Breaking down the 2026 recruiting class by the numbers

The world of college football recruiting is evolving at a breakneck pace these days, particularly with so much uncertainty around the House settlement, revenue-sharing, NIL and roster limits. This cycle of prospects in particular are facing a process unlike any seen before with all of the aforementioned ups and downs.

And while the summer recruiting period is always heavy on visits and commitments, this one was even more intense than most.

Coming out of a hectic past 2 1/2 months, Rivals is breaking down some of the most notable numbers that define this class so far:

95% — of blue-chip prospects are committed

As we go into a recruiting dead period in August and recruits ramp up their senior seasons of high school football, more of them are already committed than any cycle in recent memory. After a slew of commitments late in June, the beginning of July was certifiably nuts. The result of that is more than 380 of the 400 blue-chip prospects in this year’s Rivals Industry Ranking are already committed — totaling out to more than 95 percent of the available four- and five-stars. With close to a dozen more blue-chippers with dates already scheduled in August, we expect to see fewer than 10 uncommitted prospects in that group by the time September rolls around.

144 — Four- and five-star pledges for the SEC

No league has dominated recruiting in recent decades like the Southeastern Conference has. Programs like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida have regularly been near or on top of the recruiting rankings, and that was before Oklahoma and Texas joined. The elite schools in the league continue to land top players at a high clip, but a number of programs lower down the list have struggled this cycle.

In 2025, the league’s 16 teams combined to sign 199 of the top 400 players nationally — 88 more than the next closest league. So far in 2026, that number is down to 145 with less than 20 uncommitted blue-chippers still available.

74 — Blue-chippers committed to ACC programs

While the SEC, and to a slightly lesser degree the Big Ten, have gobbled up most of the nation’s top talent, the ACC has struggled to keep pace. Last cycle, they signed just a combined 52 blue-chippers — nearly half of the Big Ten’s haul and one-third of the SEC’s. The league has seen a resurgence in this class though, boosted by strong classes from Miami, Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina. Each of those programs sits inside the top-20 of the team recruiting rankings heading into August.

37 — Top QBs are locked in

Passers are typically the first of the position group to lock in their spot because of how limited the available spots are. We saw a handful of decommitments and flips over the summer. And now that the dust has settled, each of the nation’s top 37 quarterbacks are committed, and 49 of the top 50. It won’t be a surprise to see some movement between now and signing day given the flips we saw last cycle. But for now, all it is quiet on the QB front.

18 — different schools have a 5-star commitment

One of the biggest talking points around NIL has been its ability to spread talent out more evenly among top programs. And we’ve seen that in previous cycles and in this one. But the extent to which that happens can very. Last year, 15 teams signed a five-star, which matched the total of the 2023 class as well. This year, that number has jumped to 18 and includes programs like Syracuse, Texas Tech, Houston, BYU and Maryland that aren’t known as traditional recruiting powerhouses.

Of the three uncommitted five-stars, two are strongly considering programs that don’t currently have a top-32 player committed. Will we see 20 different schools sign a five-star?

17 — average number of commits per school

As shocking as having 28 of 32 five-stars committed by the end of July is, the sheer volume of total commitments might be even more eye-opening. Yes, there’s the number of committed blue-chippers, but high- and mid-three stars are also flying off the board. As we hit August, the average number of commitments per school is up to 17. For context, last year’s cycle didn’t hit that number until less than a month before the Early Signing Period in December. As Rivals’ Adam Gorney reported, a number of schools have pushed hard to get commitments before the August 1 date where revenue-sharing contracts can be presented to recruits.

9 — SEC teams in top 25 of Rivals Industry Team Rankings

As mentioned above, the SEC continues to lead the pack when it comes to recruiting. But at least in this class alone, the gap has tightened some — particularly when you move into the middle and lower end of the league’s teams. SEC programs hold six of the top 13 spots in the team rankings right now, and nine of the top 25. But the Big Ten, which has four of the top 13 and eight in the top 25, has leveled the playing field to a degree.

The most noticeable dropoff is down the list, as schools like Oklahoma (27), Arkansas (30), Kentucky (38), Vanderbilt (40), Mississippi State (51), Auburn (55) and Missouri (66) all sit outside the top-25. A year ago, the SEC signed 13 of the top 25 classes in the country. Barring some major flips, it’s hard to see that number being touched in this cycle.

3 — uncommitted 5-stars heading into August

Five-stars are the cream of the crop in recruiting, and the most attention is paid to them throughout the cycle. But after a two-month span in June and July that saw 16 of them commit, including EDGE Anthony Jones getting in just under the deadline, only three remain uncommitted as we head into August.

Running back Savion Hiter, safety Bralan Womack and interior offensive lineman Darius Gray are all that’s left of the list, and each has a commitment date set between August 19-22. This fall could be the first without much five-star intrigue going into signing day, but knowing the recruiting world, we’ll still see plenty.