


The United States of recruiting
Where do college football's best players come from? Like in an election, winning in the battleground counties can produce classes full of recruits that make the difference in winning it all.
BY LUKE KNOX AND JEREMY WILLIS
Total/top recruits by state
ESPN Top 100 recruits from the past 10 years are shown below. Of the past 10 No. 1 overall recruits, half of them left their home state.
Hover/tap for each state's total and the highest-ranked recruit
No. 1 overall recruits

Matt Barkley, USC
2009 (QB, Calif.)

Ronald Powell, FLA
2010 (ATH, Calif.)

Jadeveon Clowney,
SCAR
2011 (DE, S.C.)

Mario Edwards, FSU
2012 (DE, Tex.)

Robert Nkemdiche,
MISS
2013 (DE, Ga.)

Leonard Fournette,
LSU
2014 (RB, La.)

Byron Cowart, AUB
2015 (DE, Fla.)

Rashan Gary, MICH
2016 (DT, N.J.)

Trey Smith, TENN
2017 (OT, Tenn.)

Justin Fields, UGA
2018 (QB, Ga.)
Top states
These 11 power states, most of which lie in ACC and SEC territories, produced 76.4 percent of all top recruits in the last 10 years.
Click on each state for county totals, hover/tap to view totals
Alabama No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
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California No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
Florida No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|---|---|
09 | Jacobbi McDaniel, DT | Madison (Florida State) |
10 | Lamarcus Joyner, CB | Broward (Florida State) |
11 | Karlos Williams, S | Polk (Florida State) |
12 | Eddie Williams, ATH | Bay (Alabama) |
13 | Vernon Hargreaves III, CB | Hillsborough (Florida) |
14 | Sony Michel, RB | Broward (Georgia) |
15 | Byron Cowart, DE | Hillsborough (Auburn) |
16 | Nick Bosa, DE | Broward (Ohio State) |
17 | Dylan Moses, ATH | Manatee (Alabama) |
18 | Xavier Thomas, DE | Manatee (Clemson) |
Georgia No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|---|---|
09 | Greg Reid, CB | Lowndes (Florida State) |
10 | Storm Johnson, RB | Walton (Miami) |
11 | Isaiah Crowell, RB | Muscogee (Georgia) |
Louisiana No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
North Carolina No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
Ohio No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
South Carolina No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|---|---|
09 | Stephon Gilmore, S | York (South Carolina) |
10 | Marcus Lattimore, RB | Spartanburg (South Carolina) |
11 | Jadeveon Clowney, DE | York (South Carolina) |
12 | Shaq Roland, WR | Lexington (South Carolina) |
13 | Ben Boulware, LB | Anderson (Clemson) |
14 | Christian Miller, LB | Richland (Alabama) |
15 | Noah Green, OT | Spartanburg (Clemson) |
16 | Tavien Feaster, RB | Spartanburg (Clemson) |
17 | Shi Smith, WR | Union (South Carolina) |
18 | Derion Kendrick, ATH | York (Clemson) |
Tennessee No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
Texas No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|---|---|
09 | Russell Shepard, ATH | Harris (LSU) |
10 | Jackson Jeffcoat, DE | Collin (Texas) |
11 | Malcolm Brown, RB | Guadalupe (Texas) |
12 | Mario Edwards, DE | Denton (Florida State) |
13 | Darius James, C | Bell (Texas) |
14 | Myles Garrett, DE | Tarrant (Texas A&M) |
15 | Daylon Mack, DT | Gregg (Texas A&M) |
16 | Gregory Little, OT | Collin (Ole Miss) |
17 | Marvin Wilson, DT | Harris (Florida State) |
18 | B.J. Foster, S | Brazoria (Texas) |
Virginia No. 1 recruits
Yr | Name, Pos | County (Commit) |
---|
Most recruits from top 11 states

Alabama
77

Florida State
58

Georgia
54

USC
53

Texas
50

Florida
50

LSU
49

Ohio State
43

Auburn
36

Clemson
32