One Dream Scenario for Every Top 25 CFB Recruiting Class

College football recruiting classes for the 2018 season are just starting to come together—Alabama has only signed three players thus far, for instance—so each of the 25 teams with the top current classes still has plenty of time left to dream bigger.

But let's be sure to note first and foremost that we're looking for realistic dream scenarios. Not every school is in the running for the best players available, nor does every team necessarily need to add a player at every position. In other words, not all home runs are created equally.

Whether it's signing a specific player or two, filling a positional need, recruiting a specific market or simply shooting for its best draft class in over a decade, each of these programs has at least one major goal in mind for the next seven-plus months before national signing day.

Rankings on the following slides are based on Scout's 2018 team rankings as of the morning of June 22.

Dream Scenario: Actually remain in the top 25

Since losing James Franklin to Penn State, Vanderbilt's recruiting has been atrocious. Apologies to head coach Derek Mason, but we're just calling it how Scout sees it. The Commodores have ranked dead last in recruiting in the SEC in each of the last four seasons and have not ranked better than 50th nationally since 2013.

Alabama signed six 5-star recruits in 2017. Vanderbilt signed a combined total of four 4-star recruits from 2014-17. They haven't played each other since 2011, but it's almost comical that two programs from the same conference can be that far apart in recruiting.

But as things currently stand, Vanderbilt has a better 2018 class than Alabama. No, we absolutely do not expect that to remain the case seven months from now, but it is worth noting that Vanderbilt already has as many 4-star commitments in this year's class as it had in the last four combined.

In order to remain in the top 25, though, the Commodores have a ton of work to do. They're only targeting a handful of top-100 recruits, but they'll need to sign at least two of them to have a realistic shot at a top-25 class.

Dream Scenario: Keep Zamir White in the Tar Heel State

A decade ago, it was relatively common for a top-100 recruit to choose North Carolina. In 2007, the Tar Heels signed No. 3 overall recruit Marvin Austin as part of a class that included four top-100 guys.

But Austin later became the focal point of the benefits scandal in 2010, which eventually resulted in his dismissal from the team and rocked the program to its core. Since that fiasco, it has been a challenge to convince quality high school recruits to suit up in Carolina blue. They have signed just three top-100 guys in the past six years, none of which ranked in Scout's top 50 in his respective year.

UNC could change that narrative in a flash by convincing 2018 No. 1 running back Zamir White to remain within North Carolina's state boundaries.

White is scheduled to announce his decision on June 27, and he spent this past weekend on campus in Chapel Hill—after making an unofficial visit there the previous weekend, according to Ross Martin of Carolina Blue. He has whittled his list down to five schools, on which North Carolina stands out like a sore thumb against Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State. But the Tar Heels still have high hopes that the high schooler from Laurinburg, NC, will sign with them.

Too bad they can't bring him on board for the 2017 season, though, as they don't have a single player on the roster who rushed for at least 50 yards last year.

Dream Scenario: Sign a top-50 recruit for the first time in over a decade

As far as recruiting stars are concerned, Wisconsin has no business entering 2017 on a 15-year streak of winning seasons.

At no point during that decade-and-a-half have the Badgers had a top-20 recruiting class on Scout, and they haven't signed a top-50 recruit since 2007 (Josh Oglesby). It's astounding that they're able to consistently compete with the likes of the Buckeyes and Wolverines while producing less than four draft picks per year.

That doesn't mean they wouldn't want a top-50 recruit, though, as evidenced by the fact that they're chasing two such players in the 2018 class—No. 31 overall / No. 4 OT Jack Carman and No. 40 overall / No. 1 TE Jeremy Ruckert.

According to Alex Gleitman of 247Sports, Ruckert has Wisconsin in his final four along with Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. It certainly would be something if the Badgers were able to beat those powerhouses to a coveted recruit.

Dream Scenario: The No. 1 recruiting class for the fifth time in 16 years

Don't be fooled by the 22 next to their name. The Trojans already have one of the best 2018 recruiting classes in the country. They just need to keep adding to it.

USC has only received seven commitments thus far, which is the least among all top 25 classes. But within those seven players are three of the top four outside linebackers in the country—including 5-star No. 4 overall recruit Palaie Gaoteote—the No. 1 center and the No. 7 defensive tackle. Per usual, the Trojans are looking strong because of quality rather than quantity.

