ACC Spotlight: Programs on a roll in recruiting
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
The calendar has turned to spring and there are several programs across the country that are riding a wave of momentum in recruiting. Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. looks at four such programs in the ACC.
THIS SERIES: Big Ten programs on a recruiting hot streak | SEC programs on a recruiting hot streak
MORE ACC: 2026 conference recruiting rankings
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
While Clemson has been an elite program under Dabo Swinney, the Tigers aren't usually sitting as high in the national team recruiting rankings as they are now at No. 2. The month of March has been the turning point for the program, able to host visitors for its 'Elite Retreat' event, and the pledges have been rolling in ever since. Clemson added a staggering seven commitments since that weekend began, with all but one holding blue-chip status.
On top of the boon, Clemson's foundation already included a rare two-quarterback haul and an offensive line pledge. Now it boasts four projected to play up front, led by a pair of top-100 Floridians in Grant Wise and Chancellor Barclay.
Fellow Sunshine State native Naeem Burroughs, the Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles wide receiver, may have been the best of the batch of commitments with his truly explosive speed and national offer list.
Clemson was in the thick of it for all who jumped in, but not necessarily alone at the top, proving those exclusive and intentional spring recruiting weekends continue to resonate even in the NIL era.
MORE TIGERS: Clemson's 2026 commitment list
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The Cardinals currently sit at No. 9 nationally, more than 50 spots higher than they finished in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The group got off to a bit of an average start until four-star quarterback Briggs Cherry jumped in at the end of January. After the ensuing dead period, Louisville also found a hot streak in March in landing five of its current 11 pledges. Rivals250 defensive back Jaydin Broadnax, who had SEC and other ACC programs lining up several official and unofficial visits for him, was the headliner of the surge.
The Louisville run has perhaps an expected splash in Florida, where three commitments hail, but it also has an in-state foundation with the strong local crop of 2026 players. Five Kentuckians are already committed to the Cardinals, already one more than Jeff Brohm and company brought in throughout the class of 2025. Maintaining the momentum will be key in not only competing to stick in the national top 10, but to hold onto some of the big early commitments on board all the same.
MORE CARDINALS: Louisville's 2026 commitment list
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH LOUISVILLE FANS AT CARDINALSPORTS.COM
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
Three new Miami commitments have come in through the first two weeks of March or so, including a pair of nationally coveted cornerbacks in Jaelen Waters and Kenton Dopson III. The latter is in the class of 2027, but snagging the nation's second-ranked cornerback recruit this early despite so much turnover on the defensive side of Mario Cristobal's coaching staff says plenty. Waters also comes with a caveat considering his pledge was a flip from the in-state rival Florida Gators.
The other Hurricane to have jumped onboard probably kick-starts one of the strongest position groups in every UM class, the offensive line. Ohio native Ben Congdon stands an impressive 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, checking some big boxes in the process. The recent run pairs well at Miami with dominant 2026 quarterback recruit Dereon Coleman onboard for nearly one year with no sign of considering other programs, despite considerable QB dominoes about to drop around the country.
MORE CANES: Miami's 2026 commitment list
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MIAMI FANS AT CANESCOUNTY.COM
The 2026 class is the first full view of what Bill Belichick's reign in Chapel Hill will look like on the recruiting front and the Tar Heels not only sit with an early spot in the national top 25, it is a national group capped most recently by a monster flip.
In-state star defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin had been on board with Texas A&M since the fall but one of the priority recruits in the junior cycle has been pressed by North Carolina since the NFL G.O.A.T. took over. The job was finished on Monday with the flip.
Ruffin isn't alone in making national headlines with the decision, as a half-dozen additional 2026 recruits have popped for UNC since late January. The group also spans coast to coast, as one may expect under an NFL-style coaching staff, with California producing more Carolina commitments than the state of North Carolina to date. The program has touched New York, Massachuesetts and Maryland closer to home, too.
MORE TAR HEELS: UNC's 2026 commitment list
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH UNC FANS AT TARHEELILLUSTRATED.COM
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