With so much attention being given in the last week with this year’s football recruiting classes. I wanted to look back and see just how impactful a number one recruiting class can be on the team’s following season. First, let’s take a look at what teams took home the country’s top recruiting classes. Below are the top classes for 2002 thru 2010 from the top three recruiting experts.
Year | Rivals.com | Scouts Inc. | ESPN |
2002 | Texas | Texas | |
2003 | LSU | USC | |
2004 | USC | USC | |
2005 | USC | Tennessee | |
2006 | USC | USC | Florida |
2007 | Florida | Florida | USC |
2008 | Alabama | Alabama | Miami |
2009 | Alabama | Ohio State | LSU |
2010 | USC | Florida | Florida |
Year | AP Poll | USA Today | BCS Champion |
2002 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
2003 | USC | LSU | LSU |
2004 | USC | USC | USC |
2005 | Texas | Texas | Texas |
2006 | Florida | Florida | Florida |
2007 | LSU | LSU | LSU |
2008 | Florida | Florida | Florida |
2009 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
2010 | Auburn | Auburn | Auburn |
The first thing that comes to mind is that over the nine years, only three teams have won the next year’s national championship. The teams to accomplish this are USC in 2004, Florida in 2008, and Alabama in 2009. While there is no question that a top recruiting class will impact the overall direction of the team, just bringing in the best high school kids in a given year doesn’t guarantee your team a Championship.