LSU beat Miami and Michigan for, among others. July was a massive few weeks on the defensive line, though, with four prospects ranked among the top-200 nationally giving their pledges. July 4 was full of fireworks, with On3 top-40 defensive lineman Darron Reed and four-star EDGE Dashawn Womack each adding their names to the commit list. That was on top of On3 top-35 EDGE Joshua Mickens and four-star Jaxon Howard pledging earlier in the week.

Arguably the Tigers’ biggest target is set to come off the board next week: five-star Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic wideout Shelton Sampson Jr. And all signs are pointing to the purple and gold.