Ranking the 10 States with the Most Talent in the 2024 Recruiting Class (2024)

Another year, another shuffling around of the nation's top states when it comes to college football talent.

Every year, it's just a matter of whether Texas, California, Florida or Georgia will wear the crown. You can set your watch by those four being in some order at the top. But there were some unusual suspects this year, including Missouri, which has an uncharacteristically high number of talented players.

Using the 247Sports composite rankings, Bleacher Report broke down the nation's top hotbeds of talent using this system: 5-star prospects counted five points, 4-star prospects rated in the top 247 counted four points, and those 4-stars outside of the top 247 were applied three points to a team's score.

Overall, all 376 4- and 5-star players were included in this exercise, and 35 states (as well as Washington D.C.) were represented in the final rankings.

So, which state came out on top? Here's a hint: The state with the most 5-star prospects didn't take home the crown. Instead, there's one out there with more talent, even if it's not top-of-the-heap talent.

Here are our state rankings for the '24 class.

The state of North Carolina squeaked into the list with a total of 34 points, and there are going to be plenty of players coveted by teams across the nation.

There is nobody more highly ranked than 5-star quarterback Jadyn Davis, who is one of the most coveted prospects in the nation and currently predicted by the 247Sports Crystal Ball to take his talent from state borders and play for Michigan.

Plenty of other schools want Davis, too, so the 6'0", 192-pound signal-caller who is perhaps the most polished player at his position has a decision to make.

Five Top 247 prospects grew up with Carolina on their mind, too, and while that state has become a battleground the past couple of seasons, UNC coach Mack Brown rebuilt his Heels by keeping guys at home. It will be interesting to see if he gets back to that this cycle.

Athlete Jonathan Paylor of Burlington ranks just outside the top 100 at No. 102, and linebacker Cayden Jones is next on the list at No. 136.

Notre Dame is invading the state, already with a commitment from tight end Jack Larsen and the Crystal Ball leader for his Charlotte Christian teammate, defensive lineman Bryce Young.

All in all, North Carolina has Davis as its 5-star representative on the list and eight 4-star prospects. Suffice it to say, the state is circled on many recruiters' calendars this cycle, and plenty of wages remain to battle.

The state of Pennsylvania has long held its own when it comes to producing quality talent, and that's one of the reasons why Penn State has done such a great job on the trail the past few years.

Nittany Lions coach James Franklin has kept top-tier talent home for the most part, and the state should be a proving ground again in 2024.

Belle Vernon athlete Quinton Martin can play running back, safety or linebacker on the next level, and his ability is tantalizing to the colleges recruiting him. The 6'2", 200-pound playmaker can do a lot of things with his hand on the ball, and he's the state's lone 5-star prospect.

Pennsylvania also has a pair of Top 247 prospects in receiver Tyseer Denmark and interior offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, but the real strength of the state's class lies in its depth, even if the best of the best prospects don't hail from there.

Eight 4-star players outside of the top 247 are ranked, including a duo of offensive linemen and cornerbacks.

Quarterback Samaj Jones is a bit undersized at 5'11", 203 pounds, but playing at St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia has led to plenty of looks. That's the alma mater of Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), quarterback Kyle McCord (Ohio State) and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Clemson), among others.

This state's bounty is built on numbers.

LSU signee Dashawn Womack led a star-studded class of 2023 recruits from Maryland in a year that featured eight 5- and 4-star prospects. The '24 class doesn't have a player ranked as high as Womack, but there is plenty star power among the 11 4-stars.

This year, Maryland doesn't have a can't-miss player of Womack's ilk, but the state still is going to produce some very good prospects with 11 4-star prospects, including seven in the top 247.

The best-rated of the bunch is Olney's Aaron Chiles, a linebacker who already has 32 reported offers and will be an elite prospect who could surge up the rankings from his current No. 68 spot.

As always, football factor St. Frances Academy in Baltimore (Womack's school) is represented with three prospects, but so is Chiles' Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.

The St. Frances Panthers are represented by the nation's No. 8-rated quarterback in Michael Van Buren, who leads a group that also includes cornerback Ify Obidegwu, who has an elite ceiling and is a big-bodied, 6'1" cornerback prospect, and running back DeJuan Williams.

The Falcons (Our Lady of Good Counsel) counters with Chiles, running back Dilin Jones and edge rusher Darien Mayo, who is a 6'7", 247-pound prospect with incredible size and athleticism, while also having 25 reported offers.

Cornerback Braydon Lee and Georgia pledge Tovani Mizell (a running back) are also worth mentioning as potentially elite prospects in another big year for the state.

