Football teams don't win or lose games in July, but what happens during summer on the recruiting trail can help or hurt the future of any program. Here are the biggest summer recruiting issues for each team in Mark Schlabach's post-spring Top 25.
1. Ohio State
The Buckeyes have a legitimate shot at the No. 1-ranked recruiting class on signing day after finishing No. 2 behind Alabama in 2017. Ohio State has an astonishing 13 of its 14 commitments ranked in the ESPN 300, nine of which are ranked in the top 100. But the biggest development is that there are still a ton of big names that could jump on board to keep Ohio State atop the class rankings. A pair of five-star prospects in defensive lineman Micah Parsons and offensive lineman Jackson Carman are realistic, as well as ESPN 300 targets Anthony Cook and Kamryn Babb, among others.-- Tom VanHaaren
2. Florida State
The biggest story for Florida State is Jimbo Fisher's search for the quarterback in the 2018 class. The Seminoles continue to pursue five-star quarterback and one-time Penn State commit Justin Fields, and they remain one of the teams mentioned most in his recruitment, along with Auburn, Georgia and Florida. Fields has been on the Tallahassee campus more than once, and with the Seminoles having inked two signal-callers in February, it shows just how much Fisher covets the five-star QB from the Peach State. Beating out Auburn and closest-to-home Georgia would be a huge win for the Noles. -- Gerry Hamilton
3. Alabama
One won't find Alabama in the top 20 of the current class rankings, let alone the top five, where the Crimson Tide have been a fixture under Nick Saban. The 2018 class is the first in a long while for which the Crimson Tide aren't winning top targets on the board early, with the understanding that the continued evaluation process is what makes Alabama so successful on the trail. The Crimson Tide will sign yet another top-10 class come February, but the 2018 class will be built in a much different manner than in years past. Five-stars Fields, Eyabi Anoma, K.J. Henry, Tyson Campbell, Patrick Surtain Jr. and Micah Parsons remain on the board for the Crimson Tide, and they will go a long way toward determining whether Alabama signs an unprecedented 11th straight top-three class. -- Hamilton
4. USC
The Trojans have the No. 12-ranked class, but they have plenty of chances to move up. USC currently has five ESPN 300 commitments, with the opportunity to land quite a few more. With ESPN 300 receiver Jalen Hall, linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu, defensive back Olaijah Griffin and others, USC's biggest development might be yet to come. If the staff can close strong and keep a lot of the big in-state targets at home, this could be an outstanding recruiting class for USC. -- VanHaaren
5. Penn State
The biggest news for Penn State this spring and summer has been negative news for the Nittany Lions. Defensive end Parsons and quarterback Fields, both five-star recruits, decommitted from Penn State and opened up big holes in the recruiting class. The staff landed defensive end Dorian Hardy to help fill the gap left by Parsons, but it is still looking for a quarterback. As the signal-callers fall off the board, Penn State will have to find someone to fill Fields' spot. Losing out on a five-star quarterback is never a good thing, but the coaches have a few seasons left with starter Trace McSorley, and they also have Jake Zembiec and Sean Clifford on the roster. -- VanHaaren
6. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are doing what they always do on the trail under Mike Gundy: going quietly about their business with some nice wins but also a lot of quality evaluations. ESPN 300 quarterback and Lone Star State star Spencer Sanders and in-state ESPN 300 receiver C.J. Moore garner the majority of headlines, but the main story should be filling needs at receiver and on the offensive line, in addition to continuing to build the majority of the class from neighboring Texas. Eleven of the 17 commits are from Texas, with the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Houston area and East Texas represented. If the Cowboys signed the 11 Texans currently committed, it would be the most signees from the Lone Star State since their 2014 class. -- Hamilton
7. Clemson
The Tigers have celebrated the national championship and breaking in new fantastic facilities with another class that will finish in the top 10. The nation's No. 1, Xavier Thomas, was a monumental win over South Carolina to keep the in-state momentum, and the Tigers continue to build on past success in neighboring Georgia, led by five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and with three more four-stars from the Peach State. The top two ranked prospects are from the home state, not including Thomas, now at IMG Academy, and three of the top 20 ranked prospects from the Peach State are on the commit list. Ten of the Tigers' 11 commits are from South Carolina and Georgia. -- Hamilton
8. Oklahoma
The Sooners have gained momentum on the trail since Lincoln Riley took over. Not only has Oklahoma flipped the top in-state player away from Texas -- ESPN 300 defensive end Ron Tatum III -- but Oklahoma also has won out for one of the top 2019 quarterbacks in the country in Spencer Rattler and 2019 Lone Star State tight end Austin Stogner. All told, the Sooners have picked eight verbals since Riley took over, and now they have momentum headed into the 2017 season and a stacked future depth chart at quarterback. -- Hamilton
