If you’re interested in finding out where the best players in America are currently committed, it’s as simple as going to 247Sports and looking at the 2022 composite player rankings.
But there is a difference between “best” and “most influential.”
There is nuance to recruiting, particularly in the context of what individual commitments mean to programs. One program could land a five-star prospect and throw a parade; another team’s fan base may immediately ask when the next five-star prospect is committing. Recruiting is complex.
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Every month we do a piece called “The 5,” where we break down five things that give further understanding of the current situation in the world of talent accumulation. This month we’re looking at the five most influential early commitments of the 2022 cycle.
1. Quinn Ewers, five-star QB to Ohio State
High school: Southlake (Texas) Carroll
Ranking: No. 1 overall, No. 1 pro-style quarterback (247Sports Composite)
Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds
Other offers: Texas, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and many others
Ohio State’s current recruiting ranking: No. 1 overall, No. 1 in the Big Ten
The buzz: Yes, Ewers is the best player in the 2022 class and, yes, he’s a quarterback. Those two things automatically make you influential, but he’s on this list for other reasons.
His decision to commit to Ohio State — after decommitting from Texas — was another indication that the Buckeyes will continue to bring in elite-level quarterbacks on an annual basis. Ewers’ arrival, assuming he signs, will give Ohio State a five-star quarterback in back-to-back classes. Ryan Day’s reputation as a great developer of quarterback talent has been a major factor in this recent run. Also, Ohio State wants to maintain a presence in Texas, and landing the nation’s No. 1 player — who happens to be a native of the Lone Star State — sends a strong message to Texas, Texas A&M and all of the other top-level programs that recruit the state.
Another reason Ewers’ commitment was so influential? The quarterback domino effect. Ewers initially committed to Texas when Tom Herman was still the coach, but his flip to Ohio State changed the course for other quarterbacks. With Ewers no longer on the market, Texas went out and landed five-star Maalik Murphy of Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra, which left four-star quarterback Cade Klubnik of Austin (Texas) Westlake there for the taking for Clemson. All it takes is one high-profile quarterback to make a decision to affect the rest of the landscape at the position for an entire class. Ewers did that when he picked Ohio State.
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2. Travis Hunter, five-star CB to Florida State
High school:Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill
Ranking:No. 4 overall, No. 2 cornerback
Height/weight:6-foot-1, 165 pounds
Other offers:Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and others
Florida State’s current recruiting ranking: No. 10 overall, No. 1 in the ACC
The buzz:We all know that Florida State has had its fair share of issues. Last year, the Seminoles went 3-6 and suffered embarrassing blowout losses to Miami, Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh. Mike Norvell’s 2021 class, which finished No. 23 overall, didn’t have a single commitment from a player who ranked in the top 100. The Seminoles also failed to sign any of the top 35 players in the state of Florida, all of whom were ranked in the top 250 nationally. It was bad.
But through it all, Florida State had a commitment from Hunter. Especially given he is a prospect from Georgia, it would have been so easy at so many different points for Hunter to decommit and select one of the established powerhouses. But he stayed put.
This past week, Florida State added another five-star commit to its 2022 class in athlete Sam McCall of Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson, the No. 35 overall player in the country. This could be the beginning stages of Florida State turning things around. And if the Seminoles do start to see tangible results on the field, it would be really hard not to thank Hunter for being a catalyst for change.
3. Will Johnson, five-star CB to Michigan
High school:Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South
Ranking:No. 11 overall, No. 5 cornerback
Height/weight:6-foot-3, 190 pounds
Other offers:Ohio State, USC and many others
Michigan’s current recruiting ranking:No. 9 overall, No. 3 in the Big Ten
The buzz: All you have to do is go back a few months to when Michigan’s football program was in disarray. There was uncertainty about Jim Harbaugh’s future, and the on-the-field product was very poor. You’d expect that to bleed into the recruiting results a little bit, but Harbaugh somehow managed to keep the Wolverines’ 2021 class in check (No. 10 nationally) before signing his extension. After signing his new deal, Harbaugh assembled a new, more youthful coaching staff, which was designed specifically to recruit at an even higher level.
