Now that college football’s February signing period is over, we have a clear view of how each program was able to fill needs with high school prospects.
Texas A&M finished with the No. 1 class overall, but plenty of other teams recruited well across the board. To give a different look at how each team performed, we break down the best classes by position. We started with the offense and now look at the teams that recruited the best positionally on defense.
Defensive line
There aren’t many classes that compare to what Texas A&M did along the defensive line in this class, which includes three five-stars.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen is the No. 1 prospect overall and a huge get on his own. Add in the No. 2 defensive tackle in Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, also a five-star, along with ESPN 300 defensive tackle Anthony Lucas and four-star Jadon Scarlett, and the interior of the line has some big prospects.
Five-star defensive end Shemar Stewart also signed with the Aggies as the No. 1 end in the class. He’s joined by Enai White and Malick Sylla, the Nos. 6 and 9 defensive ends overall.
The Longhorns also did very well along the defensive line in this class, led by ESPN 300 defensive end Justice Finkley, the No. 11 end overall.
Jaray Bledsoe is the No. 12 defensive tackle, and the staff also landed ESPN 300 defensive ends J’mond Tapp and Derrick Brown, as well as tackle Kristopher Ross.
The coaches loaded up along the line with four-star tackle Aaron Bryant and three-star defensive ends Zac Swanson and Ethan Burke.
It wouldn’t be a Georgia recruiting class without an excellent defensive line haul, and its 2022 group doesn’t disappoint.
The staff signed ESPN 300 defensive ends Mykel Williams and Darris Smith as well as ESPN 300 tackles Bear Alexander and Christen Miller.
Four-star defensive tackle Shone Washington and three-star defensive end Carlton Madden are also among the line commitments.
The Buckeyes are looking to add talent across the board on defense under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and they already have some really good young pieces up front.
In 2021, the staff added five-star linemen Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau and ESPN 300 tackles Tyleik Williams and Michael Hall Jr.
The 2022 cycle is adding even more talent with three ESPN 300 defensive ends in Omari Abor, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry, as well as ESPN 300 defensive tackle Hero Kanu.
Linebacker
Georgia
The Georgia staff has traditionally recruited elite defensive recruits in the past, which is why it’s no surprise to see the Dawgs on quite a few of the defensive positional rankings, including linebacker.
The coaches are losing Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Channing Tindall and a few other linebackers from this season’s team. There are some highly ranked younger players on the roster at linebacker, including Smael Mondon Jr., Chaz Chambliss, Xavian Sorey Jr. and a few others, but it was important to add to the depth chart.
Kirby Smart and his staff signed a deep group that should bring depth and competition at the positions, namely Jalon Walker and Marvin Jones Jr., the Nos. 3 and 7 outside linebackers; C.J. Washington, the No. 2 inside linebacker; and three-stars E.J. Lightsey and Carlton Madden.
Notre Dame’s defensive recruiting went up a notch when Marcus Freeman took over as defensive coordinator. Now Freeman is the head coach, and that trend could continue going forward.
In this cycle, though, the Irish signed three ESPN 300 linebackers. That included the No. 6 outside linebacker, Jaylen Sneed; the No. 4 inside linebacker, Niuafe Tuihalamaka; and the No. 17 outside linebacker, Joshua Burnham. The staff also signed four-star outside linebacker Nolan Ziegler.
The defense is losing Drew White and Bo Bauer but still has JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser, as well as a few other younger linebackers. That should help buy some time for this class to get acclimated and fill in when needed.
The Crimson Tide are losing Christian Harris to the NFL and Drew Sanders and Shane Lee to transfer, but some key players return for the 2022 season.
Henry To’oTo’o announced he is returning next season, and he’ll have Will Anderson Jr., Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell in the linebacking corps as well. But the staff did a good job adding players to this class who might contribute early on or fill holes once the current roster turns over.
