1 week Ago By Rivals
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com Spring official visits have kicked off around the country and players are still taking unofficial visits to check out spring practices. As we enter a very busy time on the recruiting calendar, which programs currently lagging behind should be truly worried about their recruiting classes and which of them will be just fine? We continue with a look at the ACC.
MORE IN THIS SERIES: Big Ten | SEC MORE ACC: Team recruiting rankings CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker DUKE ACC rank: No. 8 of 16 Level of concern: Medium Garcia's take: After a nine-win 2024 and an ensuing recruiting class finishing just outside the top 30 in the Rivals rankings , Duke holds just four verbal commitments and sits at No. 50.
Of the quartet of pledges, none are on board from within state lines despite a loaded prospect year in the state of North Carolina. Another area for concern beyond low volume is the lack of a quarterback on board early on; in fact every Duke commitment in the 2026 class is a trench type player. It will change in short order under Manny Diaz , but it's somewhat surprising to see the Blue Devils not doubling-down on the momentum created by last season.
Maybe the transfer portal is the priority in Durham. DUKE'S 2026 COMMITMENT LIST SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH DUKE FANS AT DEVILSILLUSTRATED.COM FLORIDA STATE ACC rank: No.
6 of 16 Level of concern: Medium Garcia's take: Mike Norvell and company salvaged so much coaching turnover relative to the 2025 class, so it was probably going to lead to a slower start in 2026 anyway. Still, some of the early pledges to the Seminoles not only seem pretty open to other programs, but the class headliner in five-star quarterback Brady Smigiel departed the group in late January. The focus had been close to home since, with eight of the nine verbal commitments on board from the Sunshine State.
Defensive back, the strongest group assembled thus far, was bolstered on Thursday by Maryland native Sean Johnson . The search for a quarterback will be essential to a bounce-back cycle from Florida State , but we're not hitting the panic button just yet considering the on-field product will likely dictate the ceiling of this class. FLORIDA STATE'S 2026 COMMITMENT LIST SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH FSU FANS AT THEOSCEOLA.
COM GEORGIA TECH ACC rank: No. 12 of 16 Level of concern: Low Garcia's take: The start of the cycle for Georgia Tech has been nothing short of surprising on multiple fronts. There are just three pledges on board as of this writing, all projected to play in the defensive secondary at that – and neither was on board before March 18.
Yet the level of concern for the class as a whole is low under Brent Key . There is just too much talent close to campus ahead of the official visit season to foresee GT not ramping up the volume in short order. Following up the top-25 class of 2025 was never going to be easy, but the hill does seem slightly steeper than expected at this stage.
At least there is some present momentum following a strong March, especially with the win of coveted cornerback Jaedyn Terry , so perhaps more upsets in favor of the program on the Flats lie ahead. GEORGIA TECH'S 2026 COMMITMENT LIST SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GEORGIA TECH FANS AT JACKETSONLINE.COM SMU ACC rank: No.
11 of 16 Level of concern: Medium Garcia's take: The Mustangs' march to the ACC title game in their debut season in the league was reflected in recruiting with a No. 26-ranked class with national headliners and several blue-chippers signed up to contribute on the offensive side of the ball. The 2026 group got off to a memorable start with NFL legacy Cole Leinart jumping on board in the fall, but just two more commitments have come on board since, albeit each is a blue-chipper at this stage of the cycle.
But coming off of the ACC title game appearance combined with the volume of top talent in the Lone Star State creates an anticipation to stack up much higher than No. 60 nationally at this point. Most of Rhett Lashlee and company's damage in the last cycle came before the season began, so if there is a run to be made it should be coming sooner rather than later.
SMU'S 2026 COMMITMENT LIST SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH SMU FANS AT THEHILLTOPICS.COM STANFORD ACC rank: No. 14 of 16 Level of concern: High Garcia's take: Yes, this is low-hanging fruit and potentially obvious, but it doesn't mean it isn't true.
Stanford just went through a late spring coaching change to a one-year rental in college head coaching rookie Frank Reich . Andrew Luck can help steady the ship and create some certainty to pair with the exceptional education that Stanford can always sell on the recruiting trail, but that only goes so far. The Cardinal hold a trio of three-star commitments to date, all jumping in since February, but the crosshairs from other programs could alter the list although there has yet to be a known 2026 decommitment since the program moved on from Troy Taylor .
Stanford only took 17 high school recruits last cycle, so getting near that number would feel like a relative win until there is more clarity on the future of the coaching staff. STANFORD'S 2026 COMMITMENT LIST SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH STANFORD FANS AT CARDINALSPORTSREPORT.COM.
