Pac-12 Football Recruiting Power Rankings, August 17

The fall season has been cancelled and though the Pac-12 football teams are allowed to work out for 20 hours a week, the race to finish with the top-ranked recruiting class is one of the only battles that we’ll see from the 12 member universities this fall.

The Oregon Ducks have been on top for over a month now, with the USC Trojans closing the gap. Though it looks like no one will be able to catch up with either Oregon or USC, let’s count down the class rankings, according to 247Sports.

1. Oregon Ducks — 261.79 points

Previous Ranking — No. 1 (261.79 points)

So the Ducks haven’t received any commitments since our last check in, and that just shows how much of a lead they have built up along with USC. They’ll eagerly await on the decision of top-recruit Korey Foreman, who just recently stated he’ll sit out his senior year in California, and enroll early. If he chooses USC, the lead will evaporate quickly.

2. USC Trojans — 255.23

Previous Ranking — No. 2 (255.23)

The Trojans are anxiously awaiting Foreman’s decision as well. They’ll rocket to the top class in the Pac-12 if he so chooses Clay Helton and Co. He recently stated he’ll be opting out of the 2020 high school football decision, and that can only mean he’ll be signing his letter of intent in December and likely enrolling at his school of choice in January. He’s the top-ranked recruit on the 247Sports Composite and the third-best player to ever hail from the state of California in their industry-composite ranking system. If he does so choose the Trojans, he would tie Joe McKnight as the highest-rated recruits to ever join USC.

3. California Golden Bears — 202.10

Previous Ranking — No. 5 (178.93)

Cal shoots to No. 3 on these rankings as they’ve had three players commit since our last look in. Three-star DE Derek Wilkins pledged his services while pass-catchers in WR Lu-Magia Hearns and TE Keleki Latu committed over the past seven days. Justin Wilcox now has the nation’s 22nd-ranked recruiting class and a clear-cut third-best Pac-12 class.

4. Washington Huskies — 195.54

Previous Ranking — No. 3 (195.51)

No new commits since our last check in, just a recruiting shuffle in terms of rankings sees their points move a touch. Not enough to do anything and they’ll certainly be interested in some big-time recruit battles as they’re waiting on the state of Washington’s two top-ranked players in J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka to make their decisions. If either one of those two players commit, both five-star plays and both top-10 nationally, the Huskies will absolutely press USC and Oregon for a top-two class.

5. Arizona State Sun Devils — 195.04

Previous Ranking — No. 4 (180.62)

Herm Edwards storm on the recruiting trail continues and they’ve now seen 11 players pledge since July 1. Their most recent commitment has been their best yet, four-star CB Isaiah Johnson from St. Bernard in Playa Del Rey, California. He ranks as the nation’s sixth-best cornerback prospect and 10th-best player in the state. He’s a big man at 6’2, 180 and a big get for Edwards, who’s defensive back history absolutely pays off here.

6. Arizona Wildcats — 170.22

Previous Ranking — No. 6 (164.74)

Believe it or not, the Wildcats have the most committed players for the class of 2021, as they currently have 21 players to verbally pledge to head coach Kevin Sumlin and Co. As crazy as that is to believe, 19 of those 21 players have committed since May 31 as well. Their most recent commitment is that of three-star ILB from Texas, KC Ossai. The younger brother of two college linebackers including Texas Longhorns LB Joseph Ossai, KC is the nation’s 43rd-best inside linebacker prospect for this class and a top-200 player in the state. Sumlin’s Texas roots run deep and come up huge here as Ossai is now the fifth player from the Longhorn state to commit to Arizona.

7. UCLA Bruins — 162.03

Previous Ranking — No. 7 (162.03)

The Bruins are holding strong at 12 commits so far and while their athletic department has bigger fish to fry (see athletic department debt; Under Armour leaving them; etc.), head coach Chip Kelly still has the pieces to make a decent recruiting class for 2021 already committed. In fact, UCLA’s 86.68 recruit points per commit ranks as the fourth-best of those with at least 10 committed players. If he can keep up grabbing solid players with each commitment, the class can continue to rise.

8. Washington State Cougars — 156.28

Previous Ranking — No. 8 (137.70)

The Cougs grabbed a commitment from Texas DE Raam Stevenson Jr. this weekend, helping them stay above the surging Buffaloes. Stevenson also participates in the high jump and hurdles on his high school track team and had at least 12 other scholarship offers to choose from. After a hot May and June, things seem to be picking back up for WSU in August, if they can put their #WeAreUnited issues behind them.

9. Colorado Buffaloes — 137.85

Previous Ranking — No. 12 (96.20)

Speaking of the surging Buffs, Colorado has now seen nine commitments over the past four weeks and received two big-time players at their positions to start the month of August. Dual-threat QB Drew Carter from Tigard High School in Oregon committed and was followed by top-ranked kicker Josh Bryan from Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, California. Carter is the state of Oregon’s sixth-best player and a top-50 dual-threat quarterback. Carter and Bryan committing now give Karl Dorrell 12 total commitments and they’ve almost cracked the top 50% of all FBS schools after being on the bottom for so long this year.

10. Utah Utes — 122.37

Previous Ranking — No. 10 (97.57)

The first our the Pac-12 teams with fewer than 10 committed players, Utah stayed afloat at No. 10 with the commitment of three-star OLB Jonah Elliss, the No. 1 player from the state of Idaho for the class of 2021. He’s the son of a former Ute (Luther Elliss) and his brother is currently a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints. Jonah is as tough as they come and fits the Utes defense MO to a T.

11. Stanford Cardinal — 96.57

Previous Ranking — No. 11 (96.33)

With the fewest total commitments in this class, the Cardinal actually have the Pac-12’s fourth-highest recruit average, seeing an average of 86.95 recruiting points per commit. That is only bested by Washington (who certainly has a five-star helping out there) and USC and Oregon, each who have more four-star recruits than any two other schools combined. If the quality over quantity approach keeps up, they may not rise in these rankings, but they certainly will field an impressive Class of 2021.

12. Oregon State Beavers — 95.12

Previous Ranking — No. 9 (107.48)

Well, anytime you lose the nation’s top JUCO defensive end, your recruiting class is going to suffer. Alex Lemon from Iowa Central CC decommitted from the Beavers earlier this month and re-opened his recruiting, while leaving Oregon State atop his list, however. They still do have the nation’s seventh-best all-purpose running back committed to hang their hats on if all else fails this circuit.