Where did your team finish in Athlon Sports 2012 team recruiting rankings?
-by Braden Gall (@BradenGall on twitter)
The next batch of in-coming college football All-Americans have inked their respective letters of intent. Recruiting is the life blood of the greatest sport on the planet, and, while coaching stills plays the biggest role in winning a championship, having better players can go a long way to earning a trip to the BCS.
Recruiting is an inexact science by definition. It is virtually impossible to accurately peg the mental make-up of any 17-year old child -- much less high-profile, over-coddled 17-year-old athletes. But team recruiting rankings offer the best indication of which team has the best ingredients each coach has to work with each season.
Here are the Top 25 Recruiting Classes, based on averages of all the major recruiting internet services, for the Class of 2012:
Related: View the complete Athlon Consensus 100 here
Athlon Sports' Top 25 Classes of 2012:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
Total Signees: 26, Athlon Consensus 100 Signees: 10, National Signees: 16
2. Texas Longhorns
Total Signees: 28, AC100 Signees: 7, National Signees: 17
3. Florida Gators
Total Signees: 23, AC100 Signees: 6, National Signees: 13
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
Total Signees: 25, AC100 Signees: 6, National Signees: 11
5. Florida State Seminoles
Total Signees: 19, AC100 Signees: 7, National Signees: 10
6. Michigan Wolverines
Total Signees: 25, AC100 Signees: 3, National Signees: 10
7. Stanford Cardinal
Total Signees: 22, AC100 Signees: 7, National Signees: 8
8. Miami Hurricanes
Total Signees: 33, AC100 Signees: 3, National Signees: 9
9. Georgia Bulldogs
Total Signees: 19, AC100 Signees: 6, National Signees: 8
10. USC Trojans
Total Signees: 16, AC100 Signees: 7, National Signees: 10
11. Oklahoma Sooners
Total Signees: 26, AC100 Signees: 3, National Signees: 7
12. Auburn Tigers
Total Signees: 21, AC100 Signees: 4, National Signees: 12
13. LSU Tigers
Total Signees: 22, AC100 Signees: 1, National Signees: 10
14. Texas A&M Aggies
Total Signees: 19, AC100 Signees: 2, National Signees: 6
15. UCLA Bruins
Total Signees: 25, AC100 Signees: 2, National Signees: 5
16. Clemson Tigers
Total Signees: 20, AC100 Signees: 3, National Signees: 7
17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Total Signees: 17, AC100 Signees: 3, National Signees: 9
18. Oregn Ducks
Total Signees: 21, AC100 Signees: 1, National Signees: 7
19. South Carolina Gamecocks
Total Signees: 25, AC100 Signees: 2, National Signees: 5
20. Tennessee Volunteers
Total Signees: 22, AC100 Signees: 0, National Signees: 4
21. Washington Huskies
Total Signees: 25, AC100 Signees: 2, National Signees: 5
22. Virginia Tech Hokies
Total Signees: 28, AC100 Signees: 0, National Signees: 4
23. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Total Signees: 20, AC100 Signees: 1, National Signees: 5
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Total Signees: 26, AC100 Signees: 0, National Signees: 3
25. Cal Golden Bears
Total Signees: 17, AC100 Signees: 2, National Signees: 5
