Coming off a season where the conference finished with six teams in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2014, the Pac-12 re-loaded this offseason with five schools in the top 25 of the 247Sports team overall recruiting rankings. Those five schools in the Top 25 are the most for the Pac-12 since 2017 and are the second most among all conferences this year.
Overall, the conference brought in five 5-star high school recruits, its most since 2017 including three of the four 5-star high school signees on the West Coast.
Also according to 247Sports, the Pac-12 had four teams in the top 10 of the transfer portal rankings.
The Pac-12 also continues to be the best conference for quarterbacks. Last season, the Pac-12 had eight quarterbacks pass for 3,000 or more yards which is just the second time in college football history that a conference has had eight signal-callers reach that milestone in the same season (2014 Pac-12).
Even with six of those eight QBs returning for 2023, Pac-12 schools signed five of the top 12 high school quarterbacks in the Class of 2023 while also adding five of the top 25 in the transfer portal.
No. 8 USC and No. 9 OREGON lead the way for the Pac-12 in the overall rankings. The Ducks hold the advantage over the Trojans in the high school/JC recruiting at No. 8 to USCs No. 12.
Lincoln Rileys
squad however ranks No. 2 in the transfer portal rankings with
Dan Lannings
squad at No. 12.
OREGON leads the Pac-12 in HS/JC recruiting for the fifth straight year. Their high school class is led by 5-star WR
Jurrion Dickey
, the No. 2 prospect at his position and the first 5-star offensive skill player to Oregon since RB Thomas Tyner in 2013. Edge
Matayo Uiagalelei
and CB
Rodrick Pleasant
(who they added in the late signing period) are also Top 100 recruits and helped the Ducks sign 4 of the Top 10 signees in the state of California this year. Their work in the portal is highlighted by EDGE
Jordan Burch,
who transferred from South Carolina after being the No. 8 overall recruit in the Class of 2020.
USC has a Top 10 class for the third straight year and secured two 5-star talents in WR
Zachariah Branch
(the No. 4 overall prospect) and QB
Malachi Nelson
(the No. 1 overall recruit according to ESPN). Top 50 prospect WR
Makai Lemon
(Nelsons HS teammate at Los Alamitos in Southern California) leads a deep group of 4-star high school prospects and the Trojans added two more in the late signing period with TE
Walker Lyons
and WR
JaKobi Lane
. The No. 2 portal class featured several intra-conference additions as well as DL
Anthony Lucas
from Texas A&M, who was the No. 59 overall prospect in the Class of 2022.
The addition of "Coach Prime" in Boulder has paid immediate dividends to their recruiting efforts. COLORADO sits at No. 21 in the 247Sports rankings, their first appearance in the Top 25 since finishing No. 15 in the Class of 2008. The nations No. 1 overall high school cornerback recruit,
Cormani McClain
, will be making the trip from Florida to the Rocky Mountains. McClain is the third highest rated recruit in Colorado history and their first 5-star high school signing since 2008. The Buffaloes No. 5 transfer class is highlighted by the No. 1 overall transfer recruit in CB
Travis Hunter,
who was the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2022 and played for
Deion Sanders
at Jackson State last season. New defensive coordinator
Charles Kelly
was named the 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year thanks to his work at Colorado and Alabama before joining the Buffs.
Chip Kelly
has UCLA back in the Top 25 for the first time since 2018. Their recruiting class is led by
Dante Moore
from Detroit, the No. 3 QB in his class and No. 5 overall prospect. With Dorian Thompson-Robinsons record-setting career as a Bruin over, UCLA also added
Collin Schlee
from Kent State who was the No. 4 rated QB in the transfer portal. The Bruins went heavy on familiar faces in the portal with five of their 13 transfers coming from other Pac-12 schools.
Two-time defending Pac-12 champion UTAH comes in at No. 25, their highest ranking in school history. The Utes highest rated recruit is Top 100 OT
Spencer Fano,
a 4-star prospect from nearby Provo who will be joined by his brother
Logan Fano.
Logan Fano is transferring from BYU after being a 4-star EDGE in the Class of 2021.
Kyle Whittingham
kept three of the top four in-state recruits with 4-star EDGE
Hunter Clegg
and 4-star CB
Smith Snowden
staying home.
Coming off their first 11-win season since 2016, WASHINGTON kept their momentum going under
Kalen DeBoer
with a strong class including seven 4-star recruits out of high school. The Huskies were able to keep the No. 1 recruit in the state of Washington home in CB
Caleb Pressley
and add even more talent to the WR room with 4-stars
Taeshaun Lyons
and
Rashid Williams
, both from California. The defense got some established talent through the portal with LB
Ralen Goforth
(USC) and CB
Jabbar Muhammad
(Oklahoma State) while RB
Dillon Johnson
(Mississippi State) and WR
Germie Bernard
(Michigan State) come from out of conference to provide even more firepower.