The next mission for Clay Helton and company is to add some speed. According to Scout, USC is pursuing three of the top five wide receivers, six of the top nine cornerbacks and three of the top four athletes in 2018. Obviously, the Trojans won't sign all of those players, but even one from each position would just about make them a lock for a top-five class.

It's too bad they had 5-star QB Matt Corral decommit last week. Otherwise ending up with the No. 1 class would be an even more attainable dream.

Dream Scenario: Sign at least one top-150 recruit, preferably a 5-star WR

To put it lightly, football recruiting has not been a strong suit for Northwestern. In Scout's 17-year history, the Wildcats have only signed one top-100 recruit—2012 No. 75 Ifeadi Odenigbo. 2014 and 2017 are the only years in which they signed at least three 4-star recruits, and they signed exactly three such players in each season.

Team rankings will change a ton between now and February, but it's kind of remarkable to see Northwestern in the top 25.

Could this be the year they finally sign a 5-star player, though? There are still (at least) 20 schools that No. 1 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is considering, and Northwestern is on that list with the likes of Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and USC.

If and when that dream falls through, though, 4-star defensive end Thomas Booker would be a great consolation prize. When he spoke with Adam Friedman of Rivals in May, he repeatedly stated that academics will play a key part in his final decision.

"I feel like if you're going to go to college you want to get your education first," Booker said. "The strength of the academics at Northwestern and the potential they have as a football program is a big draw. They have a young and energetic coach that has invigorated the program."

Dream Scenario: Sign a defensive lineman in Scout's top 100 for the first time since Ndamukong Suh (2005)

This is already one of Nebraska's best recruiting class of the 2010s. Thanks to No. 49 overall recruit Bookie Radley-Hiles, the Cornhuskers have a top-50 commitment for the first time since 2011—though his ranking may well fluctuate considerably between now and national signing day. They also already have four of Scout's top 300 players, which is a heck of a lot better than the zero they signed in 2014.

One other thing to note in this year's class is that it's all speed. Nebraska's five 4-star commitments are two wide receivers, two athletes and a cornerback.

What this team could really use is a dominant defensive lineman, as there's not a single player on the roster who had more than three sacks or six tackles for loss in 2016.

Michael Thompson is Scout's No. 2 DT and would be the biggest prize, but there are an awful lot of better programs begging to acquire his services. Cameron Latu is a defensive end just outside of Scout's overall top 100, and he tweeted a month ago that Nebraska is one of his five finalists. Either one would be a great addition for the Cornhuskers.

Dream Scenario: Sign a couple of ranked players for a change

Over the past seven years, Minnesota has only signed two high-school recruits ranked in Scout's top 275. And one of those two players (Jeff Jones) never recorded a single statistic with the Golden Gophers before leaving the program and having multiple run-ins with the law. Thus, the bar for recruiting at Minnesota isn't set particularly high.

Thus far, new head coach P.J. Fleck has done a fantastic job of convincing guys to choose Minnesota. In the 17 years that Scout has been ranking recruiting classes, the Golden Gophers have never finished in the top 25 and are almost always in the bottom half of the Big Ten. However, they're currently in the top 20 and have the fourth-best class in the conference.

In order to maintain that ranking, though, they're going to need to add some quality to their quantity. 15 3-star recruits looks nice at this early stage in the recruiting cycle, but every top-25 class in 2017 had at least five 4- or 5-star signings.

Minnesota's top target is offensive tackle Dylan Wonnum. Rated by Scout as the No. 35 overall recruit, he would be Minnesota's best recruit since getting 5-star safety Brandon Owens in 2003. Wonnum is one of six players in Scout's top 200 that the Golden Gophers are chasing, and it would be a big win for Fleck if he could at least get one of them.

Dream Scenario: Get at least two of the top 25 players from Texas

Baylor was never much of a recruiting titan, but it did sign a 5-star player in three consecutive years from 2013-15—before things turned scandalous and no highly rated high school player wanted anything to do with the university. A testament to how far the program has fallen, the Bears signed a grand total of one 4-star player this past February, and he didn't even rank in Scout's top 300.

The good news is they have nowhere to go but up, and they already have started moving that way by getting commitments from Josh Fleeks (Scout's No. 268) and Kalon Barnes. But how soon will third-head-coach-in-two-years Matt Rhule be able to start signing some of the top prospects the Lone Star State has to offer?

Fleeks (Cedar Hill) is a decent start, but he's only the 40th-best recruit from Texas. In addition to all the other major programs in Texas, even Arkansas has signed more top-50 players from Texas (Bumper Pool, Tanner McCalister and Byron Hanspard II) than Baylor has.

