CBS Sports rolled out its annual Hot Seat Rankings earlier this month. While on-field results will certainly dictate how active the 2025-56 coaching carousel will be, the overall trajectory of a program can factor into whether a coach is ultimately safe. That’s where talent acquisition comes into play.
With just over 93% of the Top247 recruits for the class of 2026 now committed following a flurry of high-profile decisions in recent few weeks, we thought it would be the perfect time to grade the recruiting classes of the Power Four coaches that are feeling the most pressure before season kicks off.
Is help on the way or is a reset needed?
No. 36 overall, No. 11 in SEC
Biggest Win: QB Bowe Bentley
Sneaky-Good Get: EDGE Daniel Norman
After signing three straight top 10 recruiting classes, Oklahoma is tracking to finish in the back half of the SEC for the second year in a row. It has been an offseason of change in Norman and one of the biggest additions for Brent Venables was new general manager Jim Nagy.
A former NFL scout, Nagy spent the past seven years serving as the executive director of the Senior Bowl. While he’s regarded as one of the brightest minds in the personnel world, he’s still getting his bearings in the ever-changing college football landscape while also feeling the effects of last season’s 6-7 skid.
Texas-based gunslinger Bowe Bentley was a major score for the Sooners as he looks like a carbon copy of new starting quarterback John Mateer. But outside of the Elite 11 Finalist, it’s hard to find a ton of other future difference-makers on the current commit list. Oklahoma is likely going to have to hit the transfer portal again hard this winter regardless of who is in charge.
Grade: C
No. 53 overall, No. 11 in Big 12
Biggest Win: DL Danny Beale
Sneaky-Good Get: CB Josiah Vilmael
Mike Gundy has never really been billed as much of a recruiter or a talent developer, but Oklahoma State has quietly churned out 12 homegrown NFL Draft picks over the past four years despite winning few, if any, high-profile recruiting battles.
While this year’s class looks much the same for Gundy, it actually has some blue-chip flair as the Cowboys are tracking to sign multiple Top247-ranked recruits in the same class for the first time since 2022 with defensive linemen Danny Beale and Tahj Overton both committed.
A one-two punch of Beale and Overton certainly helps in the Big 12, but it’s also hard to look at Oklahoma State’s target list and not be somewhat concerned about the current pulse of the program as 41 of the 53 prospects the Cowboys brought in for official visits this cycle are committed elsewhere. That’s a dismal conversion rate.
Grade: C
No. 47 overall, No. 8 in Big 12
Biggest Win: QB Oscar Rios
Sneaky-Good Get: OL Malachi Joyner
Jedd Fisch might have reset expectations in Tuscon, but history shows that attracting top-end talent to Arizona isn’t easy as the Wildcats have signed just one top 25-ranked recruiting class since 247Sports started ranking players back in 2012. That was in 2022 when Fisch reeled in future pros like Tetairoa McMillan and Jonah Savaiinaea.
Noah Fiffita has two more seasons of eligibility, but once he exits the quarterback picture gets a bit murky. That’s why beating out UCLA, Kentucky and plenty of others this summer for Top247 quarterback Oscar Rios was so important for coach Brent Brennan’s future. Rios is another dual-threat passer who can beat defenses with his arm and legs.
The rest of Arizona’s 20-man class won’t excite many, but a trained eye can spot some potential impact Big 12 players. Malachi Joyner is a powerful and athletic offensive lineman with tackle-guard flex while RJ Mosley is a wide receiver with size that can win on the perimeter.
Grade: B
No. 26, No. 9 in SEC
Biggest Win: OT Bryce Gilmore
Sneaky-Good Get: TE Jaivion Martin
Sam Pittman is back for a sixth season and he’s on pace to sign his highest-ranked recruiting class since 2023. The Razorbacks haven’t won every recruiting battle, but they have won enough to be knocking on the door of the top 25.
The headliner of the group is offensive tackle Bryce Gilmore. He pairs an NFL frame with impressive blocking-finishing conviction. Gilmore is joined at the top of the commit list by a pair of traits-heavy defenders in linebacker JJ Bush and edge rusher Colton Yarbrough. The sleeper of the class might be Jaivion Martin, who has the hands to be a high-volume target in a Bobby Pettrino offense that’s heavy on the two tight end looks.
Arkansas has a daunting schedule on deck, but Pittman — who has had some success in the transfer portal — hasn’t let the noise get to him.
Grade: B
No. 65, No. 15 in SEC
Biggest Win: LB Jaquez Wilkes
Sneaky-Good Get: OT Nikau Hepu
Auburn’s recruiting classes have improved every year since Hugh Freeze took over for Bryan Harsin, going from No. 18 in 2023 to No. 10 in 2024 and then No. 8 in 2025. The Tigers have had plenty of success prying top targets away from rivals in the past under Freeze, but they are going to need an industrial-sized spatula if they are going to avoid unprecedented regression in 2026 — and if Freeze is going to get the entire Deep South to stop talking about his golf affinity.
