By Matthew Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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As the ACC tries to boost its national reputation, recruiting becomes a major emphasis for its programs and the league made strides on NSD.

#1: Florida State Seminoles

Total Commits: 19
The Seminoles pulled in the top recruiting class in the nation last year, and they likely would have done the same this year if they would have had room for additional prospects. In terms of average star rating for their commits, Florida State once again set the standard for the rest of the country. The Seminoles signed six five-star prospects, including three defensive linemen. For the time being, Jimbo Fisher has firmly asserted himself as the top recruiter in college football.
Top Commit: DE Mario Edwards

#2: Clemson Tigers
Total Commits: 20
Dabo Swinney did not sign any five-star prospects in this class, but this was another class littered with high four-star recruits. For all of the criticism he receives as a game day coach, Swinney has proven over and over again that he is an exceptional recruiter. The Tigers signed three safety prospects, which should help sure up some of the issues that they have had in the secondary. Overall, it was another successful Signing Day for the Tigers.
Top Commit: DT Carlos Watkins

#3: Miami Hurricanes
Total Commits: 33
With a total of 33 commits, the Hurricanes will receive help at basically every position on both sides of the ball. Having to deal with the lingering black cloud of NCAA investigations, Al Golden did a great job of winning a number of critical recruiting battles. This recruiting class has set the Hurricanes up for continued recruiting success in the future. The highlight of the recruiting process was receiving a commitment from five-star CB Tracy Howard yesterday.
Top Commit: CB Tracy Howard

#4: Virginia Tech Hokies
Total Commits: 28
For all of the on-field success that the Hokies have had since joining the ACC, they have never been known as a program that recruits exceptionally well. While this class won’t be considered extraordinary, it is a borderline top 25 class that has a lot of talented players. The Hokies also finished very well yesterday, signing DE Ken Ekanem and WR Joel Caleb. As far as recruiting classes go for Virginia Tech, this is a pretty good one.
Top Commit: DE Ken Ekanem

#5: Virginia Cavaliers
Total Commits: 26
For the second consecutive year, the Cavaliers have asserted themselves as a looming presence in the world of recruiting. Mike London has recruited at a level that greatly eclipses the success of his predecessors. Included in this class are a top ten quarterback from the state of Georgia and a five-star linebacker from Virginia’s backyard. The Cavaliers have cemented themselves as one of the top recruiting programs in the conference.
Top Commit: OLB Eli Harold

#6: North Carolina Tar Heels
Total Commits: 23
Surprisingly, the Tar Heels did not have a single prospect ranked higher than three stars in their entire class. However, much of that can be attributed to the fact that there was a tremendous amount of certainty surrounding UNC’s coaching situation for the majority of this recruiting cycle. Larry Fedora actually did a phenomenal job of closing out the class with a strong finish. This class is very strong at the skill positions.
Top Commit: CB Tyreece Jiles

#7: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Total Commits: 17
The Yellow Jackets had a rough end to this recruiting class with the loss of DE Junior Gnonkonde to academic reasons and DT Dalvin Tomlinson’s decision to attend Alabama, but that doesn’t take away from what is a very solid class for Paul Johnson and his staff. Signing a small number of prospects, the Yellow Jackets were able to land commitments from multiple prospects who will see the field next season. Stealing QB Justin Thomas from Alabama was huge for the Jackets.
Top Commit: DE Francis Kallon

#8: Maryland Terrapins
Total Commits: 23
Maryland’s 2012 recruiting class got off to a tough start, but the Terrapins bounced back to sign a pair of four-star running backs in the weeks leading up to Signing Day. Although Randy Edsall would have liked to experience greater recruiting success in his first full recruiting class at Maryland, the coaching staff should be commended for making it a priority to recruit elite Mid-Atlantic athletes.
Top Commit: RB Wes Brown

#9: NC State Wolfpack
Total Commits: 22
Tom O’Brien was never known as a great recruiter when he coached at Boston College, and that has continued during his time in Raleigh. However, O’Brien is a firm believer in finding players who fit his system, and that is exactly what he did this year. The Wolfpack were extremely depleted on the defensive line this past season, but they addressed that issue by signing six defensive linemen yesterday.
Top Commit: DT K’Hadree Hooker

#10: Boston College Eagles
Total Commits: 17
The Eagles took a very small class this year, but they sign many recruits who are at positions of need. In particular, Boston College focused on signing multiple middle linebackers who will compete to replace All-American Luke Kuechly. The Eagles face a variety of challenges in recruiting, and it is unlikely that Boston College will ever become a dominating recruiting power, so this is a pretty standard class for them.
Top Commit: MLB Mike Strizak

#11: Duke Blue Devils
Total Commits: 20
David Cutcliffe has done a good job of organizing Duke’s recruiting efforts so that they rarely are in dire need of any particular position. While it is obviously difficult to recruit at Duke with their recent history of losing, Cutcliffe has done better than the majority of his predecessors. The good news for the Blue Devils is that both of their top two prospects announced that they would be attending Duke yesterday.
Top Commit: TE Dan Beilinson

#12: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Total Commits: 19
Much like Tom O’Brien at NC State, Jim Grobe is a coach who is not concerned about how his players rank according to the recruiting services. Grobe has a propensity to go into the state of Florida to find prospects who were overlooked by many programs. Although the Demon Deacons didn’t sign any elite prospects yesterday, don’t be surprised when many of the players in the class go on to be outstanding college players.