The St. Louis area has always been a mass-producer of talent, and the 2024 cycle is no different. As a matter of fact, the entire state of Missouri has a lot of exciting prospects, from playmakers to defensive destructors.

None of those is rated higher than 6'5", 245-pound defensive tackle Williams Nwaneri of Lee's Summit outside of Kansas City, the same school that produced Oklahoma offensive tackle commit Cayden Green of the '23 cycle.

The Sooners had a field day in Mizzou a season ago, pulling Green and the state's only 5-star in edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore, and they are a factor in several recruitments during this class, too.

Nwaneri is a budding star, the nation's eighth-rated player, but St. Louis University High School receiver Ryan Wingo has perhaps just as much potential on the other side of the ball. He is a 6'2", 205-pound 5-star prospect who currently points to Tennessee's high-octane offense in the 247Sports Crystal Ball projections.

This is the second consecutive year for incredible talent in the state, and elite tight end Jaden Reddell has plenty of potential to be a star-in-the-making, as well as Kansas City edge rusher Jayshawn Ross.

Notre Dame is off to a strong, early start in the state with a pledge from do-it-all running back Aneyas Williams of Hannibal, who could compete for early playing time in South Bend.

Missouri slots into this list with a pair of 5-stars and eight 4-stars, including six in the Top 247.

The Ohio State Buckeyes keep a lot of the top talent in a deep home state in the Big Ten, but plenty of other schools come after kids from those schools, as well.

Again in 2024, this is a big year for Ohioans wanting to play big-time college football.

In each of the past two cycles ('23 and this year), Ohio has boasted 12 4-star prospects, but what makes this year's class just a bit better is 5-star cornerback Bryce West of Cleveland's Glenville High School, a perennial Buckeyes pipeline.

West is predicted to join Ryan Day's program, but his recruitment isn't over yet.

Cincinnati running back Jordan Marshall from Archbishop Moeller High School has an early list of favorites that includes Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin, so he's going to be a prospect on a lot of lists during this cycle.

Several Ohio prospects already have come off the board, such as athlete Garrett Stover (Ohio State), tight end Tayvion Galloway (LSU), and the duo of offensive tackle Luke Hamilton and defensive lineman Ted Hammond (Michigan).

The Wolverines are on a lot of lists for Ohio prospects, along with the Buckeyes, so those hated rivals are going to endure some battles off the field during this cycle.

Edge rusher Brian Robinson of Youngstown and cornerback Aaron Scott of Springfield are another pair of top-200 prospects who haven't made a college decision yet. In other words, there may be some prospects pledged, but Ohio is going to see plenty of recruiting races.

Alabama has always produced a lot of high school football talent, but it just seems like with the rise of Crimson Tide football over the past couple of decades, the numbers have trended upward.

This past year was a banner cycle for talent in the Yellow Hammer State, and the Tide, Georgia, Clemson and Auburn all had some big recruiting wins.

The 2024 class is going to be another strong group, even if the talent isn't quite as loaded as it was in the '23 group that just signed on the dotted line. There are two 5-star prospects and 19 4-stars, including 13 in the top 247.

Jaylen Mbakwe is the best in the class right now, a 5-star cornerback from Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson who already has committed to coach Nick Saban.

So has Foley receiver Perry Thompson, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of another Foley legend in Tuscaloosa, future NFL Hall of Famer Julio Jones.

Sandwiched between them is linebacker Demarcus Riddick, the only other 5-star player outside of Mbakwe who is committed to Georgia. Riddick's pledge proves Kirby Smart still has plenty of reach with his back-to-back national champion Dawgs and from his time as defensive coordinator under Saban.

The top three players in the state are committed, sure, but plenty more remain there for the taking, such as Vestavia Hills edge rusher Jordan Ross, Birmingham defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman and Tuscaloosa safety Travaris Banks.

Defensive lineman Kavion Henderson is committed to Arkansas, but fellow top-200 players like running backs J'Marion Burnette and Kevin Riley, receiver Mario Craver, safety Damarian Thompson and athlete Malcolm Simmons have yet to choose.

California is a huge state, so you'd expect there to be a ton of high school talent. But while the Golden State has plenty of representatives on this list, it's a bit of a down year, at least on paper (in rankings).

The Alabama Crimson Tide got the best field general of the bunch in Carlsbad signal-caller Julian Sayin. The 6'1", 195-pound quarterback is the nation's second-rated player at his position behind Dylan Raiola and hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Californian Bryce Young in Tuscaloosa.

He's the only 5-star player in the class right now from Cali, which is a bit surprising.

Even so, California features 31 4-star prospects, including 22 in the top 247, which equates to a score of 120 and a distant fourth on this list.

