Here's my list.
Penn State
Texas
USC
Miami
LSU
Michigan
Notre Dame
Alabama
Ohio State
Tennessee (I realize that I have Tenny higher than most)
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Florida * tie
Florida State * tie
Boston College
Temple
Minnesota
Rutgers
Syracuse
Pittsburgh
I don't consider that to be a "hard" list either. I like Penn State slightly more than Texas because the closest elite to Penn State is OSU, and even then, OSU really doesn't pose a threat to any northeast recruit. Considering the amount of recruits in that area, that is a huge advantage. However, if several of those northeast programs fill with aggressive recruiters, Penn State can lose some of it's luster. Texas is a great job but if you go north, you run into Oklahoma and if you go west, you run into LSU. So, you likely won't be battle free.
Additionally, the Pac-10 in Wilkinson is really packed right now and there aren't a ton of recruits in California. So, I don't know that USC is necessarily a better job than say LSU or even most of the Big10 programs. Miami can be super dependent on recruits in south Florida. If most of the Florida recruits are in the northern or central part of the state, you can have a tough time filling a class.
My point being, I think the ranking of the school changes based on circumstance but that list above is probably a good guideline. Although, there is probably some disagreement with the middle to bottom portion of my list.
4/25/2017 4:26 PM (edited)