November in college football recruiting has a bit of everything mixed into it.
It is part preamble, to the always-dramatic Early Signing Period in December. It is also often a give and take for programs going through or about to go through major changes (six Power Five jobs have already opened with Auburn making its move on Halloween). Conventionally, it is also smack dab in the middle of “prove it” season on the field, where programs opt for big rivalry wins and narrow their potential playoff position.
All the build-up of the fall features two of the game-changing recruiting trends synonymous with this time of year — decommitments and/or commitment flips. The open head coaching jobs have already led to recruits getting back on the market and October’s last few weeks carried big flip decisions into the back half of the college football schedule.
In the meantime, a dozen SI99 recruits remain undecided, among the big fish still expected to make a decision in the coming weeks in most cases. It means this Sports Illustrated Top 25 will have movement next time around. Entering November, there is a familiar name on top (Alabama) and a pair of first-year coaching staffs (Miami, Florida) picking up momentum in a hurry.
1. Alabama (Ranked No. 1 in October)
Verbal Commitments: 23
SI99 Recruits: 8
A rare quite month on the trail, at least tangibly, for Nick Saban’s program. However, many elites remain undecided, particularly among targets in the front seven like in-state SI99 recruits Qua Russaw and James Smith as well as top uncommitted recruit in the land Keon Keeley.
2. Ohio State (2)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 7
The Buckeyes have one big recruiting need down the stretch, defensive linemen, and it hit big on one top target on Halloween in landing Kayden McDonald. The Atlanta-area star has inside-out pass rushing ability at over 300 pounds. It was a strong optical win for Ryan Day’s program, too, with the likes of Georgia, Clemson, Michigan and others heavily involved.
3. Georgia (4)
Verbal Commitments: 22
SI99 Recruits: 7
Georgia took steps towards completing their class of 2023 in October, finally grabbing a top-tier running back pledge in Roderick Robinson along the way. The former UCLA commitment brings a combination of power and finesse to the future Bulldog backfield. At the end of the month, the addition of Chris Pearl in the secondary helps to round out one of the best DB classes in the country.
4. Texas (3)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 7
While no new verbal commitments came in for the Longhorns in October, news of Arch Manning’s impending January arrival could profile as its own recruiting win to some.
5. Notre Dame (5)
Verbal Commitments: 23
SI99 Recruits: 7
Under the current or previous Notre Dame administrations, a clear need has included explosive speed at the offensive skill position spots. New addition Jeremiah Love satisfies the need in spades. The do-it-all athlete can line up at running back or perhaps in the slot down the line and challenge defenses with 10.7-second 100-meter dash speed.
6. LSU (6)
Verbal Commitments: 23
SI99 Recruits: 4
LSU had been on a recruiting tear within state lines late in the summer months, but it dipped back into pipeline state Texas for its latest land in linebacker Christian Braithwaite. LSU got the one-time Baylor commitment, who profiles as a modern linebacker with three-down ability, on campus in October and had him on the commitment list just days later.
7. Miami (9)
Verbal Commitments: 20
SI99 Recruits: 7
Normally, adding linebacker Kaleb Spencer and picking up a local cornerback who reclassified to the 2023 class in Antoine Jackson would be considered a great month for a program in-season. But Miami of course also added a shocker of a pledge from the nation’s top defensive recruit and cornerback Cormani McClain, who many in the recruiting world had pegged for Florida. Even Alabama appeared to have more momentum than The U at one point, but the lengthy Lakeland (Fla.) High School star opted to commit to Cristobal’s program instead. Now, with Jackson also on board of late, the Hurricanes have addressed their biggest need on the trail with a three cornerback class (and another potentially in before the weekend).
8. Clemson (7)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 4
Clemson added another rock solid cornerback recruit to the fold in October, Misun Kelly, but also had the rare decommitment and recommitment within the commitment list. Offensive tackle Zechariah Owens announced a public departure from the class, only to re-join it after additional consideration some four days later.