9. Washington
The Huskies had a ton of recruiting momentum and, for a while, had a good thing going, with Oregon struggling to do much right. Willie Taggart now has the Ducks up to the No. 9-ranked recruiting class, with Washington at 19. Rankings aren't everything with coach Chris Petersen's classes in Seattle, but Oregon has pulled a lot of the headlines in the Northwest. Those headlines even spilled over into Washington, when ESPN 300 athlete Tre'Shaun Harrison from Seattle committed to Oregon. Harrison is the No. 2-ranked prospect in the state of Washington, and he was a big get for Taggart and his staff. Washington is going to have to deal with Taggart making noise and continue to build its class the way it wants. -- VanHaaren
10. Auburn
The Tigers continue their pursuit of Fields, the five-star quarterback and one-time Penn State commit. Fields, who plays for Cam Newton's 7-on-7 team, will be back in Auburn in July prior to the beginning of his senior season, and the Tigers are in a battle with Florida State, Florida and Georgia. With Jarrett Stidham having two years at the most to play Auburn, and the future unsettled behind the Baylor transfer, Fields' decision will have a big impact on the future of the quarterback position on The Plains. -- Hamilton
11. Wisconsin
The Badgers have been known for the run game year in and year out, producing outstanding running backs each season. But the staff added an exciting playmaker at receiver in the 2018 class with ESPN 300 athlete Aron Cruickshank. The No. 248-ranked prospect is explosive and quick, and he will add a different element to the Badgers' offense once he hits campus. He hails from Erasmus Hall High School in New York, which has produced plenty of talent over the past few years, including Ohio State's Curtis Samuel and Jahsen Wint. -- VanHaaren
12. LSU
The Tigers already are a near lock for a sixth straight top 10 class in the first week in July, with 10 ESPN 300 commitments. Is coach Ed Orgeron being selective enough, given how fast the LSU class is filling up? The Tigers already have 23 commitments, more than any other class ranked in the top 10 -- and by a good margin, save for Miami with its 18 verbals. Filling up too fast and not being as selective as possible were critiques directed toward Mack Brown at times when the former coach was at Texas, despite having classes ranked in the top 10. -- Hamilton
13. Georgia
Just six months after Kirby Smart arguably did the best job keeping Peach State blue chips home, which included inking the top three ranked prospects and 11 of the state's top 20, the Bulldogs are struggling mightily in the 2018 class. Fourteen of the top 25 ranked prospects in the state are committed, but none to Georgia. While Smart and staff are sure to win some of the remaining battles, the early losses have kept the Bulldogs from building off the tidal wave created in the 2017 class. The commitment of the nation's No. 1-ranked running back, Zamir White, out of North Carolina will help create some late-summer momentum to begin building upon. -- Hamilton
14. Michigan
The Wolverines have embedded themselves in the South. All the effort put in by the staff, particularly linebackers coach Chris Partridge, is paying off. Of the 10 commitments in the 2018 class, Michigan currently has four from Florida and Georgia in quarterback Joe Milton, defensive back Myles Sims, linebacker Otis Reese and running back Christian Turner. All four of the prospects are ranked in the ESPN 300, which is quite the stat, considering Michigan had one such commitment from the 2011 to 2015 classes. Jim Harbaugh's satellite camps started creating the buzz in the South, and the staff has been relentless in recruiting there. -- VanHaaren
15. Miami
The Hurricanes have the nation's No. 2-ranked class, headlined by a whopping 13 ESPN 300 commitments. In recent classes. Miami has started in the top 10 but fizzled late to slide down outside the top 10. The 2018 class has much different feel after the nine-win season under Mark Richt. With a number of ESPN 300 targets still on the board, including newly minted five-star cornerback Tyson Campbell, the Hurricanes have a good shot at their first top-five class since 2008, with Campbell trending to Miami and Ohio State over Alabama and others. -- Hamilton
16. Stanford
The Cardinal are in the conversation for ESPN 300 receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, a top-50 prospect in the 2018 class. His brother, Equanimeous St. Brown, plays at Notre Dame, and his other brother, Osiris St. Brown, is set to enroll at Stanford. Having his brothers at both schools has created quite the battle between the Irish and the Cardinal. If Stanford can pull in the younger St. Brown brother, the coaches will have two ESPN 300 wide receivers between the two brothers in back-to-back classes. -- VanHaaren
17. Louisville
The Cardinals are making the most of former Boynton Beach, Florida, star Lamar Jackson's sensational Heisman Trophy-winning season in Jackson's home state. Six of the nine commitments for Bobby Petrino and staff are from the Sunshine State, including five from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in South Florida. The commit list includes ESPN 300 defensive back Trenell Troutman and speedy four-star linebacker Yasir Abdullah, but it is three-star quarterback and spring riser Jordan Travis who is the name to remember. Travis was a hit with Power 5 colleges that stopped by The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens this spring, and he could very well be the next South Florida signal-caller to star for the Cardinals. -- Hamilton
