Pac-12 Football Recruiting Recap

The class of 2021 is shaping up to be something special for the Pac-12 member universities, and we’re here to count them down. Below is the list of commitments, headlines, offers, visits and much more for each and every team in the Pac-12.

Arizona Wildcats

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 6th
Highest-rated commit: 4-star Pro-Style QB Clay Millen
Total commits: 22
List of commitments

Coach Kevin Sumlin has been on a tear through the summer, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. They’re hoping to close out their class with a top-ranked receiver from Texas in Cameron Bonner, a top athlete from California (Velltray Jefferson) and sought after defensive end from Texas (Jayden Jones). If they can land those players, the Wildcats not only stay in the top half, they supplant one or two teams ahead of them/

Arizona State Sun Devils

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 3rd
Highest-rated commit: 4-star CB Isaiah Johnson
Total commits: 20
List of commitments

The Sun Devils and head coach Herm Edwards are proving yet again in 2020 that they’re a team to be reckoned with. An already young nucleus of stars, ASU has added multiple players that are among the tops from their state including the nation’s seventh-best CB in Johnson, the fifth-best center in Ezra Dotson-Oyetade and the country’s 16th-ranked athlete in Tommi Hill from Orlando, Florida. Edwards is proving he can still recruit with the best of them and has the potential to close out this class with the nation’s sixth-best receiver in Dont’e Thornton, 25th-best DE in Davon Townley and potentially the country’s fifth-best cornerback in Ceyair Wright.

California Golden Bears

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 4th
Highest-rated commit: 4-star WR J.Michael Sturdivant
Total commits: 18
List of commitments

They were hot for awhile, and even got as high as third in the conference in the rankings. They’ll stand pat if they keep their slower pace but that may work out for them in the long run. They’ve got an extremely well-rounded class of commitments and have nine offensive commitments and nine defensive commitments. They’re class’s final rank will largely be decided upon Byron Cardwell (No. 8 RB), Yanni Karlaftis (No. 15 OLB), Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (No. 17 ATH) and Justin Johnson (No. 26 RB), each of whom has Cal on their short lists for their pledges this year.

Colorado Buffaloes

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 9th
Highest-rated commit: 3-star TE Erik Olsen
Total commits: 14
List of commitments

The surging Buffs continue to point in the right direction and after a long few months in the bottom of the conference rankings, are firmly in the top 10. They’ve got work to do for this class but they’ve been able to pluck away top players from differing states with seemingly relative ease. Arkansas’s third-best player (DT Tyas Martin), Oregon’s sixth-best player (QB Drew Carter), Nevada’s sixth-best player (ILB Zephaniah Maea) and Iowa’s third-best JUCO transfer (Trustin Oliver) are all tribute to that. Karl Dorrell has also been able to keep multiple in-state recruits as well and would close out the class wonderfully if they could secure some of their top targets including DEs Khristian Zachary and Arden Walker as well as Texas WR Jimmy Valsin.

Oregon Ducks

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 1st
Highest-rated commit: 5-star WR Troy Franklin
Total commits: 18
List of commitments

The Ducks class is currently fifth in the country as they’re one of just two schools in the Pac-12 to hold a five-star commitment. Franklin is the country’s 30th-best player and the state of California’s second-ranked player overall. They’ve done an incredible job of pulling away top talent from other states as well as keeping the top-ranked player from their state in Keith Brown in Oregon. They have the following top-ranked players committed:

5-star WR Troy Franklin — No. 2 overall player in California (No. 30 nationally)
4-star QB Ty Thompson — No. 1 overall player in Arizona (No. 40 nationally)
4-star OT Bram Walden — No. 2 overall player in Arizona (No. 89 nationally)
4-star WR Kyron Ware-Hudson — No. 12 overall player in California (No. 126 nationally)
4-star CB Jaylin Davies — No. 13 overall player in California (No. 132 nationally)
4-star WR Isaiah Brevard — No. 2 overall player in Mississippi (No. 144 nationally)
4-star TE Moliki Matavao — No. 1 overall player in Nevada (No. 149 nationally)
4-star APB Seven McGee — No. 1 overall player in New York (No. 169 nationally)
4-star TE Terrance Ferguson — No. 1 overall player in Colorado (No. 230 nationally)
4-star OG Jonah Miller — No. 5 overall player in Arizona
4-star C Jackson Light — No. 2 overall player in Utah
4-star JUCO CB Jadarrius Perkins — No. 6 overall JUCO transfer
3-star OLB Brandon Buckner — No. 10 overall player in Arizona

They could also make it just that much better with the pledges from J.T. Tuimoloau, the country’s second-best player. Though considered a longshot, the Ducks are still on the board for him as well as multiple other four-star players including WR Dont’e Thornton, OT Kinglsey Suamataia and CB Ceyair Wright.

