Pac-12 Football Recruiting Power Rankings, June 18

The UCLA Bruins have closed the gap on the California Bears and have slid into the fourth spot overall. Here’s how all Pac-12 teams stack up according to recruiting points from 247Sports:

1. USC Trojans — 245.60

Previous Ranking: No. 1 (245.60)

The Trojans stood at No. 1 because of their massive lead they’ve built on the backs of 16 commitments and an average star ranking of 91.35. They have 10 four-star commits alone and that’s more total commits than all but Oregon have to date.

2. Oregon Ducks — 219.82
Previous Ranking: No. 2 (201.62)

The Ducks are closing in but they’ll need a bit more of a firesale of commits to close the gap on USC. They saw the pledging of four-star receiver Troy Franklin from Menlo-Atherton High School in Menlo Park, California. He currently sits as Oregon’s highest-rated recruit at this stage and is the No. 2 WR in the country, No. 2 player in the state of California and the 31st player overall by 247Sports. That’s the kind of player they’ll need to continually get to close in on USC.

3. California Golden Bears — 131.74

Previous Ranking: No. 3 (120.23)

The Bears got a commitment from three-star S Fatu Iosefa whose two brothers each play in the Pac-12. His commitment was enough to stay just ahead of the Bruins below them, even if UCLA is on a tear.

4. UCLA Bruins — 130.35

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (93.91)

UCLA is now third in terms of total commitments with nine as they received commitments from three-star WR Ezavier Staples, three-star athlete Isaiah Newcombe and three-star RB Deshun Murrell over the past six days. They’re filling out their recruiting class but is it important to note, they have only the conference’s seventh-highest average recruit rating at this point and only have one four-star recruit on the board. They’re in fourth now, but that’s more on total volume of commits rather than average recruit rankings. They’ll need a four-star or two to pledge to stay ahead of Washington and possibly get by Cal in the end.

5. Washington Huskies — 118.83

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (105.42)

Washington got their first high-school commit since April when three-star CB Dyson McCutcheon committed to head coach Jimmy Lake and Co. It’s no real surprise that a talented cornerback would want to play for coach Lake and McCutcheon is a big get from California for the Huskies. He’s a top-50 cornerback and a big get from out of state as they continue to pile on California-based recruits.

6. Washington State Cougars — 90.82

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (77.17)

The Cougars got their eighth commit since the beginning of May and Xavier Ward not only represents their most recent but also their highest-rated recruit to pledge to Washington State in this class. All eight commits are currently three-star players but Ward is the 32nd-ranked dual-threat quarterback and a top-100 player in the state of California. He has all the tools to make the leap to a four-star player by season’s end.

7. Arizona Wildcats — 89.74

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (41.84)

The Wildcats kicked June off with a bang and saw their recruiting class double this month so far. Three-star athlete Cole Batson pledge on June 14 and then the following day saw both three-star DE Kevon Garcia and three-star safety Dalton Johnson each commit from the state of Texas. Kevin Sumlin’s ties in the state must run deep as he now has three players from the state of Texas heading out to Arizona.

8. Arizona State Sun Devils — 87.65

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (75.86)

The Sun Devils got a commit from three-star outside linebacker Isaiah Pipkin from North Carolina and the big man who stands at 6’6, 220 pounds helped keep their place in the top eight even if Arizona passed them with their three pledges. Pipkin is a player with great raw ability and incredible size, almost in the make of current Virginia OLB Charles Snowden.

9. Oregon State Beavers — 69.01

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (67.40)

The Beavers got instantly better with the commitment of JUCO transfer Alex Lemon who currently sits as the No. 6 overall JUCO prospect for the class of 2021. At 6’4, 275, he’s already got the size to play along the talented Oregon State defensive line and he’s the No. 2 defensive end in JUCO heading into this fall. The recruiting points don’t accurately reflect his impact likely because he’ll transfer in with significantly less eligibility but certainly a ready-to-play-immediately effect.

10. Utah Utes — 67.22

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (53.09)

The Utes got their fourth pledge when three-star DE Viliami Pouha committed to Kyle Whittingham on June 8. He’s the state of Utah’s seventh-ranked player and that gives them, surprisingly, their first commitment from their own state in this cycle.

11. Stanford Cardinal — 67.06

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (67.06)

The Cardinal better watch out if they don’t start getting some commitments soon. We do know, however, that this isn’t necessarily a concern as David Shaw’s no-early-enrollee policy likely diminishes them from early commitments from those looking to do such a thing. Still, they could very well find themselves in last place in these recruiting rankings if they don’t get some pledges soon. They’re averaging two commitments a month and have none in June, so it’s likely we’ll see some soon.

12. Colorado Buffaloes — 52.94

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (41.77)

Head coach Karl Dorrell had an uphill battle to say the least. He had just one player committed and was unable to meet with his team face-to-face for the first time until this past week. He has now received three commitments, all within the past month and a half and two in the month of June. Their most recent was three-star guard Jackson Anderson from Texas as he’s a top guard prospect nationally. A big get and a big reach to pull someone from Texas. Dorrell is trending up and may very quickly topple Stanford to get off the bottom.