The final Top247 rankings for the class of 2025 are set, and as the dust settles, certain programs have once again flexed their recruiting muscle. With the rankings mirroring an NFL Draft-style first round — 32 players earning coveted five-star status — the battle for elite talent reflects the top of college football.
While opinions may vary on individual rankings, the sheer volume of top-end talent a program signs is often a strong predictor of success on Saturdays and beyond. Our final look at the 2025 class reveals which schools won the recruiting arms race at the highest level, signing the most players with the long-term upside to hear their names called early in the NFL Draft. After years of evaluation, development projections, and tracking these athletes’ growth, here’s where the biggest five-star hauls landed.
The Bulldogs signed four four-stars. Are you surprised three of them are in the trenches and the other is at linebacker? You shouldn’t be. The Georgia machine just keeps rolling. Defensive tackle Elijah Griffin moved up from No. 4 to No. 3, but the move to write home about in Athens was mammoth offensive tackle Juan Gaston jumping from No. 108 to No. 18! Gaston turned heads during practices for the Under Armour All-America Game and he wears 365 pounds like it’s 300.
Sporting the No. 1 recruiting class entering the day (we’ll see how the final rankings shake out the next week with other moves across the industry), Texas swapped one five-star faller (Michael Terry III) for a riser in cornerback Kade Phillips. One of the best track-and-field athletes in the class, Phillips appears to be ahead of the curve when it comes to making the transition from pass catcher to pass defender. The Longhorns are getting an old DBU reputation back with Jahdae Barron winning the Thorpe Award in 2024 and now signing two five-star defensive backs in Phillips and freaktastic safety Jonah Williams, who is playing baseball for the Longhorns this spring.
The rightful national champions say goodbye to a $20 million, Last Dance-inspired roster but say hello to a very good 2025 recruiting class that hits all the notes, including at the five-star spot: Quarterback, receiver, cornerback — positions that have defined Ohio State’s run of success the last several years. We’ve written plenty about QB Tavien St. Clair cornerback Devin Sanchez, but how about late riser Quincy Porter, at receiver? We entered the final rankings update hoping that a wide receiver would play his way into a fifth star and Porter did just that. A game-breaker under the lights with 38 touchdowns in 37 career varsity games, the big-framed target is just now scratching the surface of what he can be.
It was not the best debut season for Kalen DeBoer — CBS Sports slapped him with a fair C- grade — but this is a strong recruiting class, albeit surprisingly light on in-state talent. Dynamic QB Keelon Russell, out of Texas, shot up the recruiting rankings during this cycle and flipped his commitment from SMU over the summer. Russell finishes No. 2 overall, just behind Bryce Underwood. He may be the second coming of Jayden Daniels. We’re not saying he wins the starting job over Austin Mack or Ty Simpson, but if Alabama’s 2025 season hits the skids, DeBoer’s going to have to turn to Russell at some point.
Oregon is the second school in the history of the 247Sports era (2010-) to ink a recruiting class made up exclusively blue-chip players (five- and four-stars). There are two five-star signees in Dan Lanning’s haul. Wide receiver Dakorien Moore was a shocking recruiting blow over the summer when Oregon snatched him out of Texas’ lap. Moore is likely to contribute immediately as Oregon retools its passing attack.
Mike Elko’s first full recruiting class is highlighted by two five-star signees, though it would have been three had the Aggies not lost Husan Longstreet to USC in the wake of national QB dominos. It works both ways, though. Texas A&M flipped offensive tackle Lamont Rogers from Missouri. Rogers ranks as the No. 7 offensive tackle in the class and is one of the best in the class when it comes to engaging multiple targets on any given snap. He is enormous.
Michigan nailing the biggest recruiting win of the cycle (his name is Bryce Underwood, and we’re sure you’ve heard of him) meant the Wolverines could have inked a bunch of nobodies the rest of the way and it still would have been a successful haul. But Sherrone Moore’s first full class is mighty good and also features offensive tackle Andrew Babalola, the No. 2 offensive tackle in the class. His 37-inch arms were the longest of any player at this year’s Navy All-American Bowl. Babalola will be a monster under Moore’s tutelage, and we know Underwood will be spectacular, too.
Signed one five-star: Clemson, Kansas State, USC, Georgia Tech, Miami, Tennessee, Iowa, SMU
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