We're not asking or expecting Baylor to sign 5-star recruits Anthony Cook or Brennan Eagles, but it'd be a nice step back in the right direction if the Bears could at least get a couple of the overall top 150 players from their home state.

Dream Scenario: Sign at least two 4-star defensive linemen

Washington should have one of the best passing games in the country for the next few years. The Huskies had three wide receivers and a tight end among their top seven signings this past February, and their top six for 2018 is currently three wide receivers, two quarterbacks and a tight end.

Their pass rush, on the other hand, is a significant concern to address in this recruiting class.

Washington signed one 4-star D-lineman in 2016 and just a couple of 3-star guys in 2017. And the Huskies didn't have any individual with more than six sacks or 10 tackles for a loss last season. They were great on defense because of Sidney Jones, Kevin King and Budda Baker in the secondary, but now that those three guys are in the NFL, the Huskies will need to rely more on their front seven to slow down the opposition.

In total, Washington is targeting five 4-star defensive linemen—three tackles and two ends. Cameron Latu of Utah and Tommy Togiai from Idaho are probably the best bets, but any two-man combination from those five would be a huge boost to next year's freshman class.

Dream Scenario: Finish with a recruiting class ranked in the top half of the SEC

Were it not for the fact that its basketball program dominates recruiting every single year, you'd almost have to feel bad for Kentucky's lot in the football recruiting life.

Nationally speaking, the Wildcats are usually a little above average. They have had nine consecutive classes in the Nos. 20-49 range. However, that hasn't been good enough to get out of the SEC basement. When they finished No. 21 overall and ninth in the SEC in 2014, it was the only time in nine years that they were better than bottom four in the conference. 2013 was particularly ridiculous, as they ranked dead last in the 14-team conference despite a class that ranked No. 38 in the country.

As a result, Kentucky has been consistently over-matched in conference play and hasn't won eight or more games in a season since 2007.

As things currently stand, though, Kentucky has the fourth-best class in the SEC and already has as many 4-star commitments (four) as it did in 2017.

The Wildcats will need to add several key pieces to that class in order to maintain a spot in the top half of the SEC, and their best options are probably Louisville products Rondale Moore and Jairus Brents.

Dream Scenario: Become the preeminent destination for JUCO transfers

No matter how good Oklahoma State gets, it will always struggle to recruit against the likes of Texas and Oklahoma. The Cowboys have averaged 9.7 wins over the past seven years and have played in bowl games in 14 of the last 15 seasons, and yet, they haven't signed a top-100 high school recruit since 2011.

While the top high school seniors have spurned Oklahoma State time and again, Mike Gundy and his staff have carved out something of a niche on the JUCO market. The Cowboys have signed at least two of Scout's top 100 junior college transfers in each of the past three years, including six in 2015. Most of those players have made significant, immediate impacts, most notably 2014 utility man Tyreek Hill.

With any luck, this will be the year the Cowboys cement their status as a top home for JUCO transfers by reeling in a couple of top-10 players.

We'll have to wait a few more months before finding out who those players are, but they could become an annual contender to win it all if they start routinely beating the Alabamas and Ohio States of the CFB world for guys like 2017 studs Kendall Sheffield, Gary Johnson and Adonis Thomas.

Dream Scenario: Channel some of the 2015 national signing day magic into a huge 2018 class

UCLA shot up the rankings on NSD '15 when 5-star players Soso Jamabo and Chris Clark became the Bruins' third and fourth top-30 signees. UCLA usually recruits well, but not quite tied with USC and Florida State for second-most 5-star commitments in the nation.

But with so much talent coming out of nearby Santa Ana, Long Beach and Mission Viejo in 2018, who's to say Jim Mora can't capture lightning in a bottle for a second time?

Four of the five highest-rated players that UCLA is targeting are at high schools less than 65 miles away. And while the fifth player (Tyreke Johnson) at the top of the list is way across the country in Jacksonville, Scout has UCLA as the top school on his interest list.

The Bruins only have one top-125 recruit committed—QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson—but a top-five quarterback is a great starting point to build around.

Dream Scenario: A QB-WR combo that makes a connection for the next three years

For now, Deondre Francois is the answer at quarterback for the Seminoles. But how much longer will the redshirt sophomore remain in school?

