Pac-12 Spotlight: Grading the 2023 class
The Early Signing Period has come and gone and each team dealt with its own set of challenges due to the coaching carousel, lack of available scholarships or complications from the transfer portal. Here is a report for how each Pac-12 program's recruiting class fared now that we're through the Early Signing Period.
PAC-12 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS
CONFERENCE REPORT CARDS: ACC | SEC | Big Ten | Big 12
*****
NSD COACH INTERVIEWS: Stanford's Troy Taylor | Rutgers' Greg Schiano | Maryland's Mike Locksley | Florida State's Mike Norvell | USF's Alex Golesh | Michigan State's Mel Tucker | Louisville's Jeff Brohm | Illinois' Bret Bielema | Virginia Tech's Brent Pry | Wisconsin's Luke Fickell | Clemson's Dabo Swinney | Georgia Tech's Brent Key | Cal's Justin Wilcox | Nebraska's Matt Rhule | Indiana's Tom Allen | Penn State's James Franklin | Texas Tech's Joey McGuire | Arizona's Jedd Fisch | Virginia's Tony Elliott | Florida's Billy Napier | Kansas' Lance Leipold | Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham | Vanderbilt's Clark Lea
*****
MORE NSD: Latest on the unsigned stars | The Gorney Awards | Team rankings breakdown | National Signing Day Live | Studio Show | Five teams with work left | Top storylines for Late Signing Period | Grading the new P5 coaching hires | Biggest surprises | Southeast roundtable | Best available offensive players | Best available defensive players
*****
Arizona (No. 7 Pac-12, No. 45 overall)
There was no five-star finish like WR Tetairoa McMillan the cycle before but Arizona did a tremendous job closing on a lot of top prospects in the weeks before signing day that could have a significant impact in the coming years.
Three-star WR Malachi Riley and DB Emmanuel Karnley were two important pick-ups, landing four-star OL Raymond Pulio after it wouldn’t work out at Alabama for him and then flipping three-star WR Carlos WIlson from Utah among other moves were highlights in the closing days.
Although transfer portal points are not calculated into the team rankings yet, especially landing former five-star LB Justin Flowe from Oregon could change the scope of the defense.
Grade: B-
*****
Arizona State (No. 11 Pac-12, No. 62 overall)
Prior to Dec. 2, Arizona State had a total of three commitments as this season was tough in so many ways from a pending NCAA ruling to the firing of coach Herm Edwards and through the coaching search which brought former Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham back to Tempe. That was the first step in the right direction as December was incredibly silly and so was ASU’s work in the transfer portal.
The major highlights of the class were two rather unexpected moves as four-star Shawn Russ Jr. picked ASU after his recruitment had gone quiet for months and then landing four-star DE Ashley Williams was huge. The former Nebraska and Auburn commit had planned to wait until February but the Sun Devils came strong later and landed him.
If transfer portal rankings were factored in here, ASU would be far higher because Dillingham and his staff have done a tremendous amount of work there which includes getting quarterback Drew Pyne from Notre Dame among many others.
Grade: Incomplete
*****
Cal (No. 12 Pac-12, No. 94 overall)
Sandwiched between Appalachian State and South Florida toward the bottom 100 of the team rankings sits Cal, one of only two teams in the conference with Washington State that does not have a four-star commitment.
The Golden Bears did especially well locally with three-star receiver Nyziah Hunter and fast-emerging running back Jaivian Thomas out of Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds who rushed for 2,456 yards with 29 touchdowns this season.
Cal also utilized the portal well although those team recruiting points won’t show up here yet. The best additions are arguably Oregon RB transfer Byron Cardwell and Colorado DB Kaylin Moore.
Grade: D
*****
Colorado (No. 5 Pac-12, No. 31 overall)
When Deion Sanders became the coach at Colorado there was a complete transformation of the recruiting class as about a dozen prospects looked for other opportunities and Sanders looked for a high-profile finish. The Buffaloes had some success by flipping four-star running back Dylan Edwards from Notre Dame and after four-star WR Omarion Miller backed off his Nebraska pledge, he planned to wait until February until Colorado locked in his commitment last week.
From QB Kasen Weisman to WR Adam Hopkins to JUCO OL Isaiah Jatta, Colorado is making moves as Sanders looks to quickly rebound from a 1-11 season. Although it doesn’t count toward its team total yet, Colorado has also done phenomenally well in the transfer portal by landing former five-star Travis Hunter and others.
Grade: B+
*****
Oregon (No. 1 Pac-12, No. 11 overall)
Coach Dan Lanning’s club has the top-ranked class in the Pac-12 and flips had a lot to do with Oregon’s success. The Ducks beat Ohio State and USC for five-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei and then flipped four-stars QB Austin Novosad from Baylor, CB Daylen Austin from LSU and RB Jayden Limar from Notre Dame. Others tried hard to flip four-star receiver Jurrion Dickey but he stuck with Oregon and gives the Ducks another outstanding receiver.
