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Recruiting

From espn on signing day:

A team-by-team look at the 2015 recruiting classes in the ACC:

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1. Florida State Seminoles
National rank: 2
The Seminoles improved upon their third-place finish in the 2014 class rankings with a strong effort in the Class of 2015. Five-star DE Josh Sweat, the No. 11 overall player, is already enrolled in Tallahassee. No. 8 Derwin James Jr., the nation's top safety, and is joined in the secondary by No. 47 Tarvarus McFadden and No. 152 Marcus Lewis. No. 170 Darvin Taylor II sports size at defensive tackle. On the offensive side of the ball, QBs Deondre Francois (No. 42) and De'Andre Johnson (No. 259) will battle from day one, and they will have No. 7 George Campbell and No. 44 Da'Vante Phillips to throw the ball to. No. 49 Jacques Patrick is a load-carrying back with a deceptive burst. Four-star TE Jalen Wilkerson and four-star OL Cole Minshew were key signees out of the Peach State. No. 55 Abdul Bello was a huge late-July get with a very high-ceiling. ESPN JC 50 No. 18 Lorenzo Phillips is an impact linebacker prospect.


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2. Clemson Tigers
National rank: 4
Clemson began the 2015 class with a huge need at offensive line and the Tigers scored big. Leading the way on the OL front is No. 18 and five-star tackle Mitch Hyatt. Hyatt is joined by two more ESPN 300 prospects: No. 89 Jake Fruhmorgen and No. 116 Noah Green. No. 25 Deon Cain, a wide receiver, and No. 117 Garrett Williams, a tight end, were huge wins out of Florida. The Tigers' two-quarterback class consists of four-stars Kelly Bryant and Tucker Israel. Impressive athletes on defense include outside linebacker Chad Smith and three-time state wrestling champion Gage Cervenka. No. 136 Clelin Ferrell, No. 108 Sterling Johnson, No. 134 Austin Bryant and No. 167 Albert Huggins are more big wins on the defensive line, but none is bigger than No. 32 Christian Wilkins over Penn State and Ohio State. No. 157 Ray-Ray McCloud III is a top athlete and was a third huge recruiting pickup out of the Sunshine State. The Jan. 19 pickup of No. 163 and former South Carolina verbal Mark Fields II placed a cherry on top of the Tigers' top-10 class.

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3. Miami Hurricanes
National rank: 23
Miami's 2015 class features ESPN 300 running back Mark Walton, a key signee who could be a difference-maker early. Also in the mix is athlete Jaquan Johnson (No. 181). No. 266 Charles Perry is an athletic outside linebacker prospect and defensive end Scott Patchan is another talented prospect in the fold. ESPN 300 WR Terrell Chatman (No. 254) has a very high ceiling, as do offensive tackles Bar Milo (No. 221) and Tyree St. Louis (No. 103). Four-star wide receiver Lawrence Cager was a big win Jan. 4, and is full of upside.

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4. North Carolina Tar Heels
National rank: 24
The Tar Heels had ups and downs in the class, but the commitment of No. 64 Jalen Dalton on Nov. 13 sparked a top-25 finish. North Carolina signed a very good offensive class, led by ESPN 300 center Tommy Hatton (No. 147) and four-star tackles William Sweet and Mason Veal. No. 145 Ty'Son Williams adds another talented back to the stable, and No. 281 Carl Tucker is a versatile tight end prospect. Larry Fedora has a pair of signal-callers in the class as well in Anthony Ratliff-Williams and Nathan Elliott. Physically imposing linebacker Andre Smith is an early enrollee from the Sunshine State. Johnathon Sutton is another quality linebacker headed to Chapel Hill.

