The college football season truly does take up 12 months every year. Coaches waste little time making the transition from playing football games to playing the recruiting game as they continually restock their rosters with exceptional talents. The top programs in the nation have consistently found ways to land some of the most talented players in the country and that has been the case again this year. Here is a look at the four most impressive recruiting classes for 2016.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama opened the offseason by landing two key additions to their offensive line in five-star recruit Jonah Williams and the No. 1 ranked junior college football player in the country in Charles Baldwin. Baldwin is expected to slide in immediately as the Tide’s starting right tackle while Williams might take a little longer to develop coming out of high school as the No. 3-rated offensive tackle in the 2016 class. The Tide also signed a pair of top-10 guards in Chris Owens and Deonte Brown. Alabama’s additions on the defensive side of the football were just as impressive, including No. 1-rated inside linebacker Ben Davis. The Tide also managed to sign the No. 5-rated outside linebacker in the country in Mack Wilson. While it would be a lot to ask them to start next season, Saban admitted the potential is there for that to happen. Alabama did its best to replace Heisman trophy-winning running back by adding the No. 1-rated running back B.J. Emmons. Emmons likely needs some time to develop, but will have that opportunity with Bo Scarborough set to step up as a sophomore next season. The defending national champions took a pretty big hit in terms of the talent they lost this offseason, but Saban did a tremendous job limiting the damage with the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles had the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country at one point before sliding back down to No. 2, but some still feel that nobody did a better job this offseason than Jimbo Fisher. No. 5-rated offensive tackle Landon Dickerson was a tremendous addition on signing day. Dickerson joined center Baveron Johnson and tackles Jauan Williams and Josh Ball as an impressive group of additions along the offensive line, but the Seminoles did an even better job addressing their defense with an absolutely stacked class of recruits. No. 1-rated cornerback Levonta Taylor, cornerback Carlos Becker and inside linebacker Dontavious Johnson all have the potential to be studs. They will be complimented by four-star outside linebacker Emmett Rice as well as another standout at defensive end in Brian Burns. No. 2-ranked dual-threat quarterback Malik Henry capped off this impressive class and there is a case to be made that Florida State actually deserves to be No. 1 on this list.
LSU Tigers
LSU fans have to be thrilled about the job that head coach Les Miles and his staff did and not only because they won Louisiana. Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron will have plenty of new weapons to develop with an extremely impressive class on that side of the football. Defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence is a five-star recruit as well as the No. 5-rated defensive tackle prospect. He will be joined by fellow tackle Glen Logan as well as Edwin Alexander and Caleb Roddy. The secondary was also reloaded with top cornerback Kristian Fulton as well as Saivion Smith, Eric Monroe, Cameron Lewis and Andraez Williams, who all rank among the top-300 recruits according to ESPN. Wide receiver Drake Davis is considered an elite playmaker and when you factor in the additions of Willie Allen at tackle and Donavaughn Campbell at guard it’s clear the Tigers loaded up on the offensive side of the football as well.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes capitalized on their 2014 national championship and a strong 2015 season that could end with defensive end Joey Bosa being the first-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by dominating the recruiting trail once again. It certainly helps that one of the top prospects in the country also happens to be the brother of Ohio State’s top NFL prospect. Bosa’s brother Nick Bosa is a five-star defensive end as well as the top prospect at his position and he will follow in Joey’s footsteps and play for the Buckeyes. Meanwhile, Ohio State added some considerable speed and playmaking ability at running back with the additions of Demario McCall and Antonio Williams, who are both top-10 recruits at their position. Meanwhile, quarterback Dwayne Haskins was a major steal from Maryland and could be a star down the road. Urban Meyer has done an outstanding job since taking over as the Buckeyes head coach and that continues with another absolutely loading recruiting class for 2016.