Perhaps the best tidbit about that is only four of those remaining prospects—receiver Jordan Anderson (Oregon), receiver Jordan Washington (Arizona), cornerback Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins (UCLA) and linebacker Jordan Lockhart (Ole Miss)—are committed somewhere.

USC has yet to gain a pledge from inside state walls, so you know the Trojans are going to be active, and Dan Lanning's Ducks always wind up with several signees from Cali.

With 13 players ranked in the top 100, this is still a deep, strong year for talent from the state, and another top-tier quarterback in Mater Dei's Elijah Brown has yet to come off the board. So, there will be a lot of drama recruiting California before this cycle is complete.

There's perhaps no bigger battleground in all of college football recruiting than the state of Georgia.

Every single year, it supplies national title contenders like the home state Bulldogs, Clemson, Alabama and others with elite prospects who become high-round NFL draft selections. The SEC and ACC raid the Peach State for players, and there are plenty more who matriculate elsewhere.

This year is yet another banner season for college football recruiting in the state. With a whopping six 5-star prospects, Georgia trails only Florida in that category, and it also has 39 4-star prospects, including 26 in the top 247.

In other words, not only is the state deep, but it also has a bevy of exceptional prospects who are among the best of the best.

Two of the 5-stars are committed, including the nation's top-ranked tight end, Landen Thomas, who is going to Georgia, and running back Kameron Davis, who is headed a bit south of his Albany home to play for Florida State.

All-star athlete Mike Matthews of Lilburn's powerhouse Parkview High School is the top-rated player at No. 3 nationally, and the Buford High School duo of safety KJ Bolden and defensive lineman Eddrick Houston are also top-10 players.

Linebacker Sammy Brown (No. 13), who has a who's-who list of offers, rounds out the 5-star talent in another marquee year for Georgia talent.

If a head coach at one of the "Big Three" of Florida, Florida State and Miami could just start racking up in the Sunshine State, they'd build a powerhouse.

Unfortunately for those three programs, they haven't been able to capitalize recently on keeping that top talent at home, which has allowed Georgia, LSU, Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama and others to cherry-pick stars.

This year is yet another incredible year for prospects in Florida, which leads the nation with seven 5-star prospects. Again, though, the three players who are committed—receiver Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), cornerback Ellis Robinson IV (Georgia) and edge TJ Capers (Louisville)—are headed elsewhere, as of now.

Defensive lineman David Stone favors Oklahoma and Michigan State in the 247Sports Crystal Ball, too, so this is a state other outsiders are experiencing success. Adarius Hayes (No. 62) is the highest-rated prospect committed to an instate school, pledging to Florida.

As always, Florida's numbers are a bit skewed because prospects come from all over to play for powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, and the Sunshine State gets to claim them. This is another huge year for that program.

Robinson, Stone, 5-star running back Jerrick Gibson, athlete Jonathan Echols (a Tennessee commit), defensive lineman Ernest Willor, safety Jordon Johnson-Rubell, quarterback Jayden Bradford, receiver Jerrae Hawkins and offensive lineman Jimothy Lewis are all top-200 prospects at IMG.

There's so much quality talent in Florida, you can't keep up with it all.

No. 1 by a long shot on this list is Texas. Everything's bigger in that state, including the list of top-tier talent.

While Florida and Georgia have more 5-star prospects than the Lone Star State's four (edge Colin Simmons, receiver Micah Hudson, cornerback Kobe Black and quarterback DJ Lagway) the sheer depth of talent in Texas is mind-boggling.

The state features 18 players in the top 100, 37 4-stars in the top 247 and another 23 players who are rated as 4-star prospects but outside the top group.

Lagway is the star of the bunch who is already committed. The nation's No. 19 overall prospect and third-rated quarterback from Willis is pledged to the Florida Gators. He's a game-changing signal-caller who could kick-start Billy Napier's dormant program in Gainesville.

Simmons is the best player in the state, ranked fifth overall and gaining interest from virtually every top team, as well as Hudson, who is an electric pass-catcher with game-breaking speed. Cornerback Kobe Black is the other 5-star player, and he hasn't committed anywhere, either.

Everybody tries to recruit from the Lone State State, but the SEC and Big 12 are the ones that are most successful, as well as some marquee programs like Ohio State and USC.

If you want prospect diversity, Texas has that, too. Among the top prospects in the state, there are 13 defensive backs, 11 wide receivers, eight edge rushers/defensive linemen, seven receivers, seven linebackers, seven running backs, seven athletes, seven offensive linemen and four quarterbacks.

You could build an elite team by never leaving state borders.

All stats courtesy of cfbstats and Sports Reference unless otherwise noted. Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.