After postseason all-star games over the past month, the 2026 recruiting cycle will finally come to a close over the next few weeks with the February signing period. The overwhelming majority of prospects have already signed — and enrolled — at their next schools, but there’s still a bit of work to do for a few other names.
To help put a bookend on this class, Rivals released its final players rankings on Tuesday, the Rivals300. The changes there have caused a bit of moment in the team rankings, which we outline below:
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The Rivals Industry Ranking is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all three primary recruiting media services. The Rivals Industry Ranking is the industry’s most advanced, complete, and unbiased measurement.
The Rivals Industry Ranking equally weights the primary recruiting media services. For football, the algorithm is weighted as follows: Rivals (33%), 247Sports (33%), and ESPN (33%).
1. USC – 93.762
35 total signees
2 five-stars | 20 four-stars | 13 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star TE Mark Bowman, No. 25 NATL. (No. 3 TE)
Barring a miraculous late change for another school, USC will sign the No. 1 class in the country for the first time in 20 years. The Trojans took the top spot early last winter, loaded up on elite prospects during the summer months, and maintained their edge all the way through signing day. Nine of their 35 signees rank among the top 100 players nationally, led by Bowman and five-star cornerback Elbert Hill (No. 31).
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30 total signees
4 five-stars | 17 four-stars | 9 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star EDGE Rodney Dunham, No. 17 NATL. (No. 5 EDGE)
Coming off its national championship last year, Notre Dame went to work early in the 2026 class to continue building on that momentum. Marcus Freeman and Co. did exactly that, signing the Fighting Irish’s best class of the modern recruiting era. The group is headlined by four five-stars and two more players (Grayson McKeogh and Ayden Pouncey) who sit just outside the top-32. It’s hard to argue anyone has a deep crop of incoming players than ND in 2026.
3. Oregon – 92.793
21 total signees
4 five-stars | 12 four-stars | 5 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star OT Immanuel Iheanacho, No. 9 NATL. (No. 2 OT)
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Dan Lanning and his staff have pursued smaller classes each of the past two years than some of the counterpoints, taking only only 39 players in the 2025 and 2026 cycles. What they’ve focused on instead is quality; the Ducks for the second year in a row have the highest average rating per signee of any team in the country. They’re tied with Notre Dame for the most five-stars and will again reload their roster in pursuit of the College Football Playoff.
32 total signees
1 five-star | 21 four-stars | 10 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star TE Kaiden Prothro , No. 23 NATL. (No. 2 TE)
For the first time in a number of years, Georgia doesn’t have a top-3 class heading into the second signing day in February. The Bulldogs took a significant loss late in the cycle with Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Jared Curtis flipping to Vanderbilt during the Early Signing Period. But UGA’s group — despite having only one five-star — is extremely deep with 22 blue-chippers and seven players ranked in the top 100.
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25 total signees
3 five-stars | 12 four-stars | 9 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star LB Xavier Griffin, No. 20 NATL. (No. 2 LB)
In his second full cycle as Alabama’s head coach, Kalen DeBoer has the Crimson Tide among the biggest winners of the 2026 cycle. Although its run of dominance on the trail that was seen under Nick Saban looks to be over, the Tide still inked one of the best classes in the country with 15 blue-chips. In total, the group includes six players who rank in the top-50 nationally, headlined by the country’s No. 2 linebacker Xavier Griffin.
28 total signees
1 five-star | 16 four-stars | 11 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star WR Chris Henry Jr., No. 8 NATL. (No. 1 WR)
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Another program who has consistently been among the top 3 in recruiting for much of the past decade, the Buckeyes took a slight step back this year despite winning the national title last January. But in the grand scheme of things, this class is likely to be another foundational piece for Ryan Day and Co. They were able to hold onto the Rivals Industry’s No. 1 wide receiver in Henry, and still signed six other top-100 players.
27 total signees
1 five-star | 21 four-stars | 5 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star CB Brandon Arrington, No. 14 NATL. (No. 3 CB)
Since taking over at the end of 2023, Mike Elko has done nothing but improve the talent level in College Station. That was obvious in 2025, as the Aggies made their first-ever CFP appearance. They signed an elite recruiting class in his first full year as head coach, and did so again this year. Defense and improving their wide receiver group was a big focus, and they signed top-20 players positionally at EDGE, WR, CB, and RB.
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29 total signees
2 five-stars | 12 four-stars | 13 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star QB Faizon Brandon, No. 10 NATL. (No. 4 QB)
2025 was a step back on the field for Tennessee after making the CFP the year prior, but it didn’t slow down their recruiting at all. Even with a major overhaul of their defensive coaching staff, the Vols still locked in a top-10 class that includes two of the nation’s top six linebackers and an elite safety prospect. And that doesn’t even begin to cover what they did on offense, landing five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon and No. 2 wide receiver Tristen Keys.
T8. Miami – 92.000
31 total signees
1 five-star | 18 four-stars | 11 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star OT Jackson Cantwell, No. 1 NATL. (No. 1 OT)
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The on-field results for Miami finally caught up to Mario Cristobal’s recruiting prowess, with the ‘Canes making it to the national title game. What they proved for than anything is that Coral Gables can be a destination for championship-level players, and they look to have signed a number of them this cycle. In total, 19 blue-chippers will suit up for the Hurricanes next year as freshmen, including the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit.
10. Texas – 91.896
23 total signees
3 five-star | 10 four-stars | 10 three-stars
Top Signee: 5-star QB Dia Bell, No. 7 NATL. (No. 3 QB)
For the first time since he took over in 2021, Steve Sarkisian isn’t bringing a top-5 class to Austin this offseason. But fret not, there’s still multiple five-stars and 13 blue-chippers in total headed to the Forty Acres. Sark and his staff added one of the country’s elite quarterbacks in Bell, along with five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley.
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Teams 11-25 in updated Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings
11. LSU – 91.049
12. Michigan – 90.862
13. Washington – 90.079
14. Florida State – 90.029
15. Florida – 90.020
16. Oklahoma – 89.913
17. North Carolina – 89.764
18. South Carolina – 89.645
19. Clemson – 89.308
20. Texas Tech – 89.207
21. West Virginia – 89.057
22. Illinois – 88.834
23. SMU – 88.636
24. BYU – 88.571
25. Ole Miss – 88.548
