At the start of 2016, Ed Orgeron was not the king of college football. He was LSU’s defensive line coach. Joe Burrow was a freshman backup at Ohio State, still a long way away from stardom. The December early signing period did not exist. Neither did the transfer portal. Coaches were prohibited from retweeting recruits. The fax machine was on its way out even then, sure, but still somewhat usable. So much has changed in four years.



As we approach another signing day, it’s time once again to embrace the almighty power of hindsight. We’re ready to assess how college football’s most touted recruiting classes from four years ago actually panned out. It’s time to re-rank the best recruiting classes of 2016.



We’ve made this an annual tradition at The Athletic, beginning with our re-ranks of the class of 2014 and the class of 2015. The purpose of this project is to recognize the programs and coaching staffs who do the best job of...