As with many recent Pac-12 football recruiting cycles, two of the conference’s West Coast schools (USC and Oregon) rank among the top programs for the addition of high schools and transfer portals.

Ducks overtakes Pac-12 in the 2021 Overall Hiring Rankings, while Trojans lead the conference in 2022. After the arrival of Coach Lincoln Rileyand USC currently holds the top spot again this year. By 247Sports.com Rankingand right behind is Oregon.

But what’s perhaps the most interesting story of the conference heading into Wednesday’s National Signature Day?

Finishing the 2022 season underground in the Pac-12 with a 1-11 record is something Colorado has achieved since early December.

The Buffaloes started the season with five losses, but eventually collapsed by an overtime victory over the Cal team, which had struggled to string together wins throughout the fall.

It then ended November with another six-game losing streak, including four straight losses against a nationally-ranked program in Oregon, USC, Washington and eventual conference champion Utah. .

Seven days after Ute handed the Buffaloes a lopsided 63-21 loss in their final game, Colorado announced Deion Sanders as the program’s new coach.

What happened two months after that?

Colorado put together one of the nation’s highest-rated signature classes in 2023, among high school recruits and transfer additions.

The Buffaloes currently rank 3rd in the Pac-12 and 21st nationally in the 2023 combined high school and transfer portal recruiting rankings. 247Sports per.

247Sports.com National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman said:

Sanders has found success on every level. He was his two-time All-American cornerback at Florida State University, earned a first-round draft pick, and became his two-time Super Bowl champion in his 14-year NFL career. , played nine of his seasons in the MLB.

He coached college football and compiled a 27-5 record in three seasons leading the FCS program at Jackson State University. He won Southwestern Athletic his Conference Coach of the Year award twice after leading the Tigers to his undefeated SWAC title in the past two seasons. Prior to attending Jackson State University, he coached Prep Football in Texas from 2012 until 2020.

“He was very noticeable,” said Huffman. “He coached the Under Armor[National]Games for years. … He was visible in high school coaching.

In less than two weeks, Colorado added commitments from five-star high school recruits for the first time since 2008. Flipping 5-Star Lakeland, FL cornerback Cormani McClaininitially committed to Miami in October.

McClain is the consensus top corner nationally, ranked 14th overall for 2023 recruits by both 247Sports and ESPN.

Only two former five-star high school recruits have joined the Buffaloes— Former Colorado running backs Darrell Scott (class of 2008) and Marcus Houston (2000) — more highly regarded in the program’s contemporary history.

McLain, who won 26 offers from Division I programs and was named to the Under Armor All-America Game, played in the Derby, Kansas.

Colorado has 15 three-star signatories who are part of the Buffalo High School class, which currently ranks 5th in the Pac-12 and 29th nationally.

The program leads Pac-12 in the ranking of transfer portals, fourth nationally behind LSU, Florida and Alabama, with 23 transfers to Boulder.

Among them is former five-star cornerback Travis Hunter (the nation’s top player in the 2022 high school recruiting class), who Sanders signed last winter as Jackson State’s highest-ranking recruit. bottom.

Hunter announced his transfer to Colorado in late December and is part of a transfer class that includes 10 players from other Power Five schools.

As Sanders and his staff continue to work to turn around a program that hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2016 (on a 12-game regular season schedule), Colorado is suddenly in a position to compete next fall. It looks like there is.

“The transfer portal shows that we don’t have to do a three- or four-year rebuild,” Huffman said. “You can turn it around quickly.”

Coming into National Sign-In Day, the Buffaloes have 46 players signed or committed in high school and transfer classes. Only Arizona has 46 and has more incoming calls among FBS programs.

sanders is his Introductory press conference We are back in December by heralding plans for a bright football future in Boulder.

“We are just getting started,” he said.

Who will win the PAC-12 adoption race?

USC entered the week in the top class across the conference, including high school recruits and transfers, with a total of 32 commits, ranking 8th in the nation.

Zachariah Branch, a 5-star wide receiver for Bishop Gorman, Nevada, is the star of a high school class that includes 5-star passer Malachi Nelson and nine more 4-star passers for Los Alamitos, CA. high school recruits from the west.

Oregon ranks 2nd overall for Pac-12 and 8th nationally for 32 commits.

Jurrion Dickey, a five-star wide receiver for Menlo-Atherton, California, is the top recruit in his high school class. 9 4-star recruits from the West From Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Washington.

Colorado (3rd in Pac-12, 21st nationally), UCLA (4th in Pac-12, 24th nationally) and Utah (5th in Pac-12, 25th nationally) are ranked 5th in the overall rankings. rank.

Ducks is currently the conference’s top-ranked program in high school rankings, followed by USC, Utah, Washington, and Colorado.

Colorado leads the transfer rankings, followed by USC, UCLA, Oregon State and Arizona State.

additional points

▪ The top player in the six western states, Per 247Sports.com Compositewill stay in the Pac-12 footprint next fall.

Three of them — Kenyon Sadik, 4-star athlete of Skyline, Idaho, 4-star Edge Rusher and Blake Purches of Cherry Creek, Colorado, and Iapani Larour, 4-star offensive lineman of Farrington, Hawaii — was signed to Dax early on. Sadiq and Laloulu have already enrolled at Eugene.

Branch signed with USC in December.

Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Timpview, Utah and four-star cornerback Caleb Presley of Rainier Beach, Washington have signed in-state with the Yuts and Huskies.

▪ The top-ranked quarterbacks are heading east in each West Coast state.

Warren, Calif.’s five-star quarterback Nico Yamareava, who is considered the nation’s third-best recruit overall, also enrolled at the University of Tennessee.

Gabari Johnson, a four-star passer from Lincoln, Washington, leaves Tacoma for the SEC after signing with Missouri in December.

Sam Leavitt, a 4-star passer from West Lynn, Oregon, started out with Washington State but headed to the Big Ten after signing early with Michigan.