Three big college football recruiting ‘winners’ that helped their cases in the month of July
Three college football programmes made notable recruiting gains for the 2027 class during July, according to Outkick, with commitments and reclassifications reshaping the national picture ahead of the season kicking off in four weeks. The piece highlights Miami, Indiana and Florida State as the month's biggest "winners" on the recruiting trail, each for different reasons ranging from landing elite prospects to reversing long-standing historical trends.
Miami secured its fifth five-star recruit when cornerback A'mir Sears reclassified from the 2028 class and committed on the final day of July, giving the Hurricanes the highest average player rating of any 2027 class (just above 93.5) with 21 commitments as of 1 August. Indiana, historically absent from five-star recruiting, landed its first ever five-star commit in wide receiver Monshun Sales, a 6'5" Indianapolis native who chose the Hoosiers over Alabama despite the programme's class ranking sitting in the low 30s. Florida State, whose class was ranked in the 50s with no four-star commits as of Memorial Day, is also cited as a major turnaround story following a strong June and July.
- Miami, Indiana and Florida State named July's top recruiting "winners" for 2027 class
- Miami landed its fifth five-star via A'mir Sears' reclassification and commitment
- Indiana secured its first-ever five-star recruit, receiver Monshun Sales
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College football teams recruit school-age players to build their future squads, with prospects making verbal commitments before they can formally join a programme. Recruiting rankings estimate the strength of each team’s incoming class, based partly on how highly individual players are rated; a five-star rating is the highest commonly used.
Miami, Indiana and Florida State are established US college football programmes, but their recruiting histories differ. Miami has often attracted highly rated players, while Indiana has rarely signed prospects rated at the very top; Florida State’s recent recruiting standing has also varied.
Recruiting matters because teams use these classes to develop players over several seasons, and strong groups can shape a programme’s prospects. Commitments and changes in a player’s expected year of entry can also shift how a class is viewed before the players arrive.