Way-Too-Early Look at the Top 2025 CFB Recruiting Prospects

With the Michigan Wolverines crowned national champions on Monday and early signing day not long done, it might seem a bit premature to be talking about the 2025 recruiting class.

However, the recruiting cycle never stops.

Just a few days ago, LSU received a commitment from the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class when quarterback Bryce Underwood verbally committed to the Tigers, but there are still a ton of elite-level young talents who have yet to make their college decisions.

For now, here's a way-too-early look ahead at the 2025 recruiting class, with some notable early leaders on the recruiting trail and key names to know in the coming weeks and months.

Let's kick things off with a rundown of the 24 current 5-star recruits from the 2025 class, with committed players in bold.

• 1. QB Bryce Underwood—LSU
• 2. OT David Sanders Jr.
• 3. DL Elijah Griffin
• 4. WR Dakorien Moore—LSU
• 5. CB Na'eem Offord
• 6. CB Devin Sanchez—Ohio State
• 7. CB DJ Pickett
• 8. DL Justus Terry—Georgia
• 9. LB Zayden Walker
• 10. WR Caleb Cunningham
• 11. WR Jaime Ffrench—Alabama
• 12. TE Elyiss Williams—Georgia
• 13. LB Jonah Williams
• 14. OT Michael Fasusi
• 15. QB George MacIntyre
• 16. RB Harlem Berry—LSU
• 17. WR Andrew Marsh
• 18. IOL Solomon Thomas—Florida State
• 19. CB Dorian Brew
• 20. OT Josh Petty
• 21. DL Nathaniel Marshall
• 22. Edge Zion Gray—Alabama
• 23. CB Dijon Lee
• 24. S Faheem Delane

Simply put, there is still a ton of elite talent on the board.

There is still a long way to go before the No. 1 class from the 2025 recruiting cycle is crowned, but Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman are off to a running start.

The Fighting Irish currently have a commanding lead in the 247Sports composite team rankings, thanks to a whopping 13 early commitments, including a contingent of nine 4-star prospects.

Quarterback Deuce Knight (No. 54 overall, No. 4 QB) and safety Ivan Taylor (No. 59 overall, No 6 S) are the headliners of the current group.

Meanwhile, edge-rusher Christopher Burgess Jr. (No. 147 overall, No. 18 Edge) and safety Ethan Long (No. 317, No. 23 S) were the latest to join the 2025 class with commitments within the past week.

With the No. 11-ranked recruiting class in the country for 2024, the Fighting Irish are poised to make a serious run at the nation's top crop of newcomers for the 2025 cycle.

Just behind Notre Dame in the early 2025 recruiting rankings is an LSU squad that has already secured commitments from a trio of 5-star recruits who could reshape the Tigers offense when they set foot on campus.

• QB Bryce Underwood (No. 1 overall, No. 1 QB)
• WR Dakorien Moore (No. 4 overall, No. 1 WR)
• RB Harlem Berry (No. 16 overall, No. 1 RB)

That's right, folks, Brian Kelly has already landed verbal commitments from the top quarterback, running back and wide receiver in the 2025 class.

Underwood is the top overall player in the 2025 class, and he led Belleville High School (MI) to a 13-1 record in 2023, throwing for 3,329 yards with 44 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

In the age of teams restocking their offense with high-profile names from the transfer portal, the Tigers are poised to have a homegrown offensive core.

Quarterbacks will always be a major focal point of every recruiting cycle, and the top signal-callers are often among the first high-profile players to make verbal commitments, so let's take a quick look at the 5- and 4-star quarterbacks who have already committed.

• Bryce Underwood (5-star, No. 1 QB)—LSU
• Tavien St. Clair (4-star, No. 3 QB)—Ohio State
• Deuce Knight (4-star, No. 4 QB)—Notre Dame
• Akili Smith Jr. (4-star, No. 6 QB)—Oregon
• KJ Lacey (4-star, No. 7 QB)—Texas
• Carter Smith, (4-star, No. 9 QB)—Michigan
• Blake Hebert (4-star, No. 11 QB)—Clemson
• Ty Hawkins (4-star, No. 12 QB)—TCU
• Kevin Sperry (4-star, No. 15 QB)—Oklahoma
• Lloyd Jones (4-star, No. 17 QB)—Texas Tech
• Adam Schobel (4-star, No. 18 QB)—Baylor
• Keelon Russell (4-star, No. 21 QB)—SMU
• Bryce Barker (4-star, No. 22 QB)—North Carolina
• KaMario Taylor (4-star, No. 23 QB)—Mississippi State
• Michael Tollefson (4-star, No. 24 QB)—Arizona State
• Stone Saunders (4-star, No. 25 QB)—Kentucky
• Tramell Jones Jr. (4-star, No. 26 QB)—Florida State
• Wyatt Becker (4-star, No. 27 QB)—Utah

Teams generally try to bring in at least one quarterback each recruiting cycle, so it's worth noting which top-tier teams haven't found their guy yet.

You may have noticed the No. 2 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class absent from that list of committed signal-callers on the previous slide.

That spot in the rankings belongs to George MacIntyre from Brentwood Academy in Tennessee, and he is currently the only other 5-star quarterback in the class outside of Bryce Underwood.

Alabama, LSU and Tennessee have been viewed as the three front-runners to land his commitment, and that list likely narrowed to two teams when Underwood committed to LSU on Jan. 6.

Can the Volunteers win out over SEC rival Alabama to keep the talented young quarterback in-state?

MacIntyre also has scholarship offers to play basketball at Arizona State and Florida International, and his uncle, Mike MacIntyre, is head coach for the FIU football team so there is also an interesting family wrinkle to his recruitment.

Still, if he lands anywhere other than Alabama or Tennessee at this point, it would be a major upset.

A quick glance at the 2025 recruiting team rankings reveals a lot of familiar faces, and one notable surprise.

The SMU Mustangs are currently slotted at No. 10 in the rankings, with a five-player class that includes four 4-star recruits.

• QB Keelon Russell (4-star, No. 248 overall, No. 21 QB)
• RB Rickey Stewart (4-star, No. 267 overall, No. 22 RB)
• WR Daylon Singleton (4-star, No. 273 overall, No. 33 WR)
• ATH Demetrius Brisbon (4-star, No. 352 overall, No. 21 ATH)

All four of those players were plucked from the Texas high school ranks, and tapping into that hotbed of talent will be key for SMU if it's going to take another step forward as a program.

There's still a lot of work to be done if the Mustangs want to hold onto their spot in the top 10, but it's a promising start for Rhett Lashlee in putting together his 2025 class.

SMU will move from the AAC to the ACC for the 2024 season.

They may not have landed a quarterback yet for the 2025 class, but SEC powerhouses Alabama and Georgia are again on their way to stocking the talent pipeline with another elite recruiting class.

We have already touched on the three 5-star recruits who have verbally committed to LSU, and that accounts for one-third of the current 5-star players who have made their college decision.

Alabama and Georgia are the only other teams with multiple players on that list.

The Crimson Tide have secured commitments from wide receiver Jaime Ffrench and edge-rusher Zion Grady, with the latter coming from their own backyard at Charles Henderson High School in Troy, Alabama. They also have five 4-star commitments and currently check in at No. 2 in the recruiting rankings behind LSU.

The Bulldogs are not far behind at No. 4 in the rankings, with a six-player class headlined by imposing 6'7", 235-pound tight end Elyiss Williams and 6'5", 275-pound defensive lineman Justus Terry.

The surprise retirement of Nick Saban shakes things up for Alabama, but expect these two perennial title contenders to again rank among the best recruiting classes in the nation in 2025.