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5. Virginia Tech Hokies
National rank: 25
The Hokies finished with a top 25 class despite some key losses from within the state. Headlining the class is No. 19 Tim Settle, who committed at the Under Armour Game. Four-stars Trevon Hill and November flip from South Carolina Austin Clark are also big additions. The secondary group is impressive as always with four-star corner Mook Reynolds and three-star DuWayne Johnson leading the way. Tight end is a major need position, and four-star Xavier Burke and three-star Christopher Cunningham Jr. are just what the doctor ordered. Adding quarterback and No. 199 Dwayne Lawson was big for the future of the position, while four-star post graduate Joshua Nijman has the highest ceiling in the class.

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6. Louisville Cardinals
National rank: 30
Bobby Petrino's first full class at Louisville came together nicely, headlined by ESPN 300 playmaker Traveon Samuel. No. 1 JC DE Devonte Fields could be a difference maker as he's an immense talent on the field. Three-star dual-threat signal-caller Lamar Jackson joins running back James Allen, one of the most improved backs in the country this season. Three-star guard and former Miami commit Geron Christian was a huge December add. Flipping three-star cornerback Jaire Alexander from South Carolina was another big win for the surging Cardinals.

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7. NC State Wolfpack
National rank: 33
The Wolfpack are in the top 40 with a class headlined by ESPN 300s No. 80 Johnny Frasier, Darian Roseboro and Nyheim Hines. Joining the talented duo is four-star tackle Emanuel McGirt and three-star running back Reggie Gallaspy from within the state lines. Georgia three-star defensive tackle Quentez Johnson is a key out-of-state grab. Three-star receivers Vernon Grier, Jarius Morehead and Freddie Phillips all bring different skill sets to the position.

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8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
National rank: 41
The Yellow Jackets' haul includes three four-stars, including Anree Saint-Amour. He is joined by receiver Christian Philpott out of Florida. The Sunshine State has been good to Paul Johnson and staff; the tally includes three-stars linebacker Victor Alexander and defensive tackle Kyle Henderson. Running back prospects are a plenty in the class, led by Mikell Lands-Davis and the ultra-quick KirVonte' Benson. Three-star safety David Curry filled a need -- as did corner prospect Dorian Walker -- after flipping from Virginia in January. Three-star defensive tackles Brentavious Glanton and Scotty Morgan are keys in the trenches.

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9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
National rank: 42
A pair of four-stars headline Dave Clawson's first full class -- quarterback Kyle Kearns and tight end Bowman Archibald. Kearns is joined in the class by a second quarterback, Kendall Hinton. Skill talent is big for the Demon Deacons in 2015, and three-stars Steven Claude, Tabari Hines, Scott Washington and Charles Wade will bring different qualities. The secondary was another key area of need for the future, and corners Dionte Austin and Amari Henderson have bright futures. Wake also added three-star running back Rocky Reid recently.

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10. Duke Blue Devils
National rank: 45
The Blue Devils made the most of consecutive 10-win seasons with a top-40 class throughout most of year. Despite falling out on Signing Day, Duke still signed a solid class with good developmental upside. Headlining the class is ESPN 300 WR Keyston Fuller. The playmakers are joined on the offensive side of the ball by high three-star tackle Reno Rosene and three-star quarterback Quentin Harris. Athletic three-star linebacker Ben Humphreys was a fourth commitment in July.

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11. Virginia Cavaliers
National rank: 46
The headliner of Virginia's 2015 class is ESPN 300 and in-state linebacker Jahvoni Simmons, who is out of talent-rich Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A second four-star commitment is wide receiver Warren Craft. He is joined on the offensive side by three-star quarterback Nick Johns, three-star darting back Olamide Zaccheaus and receivers David Eldridge III and Myles Robinson. Defensively, ends Gladimir Paul and Steven Wright were key wins out of Pennsylvania and Georgia, respectively. Linebacker C.J. Stalker has the name for defense and the game to go with it.

