RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
The 2024 season will be defined by four enormous conferences — ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC — vying for 12 spots in the extended College Football Playoff.
With so many changes in the transfer portal since January, I’ve taken into account both player movement and coach movement while considering who the 25 best teams in the sport are at the start of spring practices.
Here is my updated top 25.
1. Ohio State
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No one did more to help themselves in the transfer portal or with coaching staff additions than Ohio State and Ryan Day. Not only did he add the best player available in the portal in former Alabama safety Caleb Downs, but he added former Ole Miss standout running back Quinshon Judkins to a backfield that already includes TreVeyon Henderson and Dallan Hayden.
Add to this the fact that the Buckeyes have four QBs on the roster who could start — from grad transfer Will Howard to incumbent Devin Brown to freshmen Air Noland and Julian Sayin — and a proven offensive play-caller in former UCLA coach Chip Kelly — and you’ll see a program built to beat Michigan and, perhaps, win the national title.
2. Georgia
Carson Beck returns to a program that fell short of the CFP after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship. But he won’t have star tight end Brock Bowers or offensive tackle Amarius Mims.
The Bulldogs added former Florida RB Trevor Etienne and Vanderbilt TE London Humphreys to help bolster Mike Bob’s offense. Kirby Smart’s defense, led by Thorpe Award finalist Malaki Starks, will lead a secondary that lost Javon Bullard, Tykee Smith and Kamari Lassiter into 2024.
Ohio State & Georgia headline RJ Young’s Pre-Spring top 10 teams heading into 2024
3. Texas
Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns need former Alabama WR Isaiah Bond, TE Amari Niblack and Houston WR Matthew Golden to produce like former Longhorns Xavier Worthy, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders and Adonai Mitchell. Doing so will be no small feat. Above and beyond will be what it takes for Texas to win the SEC title in its first season as a member.
4. Oregon
Normally, losing players the caliber of Bo Nix, Bucky Irving and Troy Franklin would leave a team reeling in a rebuild. That’s just not so for Oregon in 2024.
Dan Lanning’s Ducks enter 2024 with the staff mostly intact and having raided the portal for players. The additions of former Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel, former UCLA QB Dante Moore, former Texas A&M WR Evan Stewart, former Washington DB Jabbar Muhammad and former Kansas State DB Kobe Savage means Oregon will hit spring running.
5. Michigan
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore became the first Black head coach in school history. The Wolverines are coming off of a 15-0, national-title-winning season. But along with Jim Harbaugh and J.J. McCarthy, the entire 2023 defensive staff departed.
The Wolverines also play Ohio State, USC, Oregon and Texas this season.
Michigan coaching vacancies: What does it mean for Sherrone Moore?
6. Ole Miss
Former Husky offensive linemen Julius Buelow and Nate Kalepo along with former Texas A&M DT Walter Nolen and former Florida DE Princely Umanmielen join a program that won 11 games for the first time in school history and only fell to Bama and UGA.
Lane Kiffin ought to like his team’s chances to win the SEC title if it can stay healthy and not endure any serious defections when the portal reopens.
DJ Uiagalelei joins a program that finished the regular season undefeated with an ACC title but was deemed not good enough to earn an invitation to the CFP.
Mike Norvell and the Noles will look to run it back with a prize pick of portal transfers that include former Georgia linebacker Marvin Jones Jr., and former Alabama players Shawn Murphy, Terrence Ferguson, Earl Little, Malik Benson and RB Roydell Williams.
8. Missouri
No team is more responsible for elevating the level of competition in the SEC in 2023 than the Tigers. After beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Missouri wants to make its first trip to the CFP.
Former Georgia State RB Marcus Carroll rushed for 1,350 and 13 TDs in 2023. He’s in line to pick up where All-American Cody Schrader left off. Eli Drinkwitz also added former Florida defensive lineman Chris McClellan, former Georgia LB Darrius Smith and Clemson DB Toriano Pride — all of whom will be coached by former South Alabama DC Corey Batoon.
9. LSU
The three best players at LSU are gone. They include 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and wideouts Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. While that is cause for concern, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is good enough to make LSU competitive, even without Mike Denbrock calling plays.
The task for the Bayou Bengals is stopping teams from scoring. Brian Kelly’s addition of former Mizzou defensive coordinator Blake Baker is his most important of the spring.
10. Penn State
The Nittany Lions made changes at offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in an effort to build a team capable of winning the Big Ten title.
James Franklin tapped former KU coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and former Indiana coach Tom Allen to lead his offense and defense, respectively. The addition of Julian Fleming could prove pivotal for QB Drew Allar, who averaged 215 passing yards per game. But the offense will continue to run through tailbacks Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Allen has a bigger job. With Chop Robinson, Johnny Dixon and Kalen King all looking for selection in the upcoming draft, Allen needs to identify his playmakers this spring for a Big Ten season that will be unlike any other.
11. Alabama
The Exodus — that’s the best description for Bama football since Nick Saban announced his retirement. Yes, Jalen Milroe is back. And that’s not nothing, especially given that he led Alabama to an SEC title.
And Tide coach Kalen DeBoer added former Washington players Austin Mack, Parker Brailsford and Germie Bernard, as well as Texas A&M DT LT Overton and USC DB Domani Jackson. But this season will be Alabama’s most challenging in over a decade.