Maybe he'll exhaust his eligibility and stick around for three more years, but if he bolts after this season, Florida State could be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Barring a transfer, it would be forced to roll with either Bailey Hockman or James Blackman, neither of which figures to get a ton of reps this season as true freshmen.

The suddenly available 2018 recruit Justin Fields would be one heck of an insurance policy for Jimbo Fisher.

The No. 5 overall recruit and top dual-threat QB in this year's class decommitted from Penn State earlier this month and took a visit to Tallahassee last weekend—which has several of the crystal-ball experts at 247 Sports thinking he could be bound for Florida State.

In addition to a top-notch QB, could the 'Noles also add a high-caliber target in the passing game? Top-five wide receivers Brennan Eagles and Justyn Ross are both considering Florida State, even though each one has multiple major-conference programs from his home state—Eagles is from Texas, Ross from Alabama—heavily recruiting him.

Dream Scenario: Don't miss a beat while transitioning to Lincoln Riley at head coach

Over the past 16 years, Oklahoma's average recruiting class rank was No. 10.5. The Sooners only finished outside the top 20 once in more than a decade-and-a-half and averaged 3.9 top-100 signings per year. Suffice it to say, good high-school players wanted to suit up for Bob Stoops.

Will that continue under Lincoln Riley?

Keeping offensive tackle Brey Walker and running back T.J. Pledger committed to the Sooners must be Riley's first and foremost goal. The former is Scout's No. 1 OT, is from Oklahoma City and has been committed to Oklahoma since November 2015. The latter is Scout's No. 3 RB and has a last name that should mean something to Sooners faithful, as Steven Pledger was the leading scorer for the basketball team in 2012. Losing either top-25 overall recruit would obviously be a huge blow to Oklahoma's future.

While continuing to protect those investments, Riley needs to sign at least one more top-100 guy in order to maintain Oklahoma's recruiting prowess. And, preferably, that player would be a defensive tackle—either Michael Thompson or Keondre Coburn.

Dream Scenario: Don't let any other 4-star recruits leave the state

The state of Tennessee has produced a lot of quality recruits in recent years, but the Volunteers have allowed too many of them to get away.

From 2012-17, there were 49 4-star or 5-star recruits who played at least their final year of high school ball in Tennessee. More than two-thirds of those players (33) did not sign with the Volunteers, including 2017 5-star JaCoby Stevens and 2013 stud Jalen Ramsey.

Thus far in the 2018 class, though, Butch Jones has done a much better job of protecting his borders. Of the nine 4-star recruits from Tennessee, four have committed to the Volunteers, one recently committed to Vanderbilt and only one (Max Wray to Ohio State) has left the state.

Keeping the other three close to home needs to be a goal for this coaching staff. In particular, they'll want to sign No. 66 overall recruit, Greg Emerson. Not only is he the best player from the state still available, but losing him would likely mean facing him at either Alabama or Ole Miss over the course of the next several years.

Dream Scenario: Bolster an already strong, young core with an elite quarterback

After signing monster 29-man classes in both 2016 and 2017, Michigan doesn't have many immediate needs from the upcoming batch of high schoolers. In fact, one could almost construct an entire 22-man starting roster just from the top-270 recruits the Wolverines signed in the past two seasons.

The only area where they would fall a bit short is in the secondary, but they already addressed that issue with two cornerbacks and a safety among their four highest-ranked commitments in 2018. Offensive tackle is another area that was looking a bit shaky, but they signed top-20 OTs Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes.

However, you can never have too many capable quarterbacks on your roster, so the dream scenario for Michigan would probably be signing 5-star QB Matt Corral, provided they can convince him to redshirt his first season.

The Wolverines are most likely going to have Wilton Speight at QB for the next two years, after which Corral would enter into a battle with Brandon Peters and Dylan McCaffrey for the starting job in 2019—as would be the path at most of the schools he is still considering. Given the sheer number of talented wide receivers Michigan has signed in the past two years, he could have a lot of fun flinging the ball around the Big House if he does win the job.

Dream Scenario: Add two more top-10 recruits for one of the best classes ever assembled

Only three of the top 10 players in the 2018 class have committed to a school, but two of those three guys chose Clemson, including No. 1 overall recruit, quarterback Trevor Lawrence. And Dabo Swinney is nowhere close to being done recruiting players at that elite level.

The Tigers are targeting five of the seven remaining top 10 players and appear to be in a heated battle with Georgia for both running back Zamir White and offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer.

