Changing face of college football results in blue-chip prospects making some surprising choices

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The changing landscape of college football means the nation’s premier recruits are no longer signing with the same handful of programs.

That became particularly apparent this week when the nation’s top-ranked prospect landed in Vanderbilt of all places.

Vanderbilt parlayed the first 10-win season in school history into a recruiting coup when Nashville (Tennessee) Christian quarterback Jared Curtis decided to stay home and sign with the Commodores. Curtis is the No. 1 overall player in his class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.

“Being here in Nashville and seeing what Vandy has been doing this season has been amazing, and over the past few weeks, I felt more and more that I wanna be a part of that, to be close to home, to play in front of my family and friends and to be what I love to be, an underdog,” Curtis said Tuesday in an X post announcing his decision.

Curtis had been committed to Georgia up until this week. He instead is taking a chance that he can help Vanderbilt continue to thrive after star quarterback Diego Pavia’s departure.

“If you’re interested in inheriting success, if you’re interested in walking into a trophy case that’s already full and a hallway full of NFL players on the walls, there are other programs where you can do that,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Wednesday. “If you can walk these hallways and see your picture on the wall and if you can look at an empty case and (see) the trophies that will go in there, if you want to put your signature on the success, then this is the perfect place.”

Curtis’ decision wasn’t an aberration. Three of the 247Sports Composite's top five prospects signed with home-state schools generally unaccustomed to acquiring five-star recruits.

Houston got the nation’s No. 3 recruit by signing Keisean Henderson of Legacy the School of Sport Sciences in Spring, Texas. Edge rusher Zion Elee, rated fifth overall, is going from Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy to Maryland.

That represents a sea change from just five years ago, when seven of the 247Sports Composite’s top 10 recruits signed with either Ohio State or Alabama.

“This is where college football is at now,” said Andrew Ivins, the director of scouting at 247Sports. “There has been a flattening of the curve.”

As college programs debate how to construct their rosters in an era of revenue sharing and determine how much to invest in the transfer portal, high school recruiting has become a different type of game in which blue-blood programs don’t have an exclusive hold on the nation’s top prospects.

“It parallels the NFL,” Ivins said. “Some schools aren’t going to want to tie up 20% of their budget in a quarterback. They’re going to want to use it elsewhere. Everyone’s trying to figure out how to use their money. For programs that haven’t had a ton of success, it’s easy to rally around a program-changing talent and make that investment in hopes of breaking through.”

The No. 1 spot in the 247Sports Composite’s team rankings will go to either Southern California or Oregon, making this the first time since 2008 that honor has gone to a school from outside the Southeastern Conference. It could come down to the decision of wide receiver Chris Henry (No. 10 in the 247Sports Composite), who had verbally committed to Ohio State but didn’t sign Wednesday and was still considering both Oregon and USC.

USC and Oregon were followed in order by Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M and Miami.

Oregon landed six top-50 recruits in offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 16), tight end Kendre Harrison (No. 18), wide receiver Jalen Lott (No. 22), edge rusher Anthony Jones (No. 26), safety Jett Washington (No. 36) and safety Davon Benjamin (No. 47).

Notre Dame continued its recent pattern of signing sons of former NFL players by adding wide receivers Kadon Finley and Devin Fitzgerald, and linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. Fitzgerald is the son of 11-time Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Finley’s dad is former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley and Davis’ father is three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis.

Here’s a brief look at each Power Four conference.

A name worth knowing is defensive lineman Lamar Brown (No. 2 in the 247Sports Composite). He’s committed to LSU but didn’t sign Wednesday as new Tigers coach Lane Kiffin fills out his staff.

Tennessee landed two of the nation’s top 11 prospects in quarterback Faizon Brandon (No. 7) and Tristen Keys (No. 11). Texas added quarterback Dia Bell (No. 10).

Michigan signed two top-10 recruits in edge rusher Carter Meadows (No. 6) and running back Savion Hiter (No. 8). Henry’s potential wavering on his Ohio State commitment came after South Florida announced it was hiring Buckeyes offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline as its head coach.

Penn State’s prolonged coaching search after the firing of James Franklin decimated its class. The Nittany Lions signed just two players Wednesday.

Consider it one more wrinkle in a bizarre year for this conference. The two teams facing off Saturday in the ACC championship game — Duke and Virginia — had the league’s two lowest-rated signing classes as of Wednesday afternoon.

Miami, Florida State and North Carolina all ranked ahead of Clemson, which had been the ACC’s heavyweight on the field and on the recruiting trail for much of the last decade.

Texas Tech spent the offseason signing elite transfers that have the Red Raiders on the verge of a College Football Playoff appearance. It turns out Texas Tech can sign top recruits as well.

The Red Raiders had the Big 12’s best signing class and added two top-15 prospects in offensive tackle Felix Ojo (No. 13) and edge rusher LaDamion Guyton (No. 15).

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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.

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