18. Kansas State
Coach Bill Snyder made noise this offseason in the wrong way when he tried to block the transfer of former Kansas State receiver Corey Sutton. When Sutton tried to transfer, Snyder denied his request and initially stuck to that decision. Eventually, Snyder relented and allowed Sutton to transfer. That fiasco created negative press, and Kansas State was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Add in that the coaches only have three commitments and that isn't a big selling point on the recruiting trail. -- VanHaaren
19. USF
The Bulls under coach Charlie Strong will recruit talented players just like he did at Louisville, prior to his stint at Texas. The 2018 class began being built in June, with five commitments in the month, but it's Peach State quarterback Octavious Battle that is the name to know. With record-setting signal-caller Quinton Flowers set to graduate after the season, finding a dual-threat scheme fit was paramount after not inking a quarterback in the 2017 class to help secure the future competition at the position with Brett Kean and Chris Oladokun. In Battle, USF has a commitment from one of the top sleeper signal-callers in the 2018 class. -- Hamilton
20. West Virginia
The Mountaineers went on a bit of a recruiting spree in late June, landing three commitments in one week. Coach Dana Holgorsen went to the Midwest to help fill the class, first landing tight end T.J. Ivy out of Chicago and then linebacker Josh Chandler from Ohio, and finally securing a commitment from receiver Bryce Wheaton out of North Carolina. The Mountaineers now have eight commitments in the class. -- VanHaaren
21. Florida
Like at Florida State and Auburn, five-star quarterback Fields is the top target at Florida. The Peach State signal-caller would have an opportunity to play as a freshman in Gainesville, which is appealing. Should graduate transfer Malik Zaire win the job in Gainesville in August, redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask would have very little game experience headed into their third year, which is inviting for a five-star quarterback prospect with designs on early playing time. This is a huge recruitment for Jim McElwain and staff, because the dual-threat prospect will likely end up at hated rivals Florida State or Georgia (Auburn is a possibility, as well), should Fields pass on the Gators. -- Hamilton
22. Virginia Tech
The Hokies have the most momentum on the recruit trail that they have enjoyed since the stretch from 2007 to 2009, when three straight top-20 classes were signed in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech under coach Justin Fuente won 10 games, finished in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2011 and signed a Top 25 class in February. The Hokies' staff has built on the instant success, and Virginia Tech enters the last half of the summer with the No. 16-ranked class, with a number of talented prospects still on the board. The staff has gone to Chicago for ESPN 300 quarterback Quincy Patterson. It won big in neighboring North Carolina for ESPN 300 receiver Tre Turner and four-star cornerback D.J. Crossen, traveled to North Florida for ESPN 300 safety Chamarri Conner, and went to Philadelphia for four-star receiver Darryle Simmons. The Hokies need only a key win or two from the home state coming down the stretch for the momentum to go to a place not seen in Blacksburg in a decade. -- Hamilton
23. Texas
New coach Tom Herman has the Longhorns gaining momentum on the trail not seen since Brown was signing boatloads of talent in Austin in the early 2000s. Texas currently sits with the No. 6-ranked class and has a big July recruiting weekend ahead, as the renovated player locker room will be unveiled to the public and to many a top target. July could be pivotal for Texas signing a top-five class, with top receiver targets Al'vonte Woodard and Brennan Eagles scheduled to announce later this month. A third ESPN 300 top target, cornerback D'Shawn Jamison, might also announce in late in July, as could ESPN 300 tight end Malcolm Epps and defensive tackle Keondre Coburn.-- Hamilton
24. Boise State
Boise State got off to a rocky start with the 2018 class, but it has since made up quite a bit of ground. The staff only had one commitment heading into June, but it added four commits from June 11 to 13. Linebacker Brandon Hawkins committed first and was followed by three-star quarterback Zachary Wilson, running back Kazmeir Allen and linebacker D.J. Schramm. The Broncos now have a little bit of recruiting momentum heading into July. -- VanHaaren
25. Washington State
Coach Mike Leach found a quarterback in the 2018 class in Cammon Cooper. The three-star signal-caller out of Utah started to drum up some serious interest from other programs but decided that Washington State was where he belongs. Cooper played his way into the Elite 11 Finals and ultimately was chosen as one of the best quarterbacks among the country's best prospects. Cooper is a prospect who could help lead Leach over the hump once he gets to campus. Landing him in May was a big deal for the Cougars. -- VanHaaren