The college football recruiting cycle for the 2027 class is not even halfway over, and we\u2019ve already seen major movement among the country\u2019s top prospects. <\/p>\n
As of Thursday, 20 of the top 32 players nationally in the Rivals Industry Ranking<\/a> are committed. Expand that to the top-100, and 56 are already pledged before we even reach June. On the flip side, we\u2019ve also seen some major decommitments, headlined by a trio of five-stars who have already found a new program to join up with. <\/p>\n The majority of the movement in this cycle is still to come over the final six-plus months, but Rivals breaks down what\u2019s been an exciting start to the 2027 class:<\/p>\n Georgia grabs the nation\u2019s No. 1 RB<\/p>\n Kirby Smart and his staff have been on the wrong end of some big decommitments and flips over the past three years (see: Jared Curtis<\/a>, Justus Terry<\/a>, and Dylan Raiola<\/a>). But the \u2018Dawgs \u2014 who don\u2019t often pursue a ton of flip targets \u2014 have pounced on a few significant decommits from other schools early in the cycle. Five-star running back Kemon Spell<\/a> was an early pledge to Penn State, but was one of a slew of decommits when James Franklin was fired last fall. <\/p>\n His recruitment swung back and forth between the Nittany Lions, UGA and Notre Dame in the preceding months. But it was ultimately Georgia<\/a><\/strong> who prevailed in landing the country\u2019s premier running back prospect. <\/p>\n Miami, Florida sneak into poach elite DBs<\/p>\n The class hasn\u2019t been without its bump for the Bulldogs though, who lost their other five-star commitment over the weekend. Long Beach Poly (Calif.) star Donte Wright<\/a> was a huge early pledge for the \u2018Dawgs, but he never fully shut down his recruitment. <\/p>\n Oregon<\/a><\/strong> was seen as the biggest threat to flip him, and multiple expert predictions went in for that to eventually happen. It did \u2014 but not to the Ducks. Miami<\/a><\/strong> swooped in to nab the top-10 overall prospect away from the Ducks and \u2018Dawgs, adding its second five-star pledge in the class. <\/p>\n \u201cI knew if I was going to stay committed to Georgia it was going to happen for a reason and then it would happen,\u201d Wright told Rivals after his decision<\/a>. \u201cBut I just let everything happen for itself. Some coaches fell off. Some coaches pushed harder. Some coaches acted like they were going to push harder and disappeared.<\/p>\n \u2026 Everyone showed their true colors and I felt Miami stood out and stood strong through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Up in Gainesville, Jon Sumrall and Co. were working on a major flip of their own. Projected five-star Aamaury Fountain<\/a> (No. 25 in the Rivals300) gave his verbal commitment to South Carolina early in January. But Florida<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 one of his top schools before the decision \u2014 never went away. He visited the Gators just weeks after making his commitment. <\/p>\n After a few more visits and the continued push from the Gators\u2019 staff, he flipped last month and helped kick off a huge recruiting run for UF. <\/p>\n Oklahoma turns the tables on Texas Tech<\/p>\n Joey McGuire and Texas Tech have been a thorn in the side of a lot of programs the past two years, particularly in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail. The Red Raiders landed a pair of five-stars last cycle in Felix Ojo<\/a> and LaDamion Guyton<\/a>, who were at point considered near-locks to Texas and Georgia, respectively. <\/p>\n Tech\u2019s willingness to spend on high-level prospects has put them in the conversation for the No. 1 class this year, and they might have it right now if not for Oklahoma. The Red Raiders got a massive early commitment last fall from five-star Fort Gibson (Okla.) offensive tackle Cooper Hackett<\/a>, beating out the in-state Sooners in the process. Oklahoma didn\u2019t blink. <\/p>\n Brent Venables and Bill Bedenbaugh continued to recruit him, and just a few weeks after his initial decision, Hackett flipped to the Sooners. He is one of two bookend five-star tackles \u2014 along with Kaeden Penny<\/a> \u2014 headed to Norman next year. <\/p>\n Virginia Tech, Michigan find their QBs<\/p>\n Virginia Tech<\/a> salvaged a top-30 class last season following the change from Brent Pry to James Franklin. The former Penn State coach was able to pull a ton of ex-Nittany Lions commits with him, something they didn\u2019t have to worry about in the 2027 cycle. Four-star quarterback Peter Bourque<\/a> was one of their top early targets \u2014 and there were connections to him for the PSU era \u2014 but he made a pledge to Michigan under their previous staff. When Kyle Whittingham and Co. came in, Bourque looked around and other programs and eventually decommitted.<\/p>\n He narrowed down his options to Georgia and Virginia Tech, and the Hokies pulled off a huge recruiting victory over the SEC powerhouse.<\/p>\n The Wolverines lost a big piece to their class when the aforementioned Bourque decommitted, but it really didn\u2019t take them long to find his replacement. Once Bourque backed off his pledge in mid-February, Michigan<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s new staff quickly went to work on flipping four-star Kamden Lopati<\/a> from his longtime Illinois commitment. <\/p>\n Notre Dame and a handful of other schools were also in the mix, but Lopati\u2019s connection to the Wolverines\u2019 staff \u2014 who previously recruited the Utah native when they were in Salt Lake City \u2014 was very strong. <\/p>\n \u201cI have great relationships with the entire Michigan staff and that was big for me,\u201d\u00a0Lopati told Rivals\u2019 Greg Biggins<\/a>. \u201cAll of those coaches were recruiting me when they were at Utah and picked things right back up when they got to Michigan.\u00a0<\/p>\n USC, UCLA throwing their weight around<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the Big Ten, USC<\/a><\/strong> and crosstown rival UCLA<\/a><\/strong> are both making waves early this cycle. The Trojans, who finished No. 1 in last year\u2019s team rankings, have followed that up with another top-5 class. Five top-100 commits headline the class, along with a big-time commitment flip from former Oregon four-star offensive tackle pledge Drew Fielder<\/a>. <\/p>\n A borderline top-10 player at his position, Fielder is new to the tackle position after primarily playing tight end to this point in his career. <\/p>\n