The coaches added five-star linebacker/edge rusher Jeremiah Alexander, who is the No. 18 recruit overall. Alabama also signed Shawn Murphy, the No. 1 inside linebacker and the No. 36 recruit overall, as well as outside linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who is ranked No. 40 overall.
We’re keeping these to four entries per position group, and while No. 16 prospect C.J. Hicks and fellow linebacker Gabe Powers signed with Ohio State, LSU gets the nod.
New coach Brian Kelly got five-star Harold Perkins to sign with LSU in the February signing period, only a few weeks after he committed to Texas A&M. Perkins decommitted before signing day, took a visit to LSU and signed with the Tigers, giving the coaches the No. 4 prospect overall.
LSU also added ESPN 300 linebacker DeMario Tolan, the No. 21 outside ‘backer.
Defensive back
Georgia
The Dawgs had a balanced recruiting class on the defensive side, and that includes the secondary. The staff is losing safeties Lewis Cine and Latavious Brini, as well as corners Derion Kendrick, Ameer Speed, Lovasea Carroll and Jalen Kimber from this past season’s roster.
The coaches have corner Kelee Ringo, safety Christopher Smith and other highly touted players still on the roster, but having a big defensive back class is going to make those departures easier to swallow.
This class is led by five-star Malaki Starks, who was graded as the No. 1 athlete in the class but is going in as a defensive back. Corner Jaheim Singletary is next, ranked as the No. 20 recruit overall, followed by ESPN 300 corners Daylen Everette and Julian Humphrey. Four-star JaCorey Thomas is also listed as an athlete in the ESPN rankings, but will play in the secondary for Georgia.
Texas A&M
The Aggies’ recruiting class is one of the best we’ve seen, and a big part of that was the defensive backs the staff signed. In all, there are seven ESPN 300 commitments who will play in the secondary for Texas A&M.
The defensive back class is led by cornerback Denver Harris, the No. 24 prospect overall. The coaches also signed the Nos. 11 and 31 corners in Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Bobby Taylor.
In addition to the highly ranked corners, the Aggies also signed the Nos. 2 and 3 safeties in the class with Bryce Anderson and Jacoby Mathews. Deyon Bouie and Jarred Kerr were ranked as ESPN 300 athletes, but both are coming into the program as defensive backs as well.
Texas
The Longhorns also added quite a few highly sought-after defensive backs in this class with five ESPN 300 commitments. Safety Bryan Allen Jr. leads the way as the No. 70-ranked recruit and is joined by Terrance Brooks, Jaylon Guilbeau and Austin Jordan, all ESPN 300 cornerbacks.
Larry Turner-Gooden is ranked as an ESPN 300 athlete and will start out on the defensive side. The staff also signed four-star athlete Xavion Brice to finish out the excellent defensive back haul in this cycle.
The coaches are losing safeties B.J. Foster, Brenden Schooler and corners Josh Thompson and Darion Dunn, as well as Chris Adimora and Tyler Owens, so adding in this new crop, plus Ohio State transfer Ryan Watts, will help replenish depth.
Clemson, Miami and Alabama also have very talented defensive back classes, but USC is the selection here because the new staff were able to bring five-star corner Domani Jackson back in the fold.
Jackson had been committed to USC, but decommitted and then recommitted after Lincoln Riley was hired. The No. 8 recruit overall and the No. 2 corner in the class, Jackson is a five-star in-state prospect, so the importance of keeping him in-state also factors in to having the Trojans on the list.
USC is losing corners Chris Steele and Isaac Taylor-Stuart, as well as safeties Isaiah Pola-Mao and Chase Williams, so it was imperative to have elite prospects in the secondary.
Riley was also able to get a commitment from ESPN 300 defensive backs Fabian Ross and Zion Branch, who is the No. 5 safety in the class. Branch is from Las Vegas and has a younger brother, Zachariah, who is ranked No. 16 overall as a wide receiver in the 2023 class. Zachariah committed to USC shortly after Zion did, so Riley got both brothers.