The college football recruiting class of 2021 refers to the recruiting of high school athletes to play college football starting in the fall of 2021. The scope of this article covers: (a) the colleges and universities with recruiting classes ranking among the top 20 in the country as assessed by at least one of the major media companies, and (b) the individual recruits ranking among the top 20 in the country as assessed by at least one of the major media companies.
The Alabama Crimson Tide, led by head coach Nick Saban, had the top recruiting class according to Rivals.com, 247Sports, and On3. Ohio State was ranked second by all three services.
Media outlets disagreed over who was the nation's top recruit. Rivals.com and 247Sports selected quarterback Quinn Ewers as the No. 1 recruit. Ewers committed to Ohio State but later transferred to Texas. Defensive end Jack Sawyer was selected as the No. 1 recruit by ESPN and also committed to Ohio State. Defensive end Korey Foreman was selected as the No. 1 recruit by the USA Today and committed to USC.
Top ranked classes
School Rivals 247 On3Alabama111Ohio State222Oregon366LSU435Georgia543Clemson654Texas A&M787USC878Notre Dame9911Florida101213Michigan111314Miami121110Oklahoma13109Wisconsin141617North Carolina151412Texas161516Ole Miss171719Nebraska182024Missouri192728Maryland201825Auburn221922Penn State252118Florida State272320Jackson State 15
Top ranked recruits
PlayerPositionSchoolESPNRivalsUSA Today247SportsQuinn EwersQuarterbackOhio State (Texas transfer)31 1Jack SawyerDefensive endOhio State11235Korey ForemanDefensive endUSC4412Tommy BrockermeyerOffensive tackleAlabama2946Maason SmithDefensive tackleLSU5822320JT TuimoloauDefensive endOhio State5724JC LathamOffensive tackleAlabama6373Caleb WilliamsQuarterbackOklahoma (USC transfer)17657Amarius MimsOffensive tackleGeorgia21568Leonard Taylor IIIDefensive tackleMiami7411111Jeremiah Trotter Jr.LinebackerClemson889 37Brock VandagriffQuarterbackGeorgia3881217Sam HuardQuarterbackWashington (Cal Poly transfer)1617812Keeshawn SilverDefensive endNorth Carolina988 31Dallas TurnerLinebackerAlabama1319 9TreVeyon HendersonRunning backOhio State1081 23Ty ThompsonQuarterbackOregon6810 40Terrence LewisLinebackerMaryland11301421Emeka EgbukaWide receiverOhio State3111910Smael MondonAthleteGeorgia1297 35Donovan JacksonOffensive guardOhio State7113 19Ja'Tavion SandersAthleteTexas14142113James WilliamsSafetyMiami36201315Tristan LeighOffensive tackleClemson25271014Shemar TurnerDefensive endTexas A&M1532 22Bryce FosterOffensive guardTexas A&M14715 Mario Williams Jr.Wide receiverOklahoma (USC transfer)18161543Camar WheatonRunning backAlabama44 1634Nolan RucciOffensive tackleWisconsin37181816J. J. McCarthyQuarterbackMichigan26 1725Damon PayneDefensive tackleAlabama27 1824Kyle McCordQuarterbackOhio State32 1828Kool-Aid McKinstryCornerbackAlabama41 18Dylan BrooksDefensive endAuburn19124 Jaxson DartQuarterbackUSC (Ole Miss transfer)20107
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