ARIZONA STATE got the
Kenny Dillingham
era off to a good start by bringing in the No. 6 high school QB in the country in
Jaden Rashada
from Northern California. The Sun Devils also have the No. 10 transfer class which features former Notre Dame starting QB
Drew Pyne
, All-Big Sky WR
Xavier Guillory
and eight players from other Pac-12 schools.
Jedd Fisch
has ARIZONA with a Top 40 class in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005-06. 4-star QB
Brayden Dorman
joins the Wildcats as the No. 2 recruit out of the state of Colorado while the transfer portal brings former 5-star high school LB
Justin Flowe
, who was the No. 6 overall recruit in 2020 when he signed with Oregon.
OREGON STATE capitalized on their best season since 2006 with
Jonathan Smith
finding a pair of highly sought after quarterbacks. Former Clemson QB
D.J. Uiagalelei
comes to Corvallis through the portal after going 22-6 as a starter in Death Valley. 4-star QB
Aidan Chiles
from California is the No. 12 prospect in the country at his position and the sixth highest rated recruit in program history.
Justin Wilcoxs
CALIFORNIA class brought in a powerful group of transfers including QB
Sam Jackson V
from TCU and LB
David Reese
from Florida. The Bears WR room also got a boost in this class with 4-star
Nyziah Hunter
and
Marquis Montgomery,
the No. 3 JC WR in the country.
STANFORD brought in some immediate help to the offensive line through the transfer portal with a pair of Ivy League standouts in
Trevor Mayberry
(Penn) and
Alec Bank
(Harvard). 4-star CB
Jshawn Frausto-Ramos
is the highest rated high school recruit of
Troy Taylors
first class with the Cardinal.
WASHINGTON STATE used the portal to bring in some more weapons for QB
Cam Ward
and new offensive coordinator
Ben Arbuckle
, who at just 27 years old led Western Kentucky to the nations most passing yards last season. WRs
Kyle Williams
(UNLV),
Isaiah Hamilton
(San Jose State) and
Joshua Kelly
(Fresno State) should help keep the Cougars offense rolling in
Jake Dickerts
second full season.
AROUND THE PAC-12
WEST COAST HEROES
: 17 former Pac-12 players were selected for the East West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas on Thursday. UCLA QB
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
had a game-high 95 pass yards alongside Arizona State RB
X Valladay's
game-high 76 rushing yards to lead the West to a 12-3 victory. Other Pac-12 stars who were invited:
-
EAST:
Utah RB
Tavion Thomas
(26 rush yards, 8 rec yards), Oregon OL
Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu
, UCLA OG
Jon Gaines
, Arizona State LB
Kyle Soelle
, Oregon Safety
Bennett Williams
-
WEST:
UCLA RB
Kazmeir Allen
(11 rush yards, 46 return yards), USC RB
Travis Dye
, Oregon State FB/TE
Jack Colletto
, UCLA WR
Jake Bobo
(1 reception, 6 yards), USC TE
Josh Falo
(1 reception, 15 yards), Washington OL
Jaxson Kirkland
, Washington OL
Henry Bainivalu
, UCLA OL
Atonio Mafi
, Utah LB
Mohamoud Diabate
, Arizona Safety
Christian Young
SENIOR-ITIS:
The Senior Bowl takes place in Mobile, Alabama on Saturday, February 4 (11:30 a.m. PT on NFL Network) with 10 former Pac-12 stars participating.
-
National Team
: Arizona State DL
Nesta Jade Silvera
, California DB
Daniel Scott
, Oregon LB
DJ Johnson
, Stanford DB
Kyu Blu Kelly
, Stanford WR
Elijah Higgins
, Stanford WR
Michael Wilson
, USC DB
Mekhi Blackmon
, Washington State LB
Daiyan Henley
-
American Team:
Oregon State DB
Rejzohn Wright
, Oregon State TE
Luke Musgrave
PRO MOVES:
The 2023 Pro Bowl also takes place this weekend on Sunday, February 5 (12:00 p.m. PT on ABC/ESPN/Disney XD) with nine former Pac-12 stars invited:
|
Player
|
School
|
NFL Team
|
Pro Bowls
|
|
DE
Cameron Jordan
|
Cal
|
Saints
|
8th
|
|
SS
Budda Baker
|
Washington
|
Cardinals
|
5th
|
|
QB
Jared Goff
|
Cal
|
Lions
|
3rd
|
|
RB
Christian McCaffrey
|
Stanford
|
49ers
|
2nd
|
|
QB
Tyler Huntley
|
Utah
|
Ravens
|
1st
|
|
SS
Jordan Poyer
|
Oregon State
|
Bills
|
1st
|
|
OT
Penei Sewell
|
Oregon
|
Lions
|
1st
|
|
WR
Amon-Ra St. Brown
|
USC
|
Lions
|
1st
|
|
SS
Talanoa Hufanga
|
USC
|
49ers
|
1st
|