Michigan’s staff has passed the first test. It landed a national prospect with offers from all of the powers — including Ohio State — and kept this ultra-talented legacy prospect home. Sure, Johnson’s father Deon is a former Wolverines defensive back, but if you’re looking for signs that things are going to be different at Michigan moving forward, Johnson’s commitment is a heck of a good sign. Holding off Ohio State to earn the commitment was the icing on the cake.
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A few days later, Michigan earned a pledge from four-star Tay’shawn Trent of Eastpointe (Mich.) East Detroit, the No. 281 overall player and the No. 40 wide receiver in the 2022 class. Two of the top seven players in the state of Michigan have committed, and both are going to be Wolverines. And there are a few more players in that range who have Crystal Ball predictions to Michigan on 247Sports, as well.
Johnson could be the pied piper of Michigan’s rebuild — a home-grown prospect who makes Michigan the cool destination for elite-level Midwest talent.
4. Gunner Stockton, five-star QB to Georgia
High school:Tiger (Ga.) Rabun County
Ranking: No. 20 overall, No. 1 dual-threat quarterback
Height/weight:6-foot-1, 220 pounds
Other offers:South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Oregon and many others
Georgia’s current recruiting ranking:No. 3 overall, No. 2 in the SEC
The buzz:Stockton probably would have been similarly ranked on this list if he would have stuck with his initial commitment to South Carolina. But shortly after South Carolina fired Will Muschamp, Stockton backed out of the pledge and committed to Georgia. It’s still fun to think of the possibilities for South Carolina if a quarterback this talented wound up in Columbia.
Stockton is still influential because he is going to Georgia, a program that is seemingly a game-changing quarterback away from winning a national title. The Bulldogs have finished in the top five in each of the past five recruiting cycles and twice finished No. 1.That is the type of recruiting result that is basically a prerequisite of making — and winning — the College Football Playoff. Yes, Georgia has fallen short of those goals the past few years, but what if Justin Fields was still on the team? What if there was another Fields-like player taking snaps? Things may have been different.
In the 2021 class, Georgia signed five-star Brock Vandagriff, the No. 16 overall player and the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country. Between Vandagriff and Stockton — both of whom are in-state prospects — the Bulldogs should finally be able to find the star quarterback to lead them to the promised land for the first time since 1980. It’s an indisputable fact that the rest of the roster is built to compete at that level.
5. Conner Weigman, four-star QB to Texas A&M
High school:Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland
Ranking:No. 71 overall, No. 2 dual-threat quarterback
Height/weight:6-foot-3, 205 pounds
Other offers:Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and others
Texas A&M’s current recruiting ranking:No. 6 overall, No. 3 in the SEC
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The buzz:No other team outside of maybe Alabama had a stronger finish to the 2021 recruiting class than Texas A&M. The Aggies loaded up on a bunch of top-level talent in Texas — five-star defensive tackle Shemar Turner, four-star running back LJ Johnson, four-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, four-star offensive guard Bryce Foster and others. Texas A&M finished with the No. 7 class nationally and the No. 4 class in the SEC. That’s what Jimbo Fisher is getting paid the big bucks to do.
Yes, Texas A&M also signed four-star dual-threat quarterback Eli Stowers out of Denton, Texas, in the 2021 class. And yes, he was the No. 168 overall player in the country. But landing Weigman is a statement — not only because he’s a highly ranked quarterback from Texas, but also it’s another sign that Fisher is carrying over the momentum into the Class of 2022.
Texas A&M’s class already includes seven commitments, with four coming from players who rank in the top 120 nationally. The Aggies’ class currently ranks No. 6 in the country, which means the program is recruiting at a national title-caliber level for the second consecutive year. And having an elite quarterback in the middle of everything makes Texas A&M’s future look bright as ever.
(Photo of Quinn Ewers: Prentice C. James / Associated Press)
Ari Wasserman is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting nationally. He previously spent 10 years covering Ohio State for The Athletic and Cleveland.com, starting on the Buckeyes beat in 2009. Follow Ari on Twitter @AriWasserman
