Pac-12 football recruiting sees 6-year high

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 USC’s No. 12.  Lincoln Riley’s squad however ranks No. 2 in the transfer portal rankings with Dan Lanning’s 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 (Nelson’s 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 Ja’Kobi 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 nation’s 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-Robinson’s 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 Wilcox’s 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 Taylor’s 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 nation’s 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 Dickert’s 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: