Ducks Fly Together: 4 Takeaways From College Football Summer Recruiting

With the window for official visits having come and gone, we've reached the point in college football's recruiting calendar when 2027 classes are beginning to take shape. More and more players are choosing to announce decisions in advance of their senior seasons in high school, which means the bulk of what remains for college coaches between now and the early signing period is about retention and preservation.

At this time a year ago, USC sent shock waves across the sport by cobbling together the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, fueling what head coach Lincoln Riley hopes will be his best season since taking over the Trojans in late 2021. Now, it's Texas A&M and Notre Dame who sit atop the rankings after flurries of spring and summer commitments. 

USC and Notre Dame's historic rivalry is not on the 2026 college football schedule, but the two programs still battled for the top spot on the recruiting trail. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

With most of the top prospects already committed and another dead period now upon us, it's a great time to reassess where things stand in the 2027 cycle. 

Here are my takeaways from the summer recruiting push.

* Recruiting rankings and historical data courtesy of 247Sports and current as of July 8. 

1. Oregon Continues To Pace Big Ten Recruiting

In the same way that 2024-present can be described as the Big Ten’s bi-coastal era, with schools like Penn State and Rutgers on one side and newcomers Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA on the other, then the period from 2011-2023 can be rightly viewed as the age of divisions. First came the Legends and Leaders, which only lasted two years, and then came the more traditional East and West delineations in the decade-long stretch before the league's most recent bout of expansion.

Tight end Jamari Johnson and Dante Moore dance during the 2026 spring football game. (Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

During the 13 total years in which divisions defined the Big Ten, so, too, did Ohio State’s ruthless winning and player acquisition. The Buckeyes were the conference's only program to appear in a national championship between 1997 (when Michigan faced Nebraska) and 2023 (when Michigan beat Washington), and they did so in large part because of high school recruiting dominance relative to their Big Ten peers. So dominant were Ohio State’s player-acquisition efforts amid this stretch that it finished with the Big Ten’s best recruiting class 13 times from 2009-2023, including a run of eight straight years from 2011-2018. No other Big Ten program could dream of matching the Buckeyes' prowess.

Until, that is, Oregon entered the conference ahead of the 2024 season. Fueled by an aggressive, forward-thinking head coach in Dan Lanning and the near-bottomless coffers of chief donor Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, the Ducks have barnstormed Big Ten recruiting in recent years. They finished atop the conference’s recruiting rankings in 2024, their inaugural Big Ten season, and have ranked second, second and first in the three years since, though the 2027 class is not yet finalized. 

(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

Still, the Ducks’ current haul sits third overall, nationally, behind only Texas A&M and Notre Dame, thanks to eight commitments from players in the top 75 overall. Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and UCLA round out the rest of the league’s top-five classes. 

Oregon's current group is anchored by five-star edge rusher Rashad Streets (No. 23 overall, No. 4 edge) and five-star wide receiver Dakota Guerrant (No. 37 overall, No. 5 WR). If both players wind up signing with the Ducks, it will mark the third consecutive recruiting class in which Lanning has inked at least two players with five-star pedigree. 

2. First-Year Coaches Succeeding In The QB Market

Even in an era when transfer quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy in three of the last four years — Fernando Mendoza, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams — there’s still a unique jolt that courses through fan bases whenever a marquee high school prospect announces his commitment. And that’s especially true for blue-chip quarterbacks, whose presence alone can be magnetic and unifying on the recruiting trail, long before they’ve ever thrown a pass in college. 

(Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

Which is why it’s been particularly fascinating to see which programs have secured verbal pledges from high-profile quarterbacks in the 2027 class, a group that appears relatively light on talent with only three five-star prospects and 25 four-star prospects. Those numbers are slightly lower than what we’ve seen in recent years: The 2026 class featured four five-star QBs and 28 four-star QBs; the 2025 class had five five-star QBs and 25 four-star QBs and the 2024 class had three five-star QBs and 29 four-star QBs. 

While there is certainly a long way to go between now and the early signing period, it’s worth noting that five of the top 11 quarterbacks in the 2027 class have verbally committed to programs with first-year head coaches: 

— Jake Nawrot (No. 65 overall, No. 5 QB) is committed to Kentucky, where former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is now in charge. 

— Peter Bourque (No. 80 overall, No. 7 QB) is committed to Virginia Tech, where former Penn State head coach James Franklin took over. 

— Peyton Houston (No. 91 overall, No. 8 QB) is committed to LSU, where former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin now plies his trade. 

— Davin Davidson (No. 109 overall, No. 9 QB) is committed to Florida, where former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall made a leap to the power conferences. 

— Kamden Lopati (No. 119 overall, No. 10 quarterback) is committed to Michigan, where former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has assumed duties. 

Virginia Tech Hokies Head Coach James Franklin during the 2026 spring football game. (Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

By landing an elite quarterback prospect early in their respective tenures, each of those aforementioned coaches have given their fans, donors and other high school targets something significant to rally around in the early stages. Nothing fuels roster building more than hope.