Oregon State Beavers

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 12th
Highest-rated commit: 3-star RB Damir Collins
Total commits: 8
List of commitments

The Beavers lost a highly-ranked recruit and were pushed to the bottom of the list in terms of conference ranking. They still have some hope, however, as already committed, are players that are great pieces to build around. They’ve received a commitment from a quarterback, running back, tight end as well as multiple linebackers, defensive ends and cornerbacks. They’re high on the list for 3-star WR Jimmy Valsin and tackle Omega Williams, and would be best served to keep pressing the pedal to the metal when it comes to some of these undecided players or late enrollees.

Stanford Cardinal

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 11th
Highest-rated commit: 3-star QB Ari Patu
Total commits: 9
List of commitments

Consider me least-concerned about a team in the bottom half when it comes to Stanford. They’ll continue to pick up recruits that not only A) qualify but B) are also fine with not enrolling early this year. This year, of all years, may pay dividends in head coach David Shaw’s policy of no early enrollees as players are perhaps playing their senior years in the spring. Still, they’ve been slow on the commitment tracker and of their nine commitments, five of them are defensive backs and four of them are safeties. Would like to see them land some of the players that they’re high on the list for to continually not worry about the Cardinal. Players like 4-star CB Ceyair Wright and 4-star DE Aaron Armitage.

UCLA Bruins

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 7
Highest-rated commit: 4-star ATH Devin Kirkwood
Total commits: 13
List of commitments

The Bruins hit the summer months heavy but have trailed off as of late. They still have some important pieces already committed, like securing 3-star dual-threat QB Kajiya Hollawayne after Miller Moss committed to USC. They’ve got just about every position you could cover in the bag already and are high on the list for some top-name prospects like 4-star ILB Ethan Calvert, 4-star RB Byron Cardwell, 4-star G Josh Simmons and 4-star athlete Titu Mokiao-Atimalala, each of whom would be great in-state gets, or in Makiao-Atimalala’s case, a great keep on the west coast as he hails from Hawaii.

USC Trojans

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 2nd
Highest-rated commit: 4-star QB Jake Garcia
Total commits: 18
List of commitments

The Trojans are about the only team that can catch the Ducks for first place in the conference, but not only that, with the players they already have committed, and the players they’re high on for their remaining spots, the Trojans could crack the nation’s top-five classes. They’ve already built themselves a quarterback controversy with the commitments of Garcia and 4-star QB Miller Moss but other than that, this class is well-rounded, top-loaded and doing just what Clay Helton said he would when he said his plan was to ‘take back the West.’ If they can close out this class with Korey Foreman, the top-ranked player overall and 42nd-best player in the history of the 247Sports ratings, this class would rise as one of the best ever in the Pac-12. Not to mention just Foreman, they’re also high 5-star DE J.T. Tuimoloau, 4-star WR Dont’e Thornton, 4-star ILB Ethan Calvert, 4-star RB Byron Cardwell, 4-star DE Aaron Armitage and 4-star G Josh Simmons, all of whom would push this class to a top-3 ranking, and four of whom have been predicted to actually commit to USC.

Utah Utes

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 10th
Highest-rated commit: 4-star QB Peter Costelli
Total commits: 9
List of commitments

Okay, so, the Utes have a lot of rebuilding to do, and with the 29th-ranked class from last year and the fifth-best in the Pac-12, the pieces for the class of 2020 are already in place. This class, however, really lacks a lot of what the Utes are going to need in the future. They do have the services of two four-star players and outside of that, they’ve done a good job of plucking players from big-time states including Texas, Florida and Washington. However, what maybe is most concerning, is that they’re whiffed on multiple top-ranked players from the state of Utah in recent classes and right now have just one commitment from their home state while Oregon is closing in on grabbing the top two and Washington the third-best. It’d go a long way for them not only in the class of 2021, but forever, if they can lock up 3-star DE Logan Fano and 3-star TE Isaac Vaha, each of whom are predicted to stay in-state.

Washington Huskies

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 5th
Highest-rated commit: 5-star QB Sam Huard
Total commits: 14
List of commitments

Buoyed by Huard’s commitment, the Huskies actually have the conference’s third-highest average recruit points per recruit, they just don’t have that many commitments. They’ve received services from some top players in their home state, including four of the top seven players in Washington but their presence that is usually strong in other states seems to be lacking for the class of 2021. The pieces are there but receiving some commitments from top players on their board such as 5-star WR Emeka Egbuka and maybe even No. 2 prospect J.T. Tuimoloau, each of whom hail from Washington, would be an amazing get for Jimmy Lake in his first year as head coach.

Washington State Cougars

Current Class of 2021 Ranking: 8th
Highest-rated commit: 3-star QB Xavier Ward
Total commits: 17
List of commitments

It took a while for head coach Nick Rolovich to get going, but since he received his first commitment under his watch in May, it’s been going smoothly since. They’ve addressed major issues at hand and have also done a great job of grabbing players from out of state, all things considered. However, this class would be much better if they could grab some of the in-state talent still left on the board, players like 3-star DT Jacob Schuster and WR Reed Shumpert. This is a class that has the makings of being a solidly average class but could tip the scales in the top half with some late movement.