Who won the month of July in recruiting?
June was the first month football players could take visits since the pandemic and from June 1 to June 25, players were all over the country. The visits were extremely important, especially for the recruits in the 2022 class, and some of those visits led to commitments in July.
Some big names made decisions in July and six programs really stood out from the rest.
1. PENN STATE
Penn State is putting together its best class under James Franklin this cycle and it reeled in 12 commitments in July to give them a total of 24. Out of the 12 commitments, they pulled top players out of six different states.
The leader of this group is Dani Dennis-Sutton out of Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh. He was a strong lean to Georgia just a week or so before he committed, then Penn State pulled ahead late. He is a top-10 defensive lineman in the country.
The Nittany Lions picked up a couple of running backs, too. Nicholas Singleton of Reading (Pa.) Governor Mifflin is the No. 2 running back in the country. Singleton has been described as the total package. Kaytron Allen of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy added his name to the commitment list as well.
Another big pull from the Sunshine State was Cam Miller of Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy. The four-star is a versatile defensive back who plans to start out at cornerback in Happy Valley.
If 12 commitments in the 2022 class weren’t enough, Penn State got their first in 2023, too. It came from Alex Birchmeier of Asburn (Va.) Broad Run, a top 50 player in Virginia. He is one of the top offensive tackles in his class, so Penn State is off to a strong start in 2023.
2. ALABAMA
It will be hard for Alabama to repeat the historic class it signed in 2021, but the Crimson Tide will again likely challenge for the top signing class in the country again in 2022. The reigning national champions made big moves toward a top class in the month of July.
Alabama picked up half a dozen commitments, and the biggest of them all came from Jeremiah Alexander of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson. The in-state EDGE committed to Alabama for a second time, and it looks like it will stick this time. Georgia had some momentum at one time, but Alexander went back with the home-state school.
Staying in state, Alabama landed four-star safety Antonio Kite of Anniston and three-star slot receiver Kobe Prentice of Calera.
Another big pick-up literally and figuratively was offensive tackle Tyler Booker of IMG Academy. The top 100 offensive tackle took official visits in June, and got down to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State before committing to the Tide. He will come out of IMG Academy ready to compete for playing time.
Another big out-of-state commitment was Shawn Murphy from Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed. He is an All-American with national offers. They closed out the month with a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Dayne Shor. He grew up an Auburn fan, but the lineman from Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark is rolling with the Tide.
3. OKLAHOMA
Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma Sooners pulled in 10 commitments in July. The Sooners were sizzling. Eight of the commitments came from the class of 2022, then two of the best in 2023 committed as well.
Starting with the seniors, the top commitments came from offensive tackles Jake Taylor of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman and Jacob Sexton of Edmond (Okla.) Deer Creek. Both are four-stars. Derrick Moore is a four-star defensive lineman out of Baltimore St. Frances Academy, and this was another significant pick-up in the trenches for the Sooners.
The top commitment, though, came from Malachi Nelson, a five-star quarterback from Los Alamitos, California. He had national offers before committing to Riley on July 18, his parents’ anniversary. He will be the face of the next class for Oklahoma.
Treyaun Webb of Trinity Christian Academy is a versatile athlete out of Florida, and the four-star junior committed to the Sooners over Georgia and Ohio State. He is expected to play running back in Norman.
4. CLEMSON
What a summer it’s been for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers. After picking up four commits in June, they added another quartet to the 2022 class in July.
The headliner of the group that committed in July is five-star Daylen Everette. The cornerback out of IMG Academy committed to Clemson over Georgia and North Carolina. He is physical, athletic and a player expected to compete for playing time immediately.
Everette checks in at No. 8 in the On300, and Jeadyn Lukus, another cornerback is the No. 58-ranked player in the country. Clemson beat out North Carolina again in this race. Lucas is a long corner who decided to stay in state out of Mauldin, South Carolina.
The other two commits are both top 100 players. Keon Sabb is an athlete who can line up all over the defense, and he lines up with Everette at IMG Academy. The most recent commit is Jaren Kanak out of Hays, Kan. He is labeled by some as an athlete, but On3 likes him as a linebacker in the ACC. Sabb and Kanak check in the initial rankings at No. 77 and No. 78.
5. NOTRE DAME
In less than two weeks, Notre Dame picked up four commitments. On July 2, three-star safety Jayden Bellamy out of Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic chose Notre Dame over Penn State and Rutgers.
The Irish landed a couple of talented defensive backs last month as well. Four-star safety Devin Moore from Naples, Fla., and four-star cornerback Benjamin Morrison of Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory give Notre Dame four defensive back commitments this cycle.
The top commitment came from Jaylen Sneed, a top-50 player in the country. He is a very athletic linebacker out of Myrtle Beach, S.C. that picked the Irish over Oregon. Sneed will take speed and the ability to cover to South Bend.
6. MIAMI
Miami entered August with eight commits and five of those came in July. Four-star Chris Graves of Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot grew up a Miami fan and committed to his dream school July 9. He got things rolling for Manny Diaz and Graves instantly became a leader of this recruiting class.
Four-star Trequon Fegans committed to Miami July 30 to close out the exciting month. He is a versatile defensive back with size out of power program Thompson in Alabaster, Ala.
In between Graves and Fegans, Miami went into Texas to land linebacker Justin Medlock of Manvell, they pulled wide receiver Isaiah Horton out of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland and offensive tackle Falentha Carswell committed from Sandersville (Ga.) Washington County. Carswell is a basketball player who has real upside on the offensive line and Horton and Medlock both have impressive offer lists when they committed to the Hurricanes.