It’s still the early stages of college football’s 2022 recruiting cycle, and there is a lot of uncertainty.
What is apparent are the teams in need of big returns.
Whether it is to take the next step toward becoming a championship-contending program or to revitalize a program, here are five teams in need of a successful year on the recruiting trail.
The Longhorns’ 2021 cycle was far from poor, as they finished among the top 15 nationally. However, this is a new era in Austin, and expectations are sky-high. Texas cannot afford to sit behind rival Oklahoma, a program that has won six straight Big 12 titles, in the class rankings again.
Texas hired Steve Sarkisian to guide the program back to the top of conference and into the College Football Playoff mix, which the Longhorns have yet to appear in.
It may not seem like a far climb up the standings from where they sit now, but breaking into that elite tier is not easy.
The Longhorns no longer have a firm grip on the state’s top talent, as fellow in-state power Texas A&M is now a fierce contender for its best prospects, and perennial national title contenders Alabama and Ohio State have cultivated success in the state as well, including landing its top-rated prospect in back-to-back years.
Having directed the Crimson Tide’s explosive national championship-winning offense, Sarkisian comes to Texas with momentum and has Texas off to one of the fastest starts for the 2022 cycle, with three of the state’s top offensive playmakers on board.
All eyes will be on the new coach to see if he can get Texas over the top and into the national title mix, but to do that he will need to build on this promising start and elevate the Longhorns’ recruiting another a notch.
USC needed to bounce back on the recruiting trail after signing the No. 54-ranked class in 2020, and the Trojans did just that, inking a top-10 class this past February.
With its rival rebounding on the field and in recruiting, the need for UCLA to do the same only intensifies. The Bruins landed in the middle of the Pac-12 for the 2021 cycle but finished with some momentum.
They brought in their only two ESPN 300 prospects — DE Quintin Somerville and DT Tiaoalii Savea — late in the process, and both talented big men could contribute quickly.
To prevent the gap from widening between itself and the conference’s top teams, UCLA needs to build on its late success and take a bigger leap forward.
A building block to a more impactful recruiting class is a greater presence in its home state. UCLA resides in one of the more talent-rich areas in the country but has not signed a player among the top 30 in California since the 2018 cycle.
When UCLA hired Chip Kelly, there was a level of anticipation, as he had enjoyed great success as Oregon’s head coach. In order to take the program, which has not gone over .500 in his tenure, back to the top of the conference, Kelly will need to further elevate the Bruins’ recruiting efforts.
The Gamecocks’ 2021 class fell outside the top 75 nationally and ranked last in the SEC. South Carolina’s class never really hit stride, and when the program dismissed head coach Will Muschamp, the few top commits they did have — including four-stars DE George Wilson and S Bryce Steele — ultimately decommitted. The Gamecocks did not sign a four-star prospect for the first time since 2006.
New head coach Shane Beamer smartly did not panic and just sign bodies that may have boosted numbers for perception. In the short term, he has turned to the transfer market to fill out their class, but moving forward, this is a program that needs to take a big step up on the recruiting trail, as the gap can quickly widen in the competitive SEC, where five programs finished among the top 10 classes.
The 2022 class is already off to a rocky start with ESPN Jr. 300 QB Gunner Stockton decommitting in January. The Gamecocks currently have only one commit.
The good news is Beamer has shown he can be a strong recruiter, and during his previous stint at South Carolina, he played a role in bringing impact players such as Marcus Lattimore and Stephon Gilmore to Columbia.
Within the last decade, Florida State has won a national title and signed a pair of No. 1 overall classes, but those past successes seem quite distant now.
As the Seminoles try to return to college football’s elite, they must restore past recruiting dominance and cultivate better returns from their signings. Head coach Mike Norvell’s first season was a challenging one, but his first full class, despite finishing outside the top 25, presented a positive building block, which they have turned into a strong start for 2022.
The quarterback position has been unsettled in recent seasons, but they landed a promising signal-caller in ESPN 300 Nicco Marchiol, a mobile lefty with a quick release who could finally provide the steady productive presence that has been lacking at that spot.
They also have gained some early verbals from potential impact defenders in premier defensive back prospects Travis Hunter and Sam McCall, as well as promising DL Nyjalik Kelly.
The early signs are present that the Seminoles could make a needed return to the upper tier of the recruiting rankings if they can maintain and build off what has been a good start.
The Wildcats, who finished outside of the top 75 of the 2021 class rankings, are not on the cusp of overtaking the Pac-12, so it’s not as if a big year on the trail is needed to break through on the field.
But to become relevant in the Pac-12 after three straight losing seasons, they need to land on the recruiting radar. And with a new staff, this is the perfect time to become relevant.
Arizona has not had a winning season since 2017 and its highest-ranked class over the previous five cycles was 45th. By contrast, rival Arizona State has developed into a conference title contender.
New head coach Jedd Fisch must rebuild this program, and first and foremost, he will need to improve the program’s presence at home, as Arizona has not signed a top-10 in-state prospect since the 2018 class.
Seven years ago, Arizona played for the conference title, and there is currently no clear cluster of dominant programs within the conference that could make a rise for them unreasonable. But it won’t happen if Fisch and his staff don’t turn things around quickly on the recruiting trail.