Meet college football’s 10 top recruiters for Class of 2022
Behind every star-studded signing class, there’s a hard-working assistant coach that puts in countless hours on the recruiting trail and sends thousands of text messages and DMs to help make it happen. On3 examines which top recruiters did the most damage in the 2022 class. Beyond looking at how many four- or five-star recruits a coach lands, we’re going to also consider the needs those recruits will fill at the next level. The coaches are listed in alphabetical order.
Jahmile Addae
School: Georgia
Top recruit: Malaki Starks
What he did: It’s hard to imagine a better full first cycle at a school than that of Jahmile Addae’s first at Georgia.
The Dawgs brought him in January 2021, and by February 2022, he’s played a huge role in restocking the defensive back cupboards with five studs.
Top-10 player Malaki Starks could play anywhere, but he looks as if he’ll get the first run at safety. Meanwhile, Daylen Everette and Jaheim Singletary were late-cycle five-star adds. The other two members of the defensive back class, JaCorey Thomas and Julian Humphrey, also check in as well-rated four-stars.
The Dawgs are losing talent and experience to transfers and the NFL after this season, but the work of Addae should ease the transition to a great degree.
It’s a no-brainer to have his name on the list of top recruiters for the 2022 class.
Dre Bly
School: North Carolina
Top recruit: Zach Rice
What he did: The former Tar Heel legend has now established himself as one of the top recruiters in the country. And that’s especially true with the 2022 class at UNC that finished at No. 10 in the country.
Bly was the central recruiter for Rice, the five-star offensive tackle that is one of the top all-time recruits signed by the Tar Heels. That effort is worthy of inclusion.
He also recruited four-star and top-10 running back George Pettaway, four-star receiver Tychaun Chapman and four-star cornerbacks Tayon Holloway and Marcus Allen.
As Bly’s reputation grows, so will his success on the national recruiting trail. It will be exciting to see who he lands in the future.
Miguel Chavis
School: Oklahoma
Top recruit: Gracen Halton
What he did: Many were writing off Oklahoma’s 2022 class as doomed after Lincoln Riley took off for USC. But thanks to Miguel Chavis’ efforts, the Sooners were one of the big winners on Signing Day.
On Signing Day, OU and Chavis landed a flurry that included four-star defensive linemen Gracen Halton and R Mason Thomas and four-star EDGE Kevonte Henry.
What was even more impressive about the signings is that all three were committed to other schools, and Chavis had to convince them that Norman was the better place.
Those wins — along with adding players at positions of need — cement his spot on this rundown of the top recruiters.
Kyle Flood
School: Texas
Top recruit: Devon Campbell
What he did: Texas signed arguably the best offensive line class ever, and Kyle Flood had a huge hand in it.
Campbell, the five-star offensive lineman from Arlington (Texas) Bowie, was a significant head-to-head recruiting win over rival Oklahoma. But that wasn’t the only major recruiting win on the offensive line for Flood.
Five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, four-star offensive tackles Cameron Williams and Malik Agbo and four-star interior offensive linemen Neto Umeozulu, Cole Hutson and Malik Agbo were all recruited personally by Flood.
Banks’ flip from Oregon was an especially satisfying recruiting win for the Horns. And that alone might have been enough to his name on the list of top recruiters.
Pete Golding
School: Alabama
Top recruit: Jihaad Campbell
What he did: Any list of the top recruiters without an Alabama coach on it would be incomplete. And Pete Golding definitely gets high marks for his efforts in the 2022 class that finished No. 2 overall.
Golding’s persistence with Campbell helped the Tide land the former longtime Clemson Tiger commitment and five-star EDGE.
He was also central in helping the Tide go into LSU’s backyard and land coveted four-star receivers Aaron Anderson and Shazz Preston. He also was the primary recruiter for Mississippi four-star defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis, who was heavily pursued by in-state schools until the end.