9. Oklahoma (8)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 3
The Sooners surprisingly lost the commitment of Texas native and linebacker recruit Kaleb Spencer via flip by Mario Cristobal and Miami, who had the hottest close to the month of any program nationally.
10. Tennessee (10)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 5
The Vols are the No. 1 team in the land on the field, officially, after the initial College Football Playoff reveal, and it has a top 10 class coming in to boot. Several top targets remain undecided at this time, too.
11. Florida (12)
Verbal Commitments: 22
SI99 Recruits: 3
McClain miss aside, October was tangibly strong for Billy Napier and company on the trail. It starts with a bigger need than cornerback satisfied in flipping Roderick Kearny from Florida State. The SI99 offensive line recruit has multiple-position ability on a college-ready frame. Earlier in the month, UF all but wrapped up its defensive back recruiting with the pledge of former Ohio State commitment Dijon Johnson and Atlanta-area Safeway Bryce Thornton on the same day.
12. Oregon (13)
Verbal Commitments: 22
SI99 Recruits: 3
While building potentially the top class in the Pac-12, there had been one big need for the Ducks after September wrapped up — the offensive line. From a volume perspective, no program in the country hit a need like UO did in a short span, adding four offensive linemen to the fold in a matter of weeks. It included arguably Hawaii’s top prospect in Iapani Laloulu, an interior type, as well as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei star Lipe Moala at offensive tackle.
13. USC (11)
Verbal Commitments: 20
SI99 Recruits: 4
The Trojans picked up a pass rusher in David Peevy, continuing to prioritize trench recruits along the way. USC has added four linemen to the commitment list since September began.
14. Penn State (14)
Verbal Commitments: 20
SI99 Recruits: 2
15. South Carolina (15)
Verbal Commitments: 20
SI99 Recruits: 1
16. Baylor (16)
Verbal Commitments: 24
SI99 Recruits: 1
The Bears lost one of the gems of the class to LSU in Braithwaite, but Dave Aranda’s bunch should be able to retain most of the commitment list otherwise. Fellow in-state linebacker Taurean York tells SI the flip attempts have slowed of late.
17. North Carolina (18)
Verbal Commitments: 20
SI99 Recruits: 0
The Tar Heels picked up a secondary pledge of late in Arden Duncanson, helping to address arguably the biggest team need under Mack Brown. The on-field success, with UNC in the best position to challenge Clemson in the ACC title game, shouldn’t hurt the chance for more additions down the home stretch.
18. Arkansas (17)
Verbal Commitments: 23
SI99 Recruits: 0
19. Louisville (20)
Verbal Commitments: 15
SI99 Recruits: 1
20. Florida State (19)
Verbal Commitments: 15
SI99 Recruits: 2
A tough in-state loss went down to rival Florida with SI99 offensive lineman Roderick Kearny, but the class holds within the top 20 thanks to star power up front and an underrated wide receiver group already on board.
21. Texas Tech (21)
Verbal Commitments: 26
SI99 Recruits: 0
22. Texas A&M (22)
Verbal Commitments: 12
SI99 Recruits: 3
23. Cincinnati (23)
Verbal Commitments: 21
SI99 Recruits: 0
The Bearcats saw movement on the commitment list of late, losing out on the pledge of tall wide receiver Malik Elzy and adding a pass rusher in Brian Simms III out of national power St. Frances Academy.
24. Washington (24)
Verbal Commitments: 19
SI99 Recruits: 0
25. Michigan (NR)
Verbal Commitments: 15
SI99 Recruits: 0
The Wolverines debut in the SI Top 25 thanks to a pair of Pitt de-commits as well as a strong offensive line haul. It added Kansas City star recruit Kendrick Bell, a UM legacy who can play quarterback or wide receiver in college, in October.
Dropped Out: Pitt (25)
Next Five Up: TCU, Ole Miss, Duke, Iowa, Northwestern
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