The rich got richer on National Signing Day 2024. Even despite losing the No. 2 player in the country late in the process, 2-time reigning champion Georgia signed the No. 1 class in the country. Kirby Smart's 28-man haul (four 5-stars, 20 4-stars) was his third No. 1 class and his ninth consecutive top-6 class. (Kirby Smart has signed nine classes at Georgia.)
Rounding out the top five as of press time: Alabama (in the top five for the 17th year in a row), Ohio State, Texas and Florida State. It turns out the teams most likely to be good in the future are the teams that are already good right now.
But the rich weren't the only ones to get richer on Wednesday.
The highest rated class in Kansas history is locked in. #KAN24S
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) December 20, 2023
Building something special 🧱📈 pic.twitter.com/HAwMR6Pve2
KU's 17-man class included three consensus 4-stars and ranks 45th nationally. The 2023 group ranked 73rd, which itself was a 40-spot improvement from the 2022 class, which the industry ranked 117th.
UCF also signed its best class ever, which is no surprise given that it's their first class as a Power 5 team. Their 88.21 average player rating is third in the Big 12 to Texas Tech and Colorado, who signed only nine high schoolers. UCF's 18-man class included eight 4-stars; their previous six classes combined totaled half of that number.
Thanks Ambassador Members for creating an NIL landscape at UCF that plays a part in attracting our highest-rated Freshman class ever.
— The Kingdom NIL (@KingdomNIL) December 20, 2023
Also, thanks to coach for taking a second after practice to check in! #GusparillaBowl
Check 🔗 below #GoKnightsSignOnhttps://t.co/mw2O9B0UCY pic.twitter.com/p1glbB8FVy
-- Florida State capitalized on its undefeated regular season with its first top-five class since 2016.
-- Miami signed its highest-ranked class (No. 6) since its top-ranked 2008 class, albeit the 'Canes did so by a hair: Mario Cristobal's 2023 class ranked seventh.
-- Texas Tech (No. 22) signed its best class since 2011, and its first back-to-back top-30 classes since 2011-12.
-- Relatively speaking, Georgia did not sign the best class in the nation. Sure, the Bulldogs ended up No. 1, but they were just one spot ahead of the second-place team in their conference. No, that honor belongs to South Florida who, at No. 48, finished 14 spots above the next-closest team in their conference.
Other teams who whipped up the competition in their conferences: Texas Tech, Liberty and Western Kentucky, Toledo and Southern Miss.
Here are the highest-rated classes by conference. (All rankings via the 247Sports composite.)
American
1. South Florida (No. 48)
2. Tulsa (No. 62)
3. East Carolina (No. 65)
4. Florida Atlantic (No. 72)
5. North Texas (No. 73)
ACC
1. Florida State (No. 5)
2. Miami (No. 7)
3. Clemson (No. 12)
4. North Carolina (No. 25)
5. NC State (No. 27)
Big 12
1. Texas Tech (No. 22)
2. TCU (No. 31)
3. UCF (No. 32)
4. Kansas (No. 45)
5. Arizona State (No. 46)
Big Ten
1. Ohio State (No. 3)
2. Oregon (No. 6)
3. Penn State (No. 14)
4. Michigan (No. 16)
5. USC (No. 17)
Conference USA
1. Liberty (No. 87)
2. Western Kentucky (No. 89)
3. FIU (No. 102)
4. Louisiana Tech (No. 109)
5. Sam Houston (No. 120)
MAC
1. Toledo (No. 64)
2. Western Michigan (No. 75)
3. Miami (Ohio) (No. 78)
4. Ohio (No. 84)
5. Eastern Michigan (No. 93)
Mountain West
1. Colorado State (No. 68)
2. UNLV (No. 69)
3. San Diego State (No. 79)
4. Boise State (No. 80)
5. Fresno State (No. 86)
SEC
1. Georgia (No. 1)
2. Alabama (No. 2)
3. Texas (No. 4)
4. Auburn (No. 8)
5. Oklahoma (No. 9)
Sun Belt
1. Southern Miss (No. 71)
2. Arkansas State (No. 81)
3. Appalachian State (No. 82)
4. Coastal Carolina (No. 83)
5. Georgia Southern (No. 88)