Recruitment rankings are subjective, combining the work of evaluators talking to coaches, the study of tapes and the old-fashioned eye test. Although Nick Saban noted in his signing day press conference that he doesn’t like to put extra pressure on high schoolers adapting to the next level, the general consensus is that the new generation of talent is heading east towards Tuscaloosa historical.
Overall, the Crimson Tide was crowned the No. 1 class by 247Sports, Rivals and On3, signing 27 players. Auburn, under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze, raced to sign 18 players and was ranked 16th overall by one serve.
Here’s how recruiting sites rated the efforts of Tide and Tigers:
More recruitment news: Every rookie in Alabama’s football class of 2023 with highlights
Every Signer in Hugh Freeze’s 2023 Auburn Football Recruiting Class
247 Sports
Andrew Ivins, National Recruitment Analyst at 247 Sports, summed it up nicely with his Article “Winners and Losers”, writes from Alabama: “The Empire Strikes Back”. Alabama was also celebrated by Allen Trieu to have some of the best position runs of any program nationally with two elite running backs – Judge Haynes and Richard Young – and five offensive linemen on board, including five-star Kadyn Proctor.
The Tigers were also considered winners, as the flips of defensive lineman Keldric Faulk and cornerback Kayin Lee were the main reasons Auburn climbed nearly 40 spots in the site’s rankings until the end. 20th place. Faulk is the only top 100 signer on the 247 Sports Composite.
Sports Illustrated
In the SI99, a compilation of top prospects, Alabama led the way with 12 players, one shy of Texas A&M in its highest-rated 2022 class.
“You could say Bama started to land the No. 1 spot the day before signing day when he knocked down top 10 prospect Kadyn Proctor of the local Iowa Hawkeyes, but Nick Saban’s program still hit. more key targets on Wednesday landing in the state of defensive stars James Smith and Qua Russaw,” Sports Illustrated director of recruiting John Garcia Jr. wrote.
Faulk, as in the 247 system, was the only future Tiger in SI99. Freeze’s class ranked No. 18 with Garcia praising the new staff for doing the flips the night before before Oregon and head coach Dan Lanning shocked the system.
“One way or another, the Tigers personnel are ahead of schedule,” Garcia summed up.
CBS Sports
Saban and Freeze were also named as the “winners” of the first signing period by Brandon Huffman. Maintaining five-star security Caleb Downs, who had been sued by home state Georgia, was a contributing factor. Huffman acknowledged that the status quo was reaffirmed in Tuscaloosa, writing “All is well with the world.”
Auburn’s academic work also deserved recognition, per Huffman. Izavion Miller entered the day as No. 4 JUCO tackles their rankings and can be a day one impact piece.
“The Auburn program hasn’t had any recruiting momentum under Bryan Harsin, but things seem to be changing with Freeze at the Plains helm.”
ESPN
Alabama has racked up more players in the ESPN 300 than any other program (22.) It has a chance of getting another one in five-star cornerback Desmond Ricks, who is to announce Thursday. Surprisingly, the Tide topped A&M’s run in 2022 with 11 players in ESPN’s top 28 rankings, compared to eight for the Aggies.
Finishing at No. 1 overall, ahead of Georgia, is a decisive victory for Saban on the recruiting track. staff writer Tom VanHaaren wrote.
Auburn registered 29th overall according to ESPN stats with five ESPN 300 signers and six players overall (running back Jeremiah Cobb has yet to file his paperwork). In the Southeastern Conference, the Tigers finished 11th with Lee’s highest-rated commitment (#184).
Per VanHaaren: “Auburn is following most of the SEC with work to do on the recruiting track, but new coach Hugh Freeze inherits a solid base and has added more talent since taking over.”
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NALvarez@al.com
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