Things could have been even better if the drama surrounding five-star safety Peyton Bowen played out differently. The Denton (Texas) Guyer standout picked Oregon on signing day only to have his parents delay sending it to Oregon. After some time, Bowen decided to sign with Oklahoma instead over Notre Dame and the Ducks.
Grade: A
*****
Oregon State (No. 9 Pac-12, No. 57 overall)
Quarterback should not be a problem in the coming years in Corvallis as Aidan Chiles from Downey, Calif., had a phenomenal senior season and is the lone four-star in the class. Although transfer points do not count toward the team recruiting total yet, picking up former five-star and Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei could be huge for the Beavers’ offense.
This is a program heading in the right direction and even though Oregon State is in the back-half of the conference rankings there is still a lot of high-end talent including receivers Tastean Reddicks and Montrell Hatten and defensive ends Kelze Howard and Nikko Taylor. Three-star receiver Zachary Card could be a significant steal.
Grade: C
*****
Stanford (No. 8 Pac-12, No. 46 overall)
Once former coach David Shaw announced his resignation, there were some significant departures from Stanford’s recruiting class including Walker Lyons, Hunter Clegg and Jaden Platt as both sides reset. As the Cardinal hired former Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor, he’s done a great job of building the class back and getting Lyons back on campus early on.
A bunch of three-stars joined Stanford’s class in the closing days before signing day but landing four-star quarterback Myles Jackson from Long Beach (Calif.) Millikan as he even reclassified from 2024 was a major victory. WR Tiger Bachmeier and DB Jshawn Frausto-Ramos could be tremendous players down the line.
Grade: B-
*****
UCLA (No. 6 Pac-12, No. 44 overall)
Arguably the biggest flip this entire recruiting cycle came in the closing days before last Wednesday when five-star quarterback Dante Moore went from Oregon to UCLA. Moore’s relationship with new Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham was too strong to overcome once he took the Sun Devils’ job and a late visit to Westwood - along meeting with coach Chip Kelly - was a big selling point.
The Bruins only signed 14 as four-star receiver Grant Gray and a strong defensive haul were the highlights as UCLA could really start to focus on the transfer portal and restocking that way.
Grade: B
*****
USC (No. 2 Pac-12, No. 13 overall)
It was an uneventful signing day for USC as coach Lincoln Riley and his staff did lots of their work early on and still signed an outstanding class filled with playmakers on offense and high-end talent especially at linebacker.
Texas A&M and others tried to flip five-star QB Malachi Nelson and five-star WR Zachariah Branch in the summer but without success and high four-star receiver Makai Lemon also had an impressive senior season. Missing on Uiagalelei definitely hurt since he’s a local prospect at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco as he chose Oregon over the Trojans and Ohio State.
Things could get even better for the Trojans during the late period as they’re still going after five-star tight end Duce Robinson, four-star TE Walker Lyons and four-star CB Rodrick Pleasant among others.
Grade: A-
*****
Utah (No. 3 Pac-12, No. 20 overall)
Late November and December were incredibly productive for Utah as it landed four-star offensive lineman Caleb Lomu around Thanksgiving to set off a torrid finish for the Utes that propelled them into a top-20 class.
WR Mikey Matthews committed on the first day of December followed by local prospect Spencer Fano, defensive end Hunter Clegg flipped from Stanford, CB Smith Snowden stayed home, DB CJ Blocker rejoined the class and things finished with RB John Randle Jr. picking the Utes over Kansas, Kansas State and others. All of those prospects are four-stars.
Walker Lyons would be a huge finish. According to sources, Utah looked best for Lyons if he decided to commit during the early period. He opted to wait until February opening the door more for Stanford and USC but Utah is still definitely involved.
Grade: A-
*****
Washington (No. 4 Pac-12, No. 24 overall)
Maybe the biggest win of Washington’s entire recruiting cycle came on signing day when four-star cornerback Caleb Presley flipped from Oregon to Washington. Not only was it a recruiting win from a regional and conference opponent, but Presley was not feeling the old Huskies staff and ever since Kalen DeBoer came in, Washington got right back in this recruitment. The Huskies have pumped out high-end defensive backs and Presley could be the next one.
Defensive backs and wide receivers were well-represented at the top of the rankings in Washington’s class with Presley and Curley Reed at DB and Taeshaun Lyons and Rashid Williams at receiver. The offensive line added a lot of pieces and the defensive backs room should be stocked.
High three-star linebacker Deven Bryant from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco could be the sleeper in this class.
Grade: A-
*****
Washington State (No. 10 Pac-12, No. 60 overall)
It was a mixed bag down the stretch for Washington State, which lost talented quarterback commit Sam Leavitt to Michigan State and then some other significant recruiting departures throughout the fall.
Still, the Cougars went to Texas, Illinois, California and the JUCO route for some big-time late commitments to pull the class together. The offensive line and the secondary were two major focal points of this recruiting class and coach Jake Dickert and his staff did well loading up there.
Grade: C-