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12. Pittsburgh Panthers
National rank: 48
Pat Narduzzi has made a nice run on defensive players in 2015, providing the class with upside talent. Leading the way is ESPN 300 cornerback Jordan Whitehead, who will likely be an impact player. Four-star Ohio linebacker Anthony McKee is full of upside and is joined in the class by fellow Ohio native and four-star running back Darrin Hall Jr. Safety Jay Stocker and outside linebacker Saleem Brightwell were huge wins for Narduzzi and staff, as was guard Alex Paulina. Junior college defensive end Allen Edwards is expected to be an impact player.

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13. Boston College Golden Eagles
National rank: 51
Steve Addazio has done a good job keeping players close to home along the upper East Coast but has also branched out to Florida and Ohio with success. No. 294 Wyatt Knopfke is a talented guard out of the Sunshine State and is joined in the class by Florida three-star quarterback Jeff Smith II and athletes Michael Walker and Mehdi El Attrach. There are five prospects from Florida in the class all told. Three-star offensive tackle Anthony Palazzolo is a key grab from Connecticut, as is three-star athlete William Harris. Running back Ben Glines is a quality pull out of Ohio.

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14. Syracuse Orange
National rank: 63
The Orange boast a class that built from 12 states, including five verbals from Florida. Syracuse has another talented quarterback on the way in three-star Eric Dungey out of Oregon, and he will be protected by five offensive linemen in three-stars Samuel Clausman, Cody Conway, Andrejas Duerig, Evan Adams and Colin Byrne. Tight end was a key position of need, and three-stars Amir Ealey and Qaadir Sheppard, along with junior college prospect Trey Dunkelberger, make up a productive haul.
 
according to ESPN, Duke has the 28th best recruiting class. I don't think my brain can process this.
 
rhfarmer said:
according to ESPN, Duke has the 28th best recruiting class. I don't think my brain can process this.

This is Cut's BEST recruiting class since he's been at Duke by far. I'm interested in how many Freshman have to start. Last year just too many had to play.
 
If Duke hangs on to that top 30 ish ranking, it would be the 5th or 6th best class in the ACC.
 
Scout.com ratings for football recruiting last five years:

Year-Team Rank
--------------------
2012-63
2013-70
2014-67
2015-70
2016-34

Already have one Top 100 committed for 2017 class.
 
That was Ellis Brooks, the highest rated commit in the 2017 class
 
If I remember correctly, Spurrier's next to last recruiting class was ranked #15 in the nation by one of the publications out there. That would have been 1987 or 1988? But that was before the rating system we have now.
 



Not only was this a huge need for Duke, but Sears is a huge talent. Big and strong at 6-3, 200-plus pounds, Sears has an NFL kind of frame. He also has NFL kind of arm talent. Out at The Opening Finals and Elite 11, nobody looked more comfortable making big throws than Sears. He can put the ball anywhere on the field with ease. He's also one of the best athletes at quarterback in this class. He's a pure pro-style passer but his combine numbers are elite at the quarterback position (4.7 in the 40, 35-inch vertical).

Sears can look like a different passer on different days. I watched him at The Opening regional in Los Angeles and he looked solid but not spectacular. I saw him at The Opening regional in Oakland and he looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. He could look different day by day or game by game at The Elite 11 Finals as well. What is consistent though is his skillset, his tools. He's got as high of a ceiling as any quarterback in this class and with David Cutcliffe and the Duke staff working with him, we're bullish on Sears hitting that ceiling.
 
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Getting a kid from California is a feat in and of itself. But to get a prospect like Sears away from PAC schools USC and Ucla is rare. This may also help getting other 4-star kids on Cut's radar.
 
Wanted: a kicker who can actually make some field goals!
 
As someone who doesn't follow Duke football recruiting as closely as I do basketball (which even then is lacking), is Duke in on any potential impact players for next season with 24 commits already? How big of a class is Duke taking this year?
 
Their two best targets already decommitted. Both would have been top 10 signees of the last 15 years. The top remaining target, a WR from Alabama, is about to commit to Auburn. We're pretty much done for this year.

Next year's class will be small, like 15-18 kids.
 


Biggest pickup
 
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