Curtis Luper
School: Missouri
Top recruit: Luther Burden
What he did: Curtis Luper is no stranger to lists of top recruiters. He’s done it everywhere he’s been, so it should be no surprise to see him doing it again at Mizzou.
Luper, the lead St. Louis area recruiter for the Tigers, was a central figure in the recruitment of Five-Star Plus+ Luther Burden. He also helped the Tigers with a star-studded St. Louis area class featuring four-star Marquis Gracial, four-star safety Isaac Thompson and four-star receiver Ja’Marion Wayne.
Yes, others played roles in their recruitments, including head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. But Luper is a big reason why the Tigers have the No. 15 class in the country. It’s a class that on paper is the best in Mizzou history.
Elijah Robinson
School: Texas A&M
Top recruit: Walter Nolen
What he did: Looking for a reason why Texas A&M landed the top-ranked class in the modern era of recruiting? Then look no further than Elijah Robinson.
Yes, the entire staff in Aggieland did an outstanding job. But Robinson’s hustle, relationship-building abilities, and genuine approach to recruiting landed Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Walter Nolen, four-star defensive lineman Anthony Lucas, four-star EDGE Enai White, four-star EDGE Malick Sylla. He also played a role in helping reel in four-star cornerback Bobby Taylor, four-star defensive lineman Jadon Scarlett and others.
But maybe more importantly, he helped orchestrate one of the biggest flips of the entire 2022 cycle. Robinson was able to convince five-star defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy to flip from his family’s ties at Oklahoma and sign with the Aggies.
It’s a strong enough resume to definitely put his name on any list of top recruiters.
Ra’Shaad Samples
School: TCU
Top recruit: Jordan Hudson
What he did: Ra’Shaad Samples was already making waves when he was at SMU. But when he moved across the Metroplex, his recruiting success rose to an even higher level.
Samples was able to take several nationally-recruited players he had ties with at SMU and convince them that Fort Worth is the place to be.
This includes Jordan Hudson, a four-star that ranks as the No. 10 receiver in the country. It was a similar story with four-star safety Chace Biddle, four-star EDGE Micheal Ibukun-Okeyode and four-star cornerback Kyron Chambers.
That effort alone gets your name on a list of the top recruiters. But Samples also played a role in helping TCU secure commits at other positions and solidifies his resume as one of the best recruiters in the game.
Ja’Juan Seider
School: Penn State
Top recruit: Nick Singleton
What he did: Landing the Gatorade national football player of the year is always a good thing to have on your resume. That’s exactly what Ja’Juan Seider did when he signed five-star running back Nick Singleton out of Reading (Pa.) Governor Mifflin.
Singleton is the all-time leading career rusher in Berks County history. That is thanks in part to a 2,043-yard season in 2021 that also included a whopping 41 touchdowns.
And he’s taking all that talent to Happy Valley, thanks to the job that Seider did recruiting him.
Seider also was the primary recruiter for another talented running back in four-star Kaytron Allen out of IMG Academy in Florida.
There were others on the Penn State staff that did excellent jobs and played a big part in the No. 7 class, but we’re adding Seider’s name to the top recruiter list for revamping the running back room.
Patrick Toney
School: Florida
Top recruit: Kamari Wilson
What he did: Convincing players your school is the perfect place is hard. But it’s even more complex when you arrive on campus with about a month left to Signing Day. That was the case for Patrick Toney. And it didn’t stop him from landing a good portion of the Gator’s 25th-ranked class.
Toney played a pivotal role in landing four-star safety Kamari Wilson, the top overall prospect in UF’s class and a top-50 recruit.
He was also the key recruiter for four-star defensive lineman Chris McClellan, who is the No. 120 player in Oklahoma. At one point, it appeared he was a lock for a school closer to home. But Toney flipped the script.
Then there was his work with top-60 overall player and four-star linebacker Shemar James and four-star safety Devin Moore, a top 200 prospect.
Toney quickly proved he can recruit on a national level and is worthy of being mentioned as one of the top recruiters in the 2022 class.