:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66785525/1197574734.jpg.0.jpg)
Sourcing our ranking data from the big three recruiting services (247Sports, Rivals, ESPN), here, we’re tracking down the rankings as we’ve cleared another milestone, the new class rankings at 247Sports. We’re checking in where each of the Pac-12 schools currently rank in terms of committed athletes for the class of 2021.
No. 1 — USC Trojans
Previous ranking: No. 1
So there’s no change at the top, that’s because Clay Helton and Co. have done their part to stay ahead of everyone else repeatedly. They just got a commit from four-star athlete Julien Simon as well as a commit last week from four-star WR Quaydarius Davis. They now have 11 hard commits for 2021 and are predicted to land the No. 1 recruit in the country — Korey Foreman.
If they land Foreman, there’s almost no way any Pac-12 school will be able to catch them.
No. 2 — Oregon Ducks
Previous Ranking: No. 3
Since we last checked in, the Ducks got a commitment from four-star offensive tackle Bram Walden as well as three-star defensive end Terrell Tilmon. Both hail from outside the state of Oregon as Mario Cristobal continues to work the southwest portions of the country. They now have three of the top players in their state as Walden is the top player from Arizona, RB Seven McGee is the top from New York and ILB Keith Brown is the top player in Oregon.
No. 3 — California Golden Bears
Previous Ranking: No. 2
They Bears didn’t do anything to drop a spot in the rankings, but that’s just it, they didn’t do anything since we last checked in. They’ve been rumored to a few top-tier players at this stage and have made the cut for several key players on their recruiting board but none have pulled the trigger officially yet. If they do, they can likely climb back into No. 2 or at least hold a firm grasp on a top-three class.
No. 4 — Washington Huskies
Previous Ranking: No. 4
Washington received a commitment from Robert Wyrsch since we last checked in but their biggest bit of news was that of Sam Huard’s recent upvote in the recruiting rankings. Huard, the longtime Washington commit, bumped up to No. 1 nationally at his position as he now ranks as the top pro-style quarterback in his class. He’s even gotten a comparison to Tua Tagovailoa in the process, that’s how big of a deal he is.
No. 5 — Arizona State Sun Devils
Previous Ranking: No. 7
Herm Edwards and Co. have just four commitments for 2021 but they received two of them since we last checked in as three-star OLB Jaydon Williams comes in from Texas and three-star DE Shawn Williams comes down from Pennsylvania. Also, like Huard above, Sun Devil commit Finn Collins saw his ranking bump up as well, as he cracked the top 25 among pro-style quarterbacks for this class.
No. 6 — Stanford Cardinal
Previous Ranking: No. 6
The Cardinal are standing pat with their two commits as of now but are rumored in the top among several other players. They stay still until those players officially commit but do have potentially their QB of the future with three-star dual-threat Ari Patu already on board.
No. 7 — UCLA Bruins
Previous Ranking: No. 5
The Bruins drop two spots after some recruiting ranking shuffling, no other reason. They still have OLB Devin Aupiu and WR DJ Justice on board for 2021 as Justice is the son of former MLBer David Justice. Aupiu also was selected to join the Polynesian Bowl All-Star game next winter as well.
No. 8 — Oregon State Beavers
Previous Ranking: No. 10
The beavers got their highest-rated commitment of the class since we last checked in as ILB Easton Mascarenas from Mission Viejo, California pledged to Oregon State. He’s a solid linebacker prospect at 6’0, 215 pounds and had offers from both Arizona’s, Colorado and both Washington schools.
No. 9 — Arizona Wildcats
Previous Ranking: No. 11
The Wildcats picked up their first two commitments of the 2021 class since we last checked in: OLB Jackson Bailey and OLB Kolbe Cage. Bailey hails from Texas, rankings as the 61st-best OLB prospect for this class. He’s 6’1, 220 and had over 10 offers. Cage plays at Holy Cross in New Orleans and ranks as the consensus 28th-best player in the state of Louisiana. Arizona was his first Power-5 offer and he committed just two months after receiving the offer.
No. 10 — Washington State Cougars
Previous Ranking: No. 11
Like Arizona, Washington State received their first two commitments since we last checked in: WR Orion Peters and OT CHristian Hilborn. Peters is a three-star player from Inglewood, California and had over 10 offers himself. He is a fast receiver who has verified results of under 4.70 in the 40-yard dash and a 4.50 second shuttle time. As for Hilborn, he ranks as the consensus 15th-best player in the state of Utah but Washington State was his first offer, according to 247Sports. He’s 6’5, 280 and with another big year, could be a steal if Nick Rolovich can keep him on board. Important to note here, it seems that Hilborn committed without an offer on the table and received his scholarship offer after his commitment.
No. 11 — Utah Utes
Previous Ranking: No. 8
The Utes have no chance because they’ve done nothing since we last looked in. Tevita Fotu, their committed and signed defensive tackle prospect, has still not received his three-star designation that is likely to follow his enrolling at a Power-5 school and that will likely bump them up, but not if they stay put at two commits for the class of 2021 much longer. Remember, Fotu enrolled back in 2018 and has since played at Snow College where he’ll now transfer in.
No. 12 — Colorado Buffaloes
Previous Ranking: No. 9
The Buffaloes received their first commitment in the Karl Dorrell era and DE Allan Baugh will likely receive his three-star designation, like Fotu above, soon. That should help but they’ll have to stay heavy on the recruiting front in Dorrell’s first year if they want to get out of 12th in the rankings anytime soon.