Alabama & Oklahoma headline RJ Young’s Pre-Spring top 11-25 teams heading into 2024
12. Oklahoma State
Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon didn’t transfer after rushing for 1,732 yards. All five starting offensive linemen return. QB Alan Bowman enters his seventh season of college football in a season where the Big 12 feels open for at least eight of 16 teams this season.
There’s no reason to believe Mike Gundy’s Pokes can’t return to the Big 12 title game and perhaps make their first appearance in the CFP.
13. Tennessee
The Nico Iamaleava era is upon you, Knoxville. And he’ll have players on the outside in WRs Bru McCoy and Squirrel White to help him offensively.
Josh Heupel’s defense will need to use the spring wisely after losing six DBs to the portal, as it attempts to improve on last year’s record and go from nine wins to 10.
14. Clemson
Cade Klubnik and Garrett Riley enter Year 2. But Will Shipley is gone. Offensive line coach Matt Luke has to bring that five-man unit up to ACC title-caliber contention.
15. Oklahoma
Brent Venables added four offensive linemen and former Purdue WR Deion Burks to aid Jackson Arnold as the Sooners begin SEC play this season.
Venables tapped Zac Alley to be his new defensive coordinator — a brave move for a unit that was outstanding last season. He’ll have Billy Bowman, Danny Stutsman and Ethan Downs to help create a championship-contending unit in the toughest league south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
USC and Oklahoma enter pivotal year
16. Kansas State
Chris Klieman watched OC Collin Klein take the same job at Texas A&M. He responded by tapping former Texas Tech coach Matt Wells as co-coordinator alongside offensive line coach Conor Riley.
Budding star QB Avery Johnson won’t have veteran offensive lineman Cooper Beebe or do-everything tight end Ben Sinnott. That’s why the addition of former Penn State WR Dante Cephas is noteworthy. This is Cephas’ third stop. After playing well at Kent State, he didn’t do much at Penn State.
17. Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish welcome a new offensive player-caller in Denbrock, as well as a new presumptive starter at QB in former Blue Devil Riley Leonard, after winning 10 games for the first time since 2021.
Leonard will have help with Florida International WR Kris Mitchell and Clemson WR Beaux Collins joining through the portal. Marcus Freeman’s task, though, is identifying tackles capable of keeping Leonard upright with Blake Fisher and Joe Alt headed to the NFL.
18. Arizona
The Wildcats are under new management, with former San Jose State coach Brent Brennan running the show in Tucson, Arizona. He’s already managed his biggest recruiting coup with QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan each electing not to enter the portal.
Fifita threw for at least 300 yards in three of the Wildcats’ last five games including 527 against Arizona State and 354 against OU.
19. Kansas
QB Jalon Daniels and RB Devin Neal return with three starters on the offensive line and the three most prolific WRs on the 2023 squad.
Guard Shane Bumgardner won the Rimington Award at D-II Tiffin last year. He’s joined on the interior of Lance Leipold’s offensive line by former Iowa State offensive lineman Darrell Simmons, who could end his college career with 50 starts if he starts all 12 for the Jayhawks in 2024.
Longtime Leipold coordinator Andy Kotelnicki left for Penn State, so Leipold handed the offense to former Baylor and BYU OC Jeff Grimes.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold on expectations for 2024
20. Iowa
The Hawkeye defense will feature once again, but there’s cause for optimism offensively with a new coordinator in Tim Lester, the return of QB Cade McNamara from injury and former Alabama offensive lineman Kadyyn Proctor joining Kirk Ferentz’s program.
21. Utah
The Utes enter the Big 12 as a favorite to win the league. That’s Kyle Whittingham’s doing. That the Utes could make the CFP for the first time in school history could be Cam Rising‘s.
Rising enters his seventh year after taking a medical redshirt in 2023. He’ll be joined by tight end Brant Kuithe, who also returns from injury, and running back Micah Bernard.
22. Kentucky
Former Georgia QB and five-star Brock Vandagriff, as well as UGA LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Alabama DB Kristian Story, join a Wildcats program on the prowl. Like Mizzou, UK helped fortify the SEC as the toughest league in the sport in 2023.
The addition of WR Ja’Mori Maclin, who caught 57 passes for more thsn 1,000 yards at North Texas last season, won’t hurt UK fans’ feelings either.
23. West Virginia
With his back against the wall in 2023, Neal Brown put together the most impressive season he’s ever had at WVU with a nine-win season.
He’s being extended after capping 2023 with a 30-10 win against North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
24. Louisville
The additions of former Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough, former Alabama WR Ja’Corey Brooks and former MAC Offensive Player of the Year and Toledo tailback Pent Boone — 1,400 rushing yards and 15 TDs in 2023 — give the offense a chance to be explosive.
Defensively, adding former Tennessee EDGE Tyler Baron, who notched six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss with former Harvard DT Thor Griffith might make the Cardinals good enough to get back to the ACC title game.
25. USC
QB Miller Moss did enough in the Holiday Bowl to run off his competition with a stellar performance against Louisville, throwing for 372 yards, six TDs and an INT.
That he’s playing for Lincoln Riley is enough to make me feel comfortable with ranking the Trojans at 25. But remaking the defensive staff with former UCLA coordinator D’Anton Lynn, former North Dakota State coach Matt Entz and former LA Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson means Riley is taking the weakness of his program — at OU and now USC — quite seriously.
Just outside the 25: Washington, SMU, Texas A&M, Miami, Wisconsin.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.
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