2026 college football recruiting class

The college football recruiting class of 2026 refers to high school athletes recruited to play college football in the fall of 2026. The scope of this article covers: (a) the colleges and universities with recruiting classes ranking among the top 25 in the country as assessed by at least one of the major media outlets, and (b) the individual recruits ranking among the top 20 in the country as assessed by at least one of the major media outlets: 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals.

Top ranked classes

Each of the schools listed below were ranked within the top 25 recruiting classes by at least one major recruiting site. They are listed in order of their highest ranking by any of the major media outlets. Rankings may change, and the rankings reflected below are current as of September 4, 2025.

School	247 [1]	Rivals/On3 [2]
Georgia	5	5
USC	1	1
Notre Dame	4	2
Texas A&M	9	8
Texas	8	10
Oregon	3	3
Alabama	2	4
Tennessee	7	7
Ohio State	6	6
Michigan	11	12
LSU	13	11
Miami (FL)	10	9
Florida	16	13
Florida State	14	14
Clemson	19	19
North Carolina	17	18
South Carolina	20	15
Washington	12	16
Oklahoma	15	17
SMU	25	24
BYU	21	25
Illinois	23	22
Texas Tech	18	20
Ole Miss	22	23
Virginia Tech	24	27

Top ranked recruits

The following individuals were ranked by at least one of the major media outlets among the top 20 players in the country in the class of 2026. They are listed in order of their highest ranking by any of the major media outlets. Rankings may change, and the rankings reflected below are current as of December 29, 2025.

Player	Position	School	ESPN [3]	247Sports [4]	Rivals/On3 [5]
Lamar Brown	Defensive tackle	LSU	1	4	5
Jackson Cantwell	Offensive tackle	Miami (FL)	3	7	1
Keisean Henderson	Quarterback	Houston	4	1	7
Jared Curtis	Quarterback	Vanderbilt	5	3	2
Zion Elee	Defensive end	Maryland	2	9	13
Faizon Brandon	Quarterback	Tennessee	9	2	NR
Kelvin Obot	Offensive tackle	Utah	NR	NR	3
Luke Wafle	Defensive end	USC	NR	NR	4
Keenyi Pepe	Offensive tackle	USC	19	5	NR
Carter Meadows	Defensive end	Michigan	NR	6	6
Dia Bell	Quarterback	Texas	6	NR	NR
Chris Henry Jr.	Wide receiver	Ohio State	7	NR	15
Rodney Dunham	Defensive end	Notre Dame	NR	8	10
Richard Wesley	Defensive end	Texas	8	NR	17
Savion Hiter	Running back	Michigan	NR	18	8
Grayson McKeogh	Offensive tackle	Notre Dame	NR	NR	9
Tristen Keys	Wide receiver	Tennessee	10	10	NR
Derrek Cooper	Running back	Texas	11	NR	NR
Felix Ojo	Offensive tackle	Texas Tech	NR	11	NR
Khary Wilder	Defensive end	Ohio State	NR	NR	11
Richard Anderson	Defensive tackle	LSU	NR	12	18
JaReylan McCoy	Defensive end	Florida	12	NR	NR
Jay Timmons	Cornerback	Ohio State	NR	NR	12
LaDamion Guyton	Linebacker	Texas Tech	13	15	NR
Xavier Griffin	Linebacker	Alabama	NR	13	NR
Darius Gray	Offensive line	South Carolina	NR	14	NR
Kendre' Harrison	Tight end	Oregon	14	NR	NR
Ekene Ogboko	Offensive tackle	Georgia	NR	NR	14
Immanuel Iheanacho	Offensive tackle	Oregon	15	NR	NR
Jermaine Bishop	Athlete	Texas	NR	16	NR
Jireh Edwards	Safety	Alabama	16	NR	NR
Jalen Lot	Wide receiver	Oregon	NR	NR	16
Tyler Atkinson	Linebacker	Texas	17	NR	NR
Jorden Edmonds	Cornerback	Alabama	NR	17	NR
Brandon Arrington	Athlete	Texas A&M	18	NR	NR
Ezavier Crowell	Running back	Alabama	NR	NR	19
Anthony Jones	Linebacker	Oregon	NR	19	NR
Kodi Greene	Offensive tackle	Washington	NR	20	NR
Jase Mathews	Wide receiver	Ole Miss	NR	NR	20
Kaiden Prothro	Tight end	Georgia	20	NR	NR

NR= Not ranked inside top 20

References

1. "2026 Recruit Football Team Rankings". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
2. "2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings". On3.com. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
3. "2026 ESPN 300". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
4. "2026 Top Football Recruits". 247Sports. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
5. "2026 Top Football Recruits". On3. Retrieved September 4, 2025.