3. Nebraska Bounces Back With Impressive Class

For the Cornhuskers, three consecutive seasons with sub-.500 finishes in conference play invited plenty of criticism for head coach Matt Rhule, who remains winless against ranked opponents during his three seasons at Nebraska, and just 2-24 over the course of his college football coaching career. So when Rhule and his staff endured a surprising plummet down the high school recruiting rankings for the 2026 class, finishing a desultory 88th overall and last in the Big Ten, another collection of eyebrows raised — especially when considering the program’s ample financial backing.

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How different the narrative is this time around, though, with Nebraska pulling together 22 verbal commitments for 2027 in a class that now ranks 15th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten behind only Oregon (No. 3 overall), Ohio State (No. 9 overall) and Michigan (No. 11 overall). The group is anchored by legitimate star power at the top in quarterback Trae Taylor, a five-star prospect and the No. 25 overall player and No. 1 signal-caller in the country. Taylor, who plays at Millard South High School in Omaha, Nebraska, was named MVP at this year’s Elite 11 Finals. 

He’s one of five Nebraska commits ranked among the top 150 prospects nationally alongside athlete Troy Pittman III (No. 50 overall, No. 3 ATH); interior offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma (No. 83 overall, No. 5 IOL); wide receiver Khalil Taylor (No. 84 overall, No. 13 WR) and safety Corey Hadley Jr. (No. 147 overall, No. 11 S). That both Pittman and Trae Taylor are in-state prospects reflects Nebraska’s local dominance for this particular class. Rhule and his staff own commitments from five of the top six players in the state.

If the rankings hold steady between now and the early signing period, this will be Nebraska’s most decorated high school class since finishing No. 8 overall in 2005.

Matt Rhule is seeking his first college football playoff appearance as he enters his fourth season at Nebraska. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

4. Texas A&M On Pace For A Historic Class

In so many ways and for so many reasons, the 2022 recruiting class assembled by then-Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher remains a historic haul. Eight five-star recruits. Nineteen four-star recruits. Twenty-one players rated among the top 200 nationally. Fisher's 2022 class held an incredible average prospect score of 95, which is higher than anything we’ve seen from any school in the five cycles since. It was everything the Aggies imagined when they hired Fisher, a national championship winner at Florida State, ahead of the 2018 season.

Texas A&M during the 2025 College Football Playoff. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images)

Fast-forward to what current head coach Mike Elko and his staff have accomplished in the 2027 cycle, where the Aggies claim the nation’s best recruiting class, and it’s easy to draw comparisons to Fisher’s fabled group. As things currently stand, Texas A&M has two more commitments from five-star prospects (six) than anyone else in the country and secured verbal pledges from 11 of the top 59 players overall. No program has successfully signed that many five-star recruits in a single class since Alabama landed nine such players in 2023 under former coach Nick Saban.

In assembling their 2027 class, the Aggies have chased down high-level talent across the country. Only two of their five-star commits are from Texas in safety JayQuan Snell (No. 34 overall, No. 2 S) and offensive tackle Kennedy Brown (No. 35 overall, No. 4 OT). The others play their high school football in Florida (x2), Georgia and Maryland. The highest-rated player is offensive tackle Mark Matthews (No. 5 overall, No. 1 OT) out of highly-touted St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a national powerhouse that has produced swaths of NFL talent.  

Mike Elko enters his fifth year as the head coach at Texas A&M. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

But despite an overflow of top-end players, the Aggies’ class only ranks third in average prospect score at 92.92, trailing both Miami (93.16) and Notre Dame (93.04), with the slimmest of leads over Ohio State (92.91) and USC (92.89). It will be fascinating to see if anyone can catch Texas A&M between now and the early signing period.  

4½: What’s Next?

At the time this story was written, only four players rated among the top 100 overall prospects in the 247Sports Composite remained uncommitted. Here’s a brief update on each of them: 

Wide receiver Monshun Sales (No. 8 overall, No. 2 WR): One of the most coveted skill players in the class, Sales has taken official visits to Indiana, Alabama, Ohio State, LSU and Texas. It would be a monumental recruiting victory for Hoosiers’ head coach Curt Cignetti to keep Sales, an Indianapolis native, in his home state. Sales is expected to announce his decision later this month.

Running back David Gabriel Georges (No. 10 overall, No. 2 RB): Considered by some experts to be the top tailback in the nation, Gabriel Georges has whittled his choices down to Ohio State and Tennessee after taking official visits to both earlier this spring. He plays his high school football at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a little more than two hours from the Volunteers’ campus. Gabriel Georges has set a decision date of July 22. 

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes continue to build out their 2027 recruiting class. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

Running back Landen Williams-Callis (No. 28 overall, No. 3 RB): Based on Williams-Callis’ array of finalists, it seems likely that he’s leaning toward staying home for his collegiate career. A native of Richmond, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston, he took official visits to Texas A&M, Texas, SMU, Houston and Oregon. Though the Longhorns are rumored to be leading the race, no official commitment date has been announced. 

Safety Ta’Shawn Poole (No. 68 overall, No. 5 S): Poole is viewed as the fifth-best player in the talent-rich state of Georgia, where he stars for Howard High School in Macon, roughly 75 miles south-east of Atlanta. He’s narrowed his choices to Florida State, Tennessee and Georgia from a list of suitors that included seemingly every blue-blood program. The Seminoles are rumored to be in the lead as Poole’s decision date of July 17 approaches.