In this ACCSports.com series, we’re looking at every state within the ACC’s footprint and figuring out which programs own them in recruiting.
- Who Owns Florida In Recruiting?
- Who Owns Georgia In Recruiting?
- Who Owns South Carolina In Recruiting?
- Who Owns North Carolina in Recruiting?
- Who Owns Virginia In Recruiting?
- Who Owns Maryland In Recruiting?
- Who Owns Pennsylvania In Recruiting?
- Who Owns New Jersey In Recruiting?
We’ve covered the big ones, but there are still a handful of states that sit within the ACC footprint but aren’t producers of top-notch talent. States like Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts provide powerful TV markets for the ACC, which was an essential element of the ACC’s growth, but they aren’t known for high school football. Still, a few talented players emerge from them each year.
To see which schools own each state in recruiting, we scanned the last five recruiting classes (2010-2014). We looked at the top prospects in each class (as ranked by Rivals) and where they decided to play their college ball. Here is what we found out.
DELAWARE
Schools Who Signed The Most Top-5 Delaware Recruits From 2010-2014
Delaware – 3
Boston College – 2
N.C. State – 2
Rutgers – 2
Penn State – 2
Maryland – 2
Who Owns It: Delaware
Dominant ACC Team: Boston College and N.C. State
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went ACC: 32 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went SEC: 8 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went Big Ten: 20 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Stayed In-State: 12 percent
Biggest Out-Of-State Predator: Boston College, N.C. State, Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland
Biggest Haul Of Top 5 Recruits In One Class: 2 – N.C. State in 2012; Rutgers in 2013; Penn State in 2014; Delaware in 2013
CONNECTICUT
Schools Who Signed The Most Top-5 Connecticut Recruits From 2010-2014
Connecticut – 8
Penn State – 3
Boston College – 2
Florida – 2
Who Owns It: Connecticut
Dominant ACC Team: Boston College
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went ACC: 28 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went SEC: 8 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went Big Ten: 12 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Stayed In-State: 32 percent
Biggest Out-Of-State Predator: Penn State
Biggest Haul Of Top 5 Recruits In One Class: 3 – Connecticut in 2013
MASSACHUSETTS
Schools Who Signed The Most Top-5 Massachusetts Recruits From 2010-2014
Boston College – 8
Wake Forest – 2
Ohio State – 2
Virginia – 2
Who Owns It: Boston College
Dominant ACC Team: Boston College
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went ACC: 56 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went SEC: 0 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went Big Ten: 28 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Stayed In-State: 32 percent
Biggest Out-Of-State Predator: Wake Forest, Ohio State, Virginia
Biggest Haul Of Top 5 Recruits In One Class: 4 – Boston College in 2014
NEW YORK
Schools Who Signed The Most Top-5 New York Recruits From 2010-2014
Notre Dame – 3
Rutgers – 3
Florida – 2
Penn State – 2
Clemson – 2
Pitt – 2
Who Owns It: Notre Dame and Rutgers
Dominant ACC Team: Clemson and Pitt
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went ACC: 40 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went SEC: 8 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went Big Ten: 16 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Stayed In-State: 4 percent
Biggest Out-Of-State Predator: Notre Dame, Rutgers
Biggest Haul Of Top 5 Recruits In One Class: 2 – Rutgers in 2011 and Pitt in 2014
KENTUCKY
Schools Who Signed The Most Top-5 Kentucky Recruits From 2010-2014
Kentucky – 12
Notre Dame – 2
Louisville – 2
Who Owns It: Kentucky
Dominant ACC Team: Louisville
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went ACC: 4 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went SEC: 60 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Went Big Ten: 4 percent
Percentage Of Top 5 That Stayed In-State: 60 percent
Biggest Out-Of-State Predator: Notre Dame
Biggest Haul Of Top 5 Recruits In One Class: 4 – Kentucky in 2014