If they were to land both of those guys, it would be a historically great recruiting class.

Alabama signed four of the top 12 players in 2014, as did Florida in 2010, but you have to go back to USC in 2007 to find the last time a program signed four top-10 recruits in the same year. The Trojans went 23-3 in their first two seasons with that quartet, which is about what would be expected from Clemson if it can sign two more studs.

Dream Scenario: A Polytechnic passing package

Though the Aggies have the eighth-best class in the country, they haven't yet done much at the conventional fantasy football positions, so to speak. Their top six commitments are three offensive linemen, two safeties and a defensive end, but they're still trying to put together a big splash at QB, RB, WR and TE.

Texas A&M could do most of that in one fell swoop if a few stars from Polytechnic High School opt to stay together while moving nearly 1,500 miles away from home.

The No. 3 QB (Matt Corral), No. 5 WR (Jalen Hall) and No. 6 TE (Camren McDonald) will all be seniors for the same high school in Long Beach, CA, and all three are considering the Aggies. They don't currently have any rapport together, as Corral just transferred there a few months ago—and just decommitted from USC a few days ago—but by season's end, it could be one heck of a cohesive trio for one lucky school to add to its arsenal.

The Aggies really could have used those guys in this year's class. Former starting QB Trevor Knight and four of his top five receivers are all gone, leaving A&M with a lot of question marks in its passing game. But better late than never, right?

Dream Scenario: Lock down a couple of lockdown corners

The Fighting Irish have a lot of holes to fill before they can get back to winning 10 or more games in a season, but the biggest area of concern for this coaching staff in its next seven-plus months of recruiting has to be cornerback.

With just eight interceptions as an entire team and an opposing completion percentage of 61.7, Notre Dame's pass defense was well below average in 2016. Adding insult to injury, the best defensive back from that unit (Cole Luke) graduated, and not a single true cornerback signed in Notre Dame's 2017 recruiting class.

Brian Kelly and company are desperately trying to address that issue by targeting four of the top seven cornerbacks in the 2018 class. Chasing after Patrick Surtain Jr. is probably a lost cause, but the Fighting Irish have made strides with No. 2 CB Anthony Cook and will be hosting him for a visit this summer, according to Rivals.

Getting just one quality corner isn't much of a dream scenario, but getting two would be quite the coup. We'll have to see if they can gain any traction with Isaac Taylor-Stuart or Tyreke Johnson in the next few months.

Dream Scenario: Don't let Micah Parsons or Isheem Young leave the state

In the 1990s, it was an unwritten rule that most of the best high school players in the state would end up playing for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions. However, that stopped being the case at some point in the early-to-mid 2000s. By 2014, Penn State went 0-of-8 on top-300 recruits from Pennsylvania.

But James Franklin has turned things around by making it a point to harvest the local farms. In 2015, Penn State signed six of the top eight recruits from Pennsylvania. There were a combined three 5-star recruits from the Keystone State in 2016 and 2017 and Franklin nabbed each of them.

Can he keep that trend going by getting Micah Parsons (No. 1 defensive end) and Isheem Young (No. 4 safety)?

One major thing working in Franklin's favor is that those guys are in the heart of Penn State country, especially Parsons. Kids from high schools west of Altoona are liable to go anywhere, whether it be Pittsburgh, Ohio State or West Virginia. But Parsons is from Harrisburg, where you're just begging to get your car keyed if you're sporting a non-PSU collegiate bumper sticker.

In other words, it's not just Franklin recruiting him to Penn State. Everyone he bumps into is probably trying to convince him to become a Nittany Lion. And if both he and Young (Philadelphia) opt for State College, they could become the building blocks of a dominant defense.

Dream Scenario: Sign at least one of the uncommitted stud wide receivers

Tom Herman and Texas have a better class lined up for 2018 than they ended up with in 2017. The Longhorns signed one 5-star guy (JUCO linebacker Gary Johnson) and five other 4-star players in Scout's top 300 this past February, but they already have commitments from nine top-300 players for next year.

They don't have any linemen among that group, but they shouldn't immediately need anyone at those positions after loading up on them in 2016. That means the only glaring hole is at wide receiver, and you couldn't ask for a better year to be on the hunt for a player or two at that position.

Of the 12 uncommitted 5-star players in the 2018 class, five are wide outs. Two of those studs—Terrace Marshall Jr. and Brennan Eagles—are seriously considering the Longhorns. The former had Texas on his list of four finalists earlier this month, and the latter is from Houston, which gives Texas an inherent edge over most teams before you even factor in that Herman was Houston's head coach until seven months ago and was likely already recruiting him for years.