A commitment from in-state linebacker Jaquez Wilkes early this week moved Auburn up to No. 65 in the rankings, but the class is still behind Group of Five programs like USF and Appalachian State. The Tigers weren’t expected to take a large group after loading up on high-profile transfers, but Auburn has been left at the altar far too many times since the July 4 holiday.
The good news for the folks on The Plains? The Tigers are very much in play for five-star safety Bralan Womack, who is set to announce Aug. 21 on CBS Sports. Ohio State is Auburn’s top foe for Womack.
Grade: D
No. 86, No. 17 in ACC
Biggest Win: OT Thomas Wilder
Sneak Good-Get: CB Zaevion Cleveland
Virginia Tech hasn’t sniffed the top 25 of the recruiting class rankings since Brent Pry took over in Blacksburg and it’s not going to happen this year. The Hokies have an ACC-low nine prospects committed and just a handful of uncommitted targets left on the board with a week to go in July.
Thomas Wilder should become the first four-star offensive lineman from the high school ranks to join Virginia Tech in seven years if he sticks by his commitment to the in-state program. That’s a positive, but what’s alarming is the fact that he’s the only prospect in the top 10 of the state rankings planning to play for the Hokies.
Pry and his staff made some strong senior-season evaluations last cycle and added at least one Year 1 contributor at the buzzer in defensive back Jojo Crim. They are going to have to do it again while filling roster holes with veteran additions.
Grade: F
No. 63, No. 14 in Big 12
Biggest Win: CB Brody Jones
Sneaky-Good Get: OL Austin Hoane
Even with all the success Luke Fickell had at Cincinnati, the Bearcats never emerged as a true recruiting power. There was a stretch where Cincinnati strung together three top 45-ranked classes, but the Bearcats usually found themselves much closer to No. 60 in the rankings. And that’s where Scott Satterfield has been.
Some of Cincinnati’s best players in recent seasons have come through the high school ranks and a quick study of the current recruiting class suggests that the Bearcats are still hunting for those under-the-radar prospects that can out-play their ranking.
Cincinnati’s 18-man class doesn’t include any four-stars at the moment, but it’s a solid group full of developmental traits much like the one the Bearcats had committed last cycle before losing players down the stretch to Michigan, Ohio State and Florida.
Grade: C+
Florida
No. 14, No. 7 in the SEC
Biggest Win: EDGE KJ Ford
Sneaky-Good Get: OT Chancellor Campbell
This time last year, the temperature of Billy Napier’s seat was much hotter and Florida’s recruiting class reflected that as the Gators sat well outside the top 50 of the rankings. That is not the case this summer. Not after the emergence of quarterback DJ Lagway.
Florida hasn’t gotten everyone it has wanted, but it has loaded up on point-of-attack players while adding a pair dynamic offensive playmakers to the fold in running back Carsyn Baker and utilityman Justin Williams. More importantly, Napier has positioned the Gators to hunt for flips should they challenge for a spot in Atlanta.
What also stands out about Florida’s early haul is that 10 of the commits are from the Sunshine State. Even with recruiting getting less and less regional, the Gators continue to invest in local talent.
Grade: A-
No. 58, No. 15 in Big Ten
Biggest Win: RB Amari Latimer
Sneaky-Good Get: DL Djidjou Bah
Luke Fickell’s first two full recruiting cycles at Wisconsin netted top 25 classes, but his third go at things is shaping up to be a disappointment unless the Badgers can generate some momentum through on-field results.
Wisconsin beat out a number of SEC foes for a program-fit in running back Amari Latimer and plucked a big-framed pass catcher out of Florida in Jayden Petit, but there haven’t been many victories outside of that. In fact, the past two months saw two of the Badgers’ more promising commits flip elsewhere in defensive lineman Carmelow Taylor (Ole Mis) and defensive back Zachary Taylor (TCU).
Fickell built a winner through savvy evaluations and sound player development at Cincinnati. The clock is ticking in Madison and the school’s worst finish in the modern recruiting era could accelerate things.
Grade: D+
Kentucky
No. 50, No, 14 in SEC
Biggest Win: QB Matt Ponatoski
Sneaky-Good Get: DL Ben Duncum
For as long as Mark Stoops has been at Kentucky, he has never introduced a recruiting class that ranked worse than 50th. That’s where the Wildcats sit right now.
Stoops lost one of his longtime lieutenants last month in ace recruiter Vince Marrow, who left to take a general manager role at Louisville. There was an instant ripple effect as offensive lineman Jarvis Strickland — UK’s highest-ranked commit at the time — flipped to the rival Cardinals.
Kentucky responded shortly after by beating out Oregon for ballyhooed quarterback Matt Ponatoski, but there aren’t a ton of uncommitted official visitors still out there for the Wildcats. That could have Stoops looking to add another 25 or so transfers come season’s end.
Grade: C-
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