Signing one of those 5-star receivers would be huge. Signing both would put Texas in a great position to finish with its best overall class since 2012. Considering the Longhorns have already signed three of the top six safeties in 2018, there's no good reason to believe they couldn't ink a pair of top-notch receivers.

Dream Scenario: Multiple top-notch players in the trenches

Whether it has been Chip Kelly, Mark Helfrich or Willie Taggart at head coach, the one constant at Oregon for the past decade has been its ability to recruit elite speed. Thus far, 2018 hasn't been any different. Oregon's top seven commitments are a running back, a wide receiver, two defensive backs, two athletes and an outside linebacker.

However, quality linemen have been tougher for the Ducks to come by.

Between 2016 and 2017, they added two 4-star defensive linemen and just one 4-star offensive lineman. They have yet to sign a player of that caliber in next year's class. And we're talking about a team that allowed four more sacks than it tallied on defense in 2016.

The Ducks are currently targeting three offensive tackles and three defensive linemen in Scout's top 100, and they might need to sign at least one of each in order to fast track their turnaround from a disastrous 4-8 season. Greg Emerson and Penei Sewell are probably the most realistic targets, but any combination would be a big step in the right direction.

Dream Scenario: Sign at least four of the top 40 players in the 2018 class

Ed Orgeron and his staff have been tirelessly recruiting and already have 18 commitments for next year—tied with Miami and Minnesota for most in the nation. And it's because of that quantity that the Tigers currently have the third-highest rated class in the country.

As far as the quality is concerned, though, there's a lot of work to be done to keep pace with what LSU is typically able to accomplish.

Orgeron has yet to sign a top-75 recruit, only has one top-125 commitment and only two in the top 190. For a program that has signed at least two 5-star and six top-100 recruits in each of the last four classes, that simply isn't good enough.

But they have a great shot at landing a bunch of the top guys still available.

No. 3 overall recruit Patrick Surtain Jr. is at the forefront of that list, but there are three cornerbacks and four wide receivers in Scout's top 20 who are giving LSU a serious look. In total, the Tigers have at least "medium" interest from 15 of Scout's top 40 players, including wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., who is a strong candidate to stay close to his Louisiana home.

Dream Scenario: Finally sign a top-five wide receiver

Urban Meyer has had no problem putting together top-five recruiting classes at Ohio State. As far as Scout's team rankings are concerned, the Buckeyes' last six classes have ranked first, second, third, fourth, fifth and eighth (not in chronological order), and they have the second-best class for 2018 at the moment.

Signing a top-five receiver, however, has been an elusive goal. In fact, it has been a decade since the Buckeyes accomplished the feat, signing No. 4 WR DeVier Posey in 2008.

But all five of this year's top receivers are still available, and Meyer has his sights set on several of them. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brennan Eagles and Jalen Hall each has Ohio State listed as "medium" interest on Scout.

Even if it's not one (or more) of those top guys, Ohio State desperately needs to add some pass-catchers to this class. Of the 14 players the Buckeyes have received 2018 commitments from, not one is a wide receiver or tight end.

Dream Scenario: Solidify the secondary with the best defensive back in the class

Florida produces top CFB talent better than any state other than Texas, and Miami has moved swiftly to grab as many of those players as possible. The Hurricanes have already signed 14 4-star players in the 2018 class, and the only one that isn't playing high school ball in Florida is Brevin Jordan from Las Vegas.

But there is a lot of local talent still on the market. CB Tyreke Johnson, DE Malcolm Lamar, OT Nick Petit-Frere and WR Jacob Copeland are all top-50 players according to Scout, and they all currently reside in Florida. Naturally, Miami has been connected to each one to a certain degree.

The real prize, however, would be Patrick Surtain Jr.

Most seem to believe Surtain will end up with LSU, in large part because a lot of his family is from the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas. Surtain Sr. grew up in Louisiana and went to Southern Miss before becoming a three-time Pro Bowl CB with the Miami Dolphins and eventually becoming the head coach of American Heritage High School—where his son plays football about 40 miles from the University of Miami.

Could those ties to the greater Miami area eventually result in the nation's top CB signing with the U?

Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Sports Reference and cfbstats.com. Recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com.

Kerry Miller covers college football and college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.