We're more than one week removed from the late national signing period opening up, and the recruiting classes of the Colonial Athletic Association have come into better focus. The CAA is loaded with outstanding incoming high school prospects, and this conference will figure prominently into our national rankings next Wednesday.
[divider]MORE: Compare Any Two FCS Players or Any Two FCS Teams[divider]
2018 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 25 recruits
2017 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 250 recruits
2017 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 50 teams
Here are a couple of things to know:
- HERO Sports will publish an FCS national Top 50 classes piece and a FCS Top 250 incoming freshmen piece on Feb. 21. Leading up to that, we'll be breaking down each conference — all 13 — from an "top individuals" standpoint.
- How did we come up with our ranking list below? Simple — it's subjective, but all recruiting rankings are that way. We combined 247Sports, Rivals, the players' offer lists and our own thoughts to come up with our version of the FCS recruiting rankings. We provide some of their other top offers in the charts. This is our third year doing this.
- We don't include junior college or 4-year school transfers in any of this work. This is strictly incoming high school graduates.
So below are the rankings for the CAA.
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QUICK THOUGHTS ON THE CAA: Not surprisingly, James Madison did very well in this recruiting cycle. The Dukes wrapped up the majority of their signing class before they even departed for the national championship game in Frisco — and they feature 5 of our top 10 recruits for the CAA. The next tier is pretty clearcut too — Villanova, Delaware and Stony Brook really performed well and don't be surprised if that is reflected on the field in the next couple of years, particularly at Delaware. Stony Brook really loaded up on offensive weapons and some huge offensive linemen to block for them, which should fit nicely with what is already a great SeaWolves defense. Villanova did much of the same, loading up on coveted offensive talent to go hand-in-hand with what is already a great Wildcats' defense. William & Mary got the top QB in the group in Isaiah Jones, who Temple also wanted.
[divider]Swipe left to right on mobile devices to see "other offers":
THE CAA CONFERENCE TOP 40
RK | FCS CHOICE | POS | PROSPECT | HOMETOWN | HGT | WGT | OTHER OFFERS |
1 | RHODE ISLAND | OL | Evan Lovell | Waterbury, CT | 6'5" | 310 | Pitt, N.C. State – 9 total offers |
2 | JAMES MADISON | WR | Reggie Brown | Lakeland, FL | 6'1" | 175 | South Dakota, Campbell |
3 | JAMES MADISON | DB | Willie Drew | Smithfield, VA | 6'1" | 180 | Virginia – 6 FBS offers – 10 total |
4 | DELAWARE | LB | Matt Palmer | Doylestown, PA | 6'0" | 195 | Rutgers, West Virginia, Buffalo |
5 | JAMES MADISON | OL | Amelio Moran | Virginia Beach, VA | 6'6" | 300 | Missouri – 7 FBS offers – 11 total |
6 | WILLIAM & MARY | QB | Isaiah Jones | Glenside, PA | 6'1" | 185 | Temple, Army – 5 offers |
7 | ELON | OG | Zach Bevins | Virginia Beach, VA | 6'4" | 285 | FAU, CAA and Patriot teams |
8 | JAMES MADISON | WR | Devin Ravenel | Stafford, VA | 6'0" | 150 | Virginia, New Hampshire, Norfolk State |
9 | VILLANOVA | DE | Michael Taylor | Flushing, NY | 6'3" | 235 | 7 offers |
10 | JAMES MADISON | RB | Que Reid | Concord, NC | 5'11" | 195 | East Carolina – 8 total offers |
11 | ELON | WR | Jackson Parham | Hillsborough, NJ | 6'2" | 180 | Bowling Green, New Hampshire |
12 | STONY BROOK | RB | Rahsul Faison | Pottsgrove, PA | 6'0" | 180 | 4 offers |
13 | WILLIAM & MARY | OL | Colby Sorsdal | Pittsburgh, PA | 6'5" | 285 | 7 FBS offers, 13 total offers |
14 | JAMES MADISON | OL | Henry Schroeder | Richmond, VA | 6'4" | 275 | 3 FBS offers, 6 total |
15 | STONY BROOK | WR | Isaiah Givens | Oradell, NJ | 6'3" | 195 | 3 offers |
16 | VILLANOVA | WR | Dez Boykin | Whitehall, PA | 5'9" | 170 | Memphis – 5 FBS offers |
17 | STONY BROOK | OL | Larry Ross | Hightstown, NJ | 6'6" | 300 | 3 FBS, 8 total offers |
18 | VILLANOVA | TE | Owen Thomas | Lansdale, PA | 6'4" | 215 | 7 FBS offers – 14 total offers |
19 | TOWSON | QB | Jeff Miller | Murrieta, CA | 6'6" | 235 | Cornell – committed early |
20 | MAINE | DB | Donnell Henriquez | Harrisburg, PA | 5'11" | 175 | 2 FBS offers – 9 total |
21 | WILLIAM & MARY | OL | Marcus Crowell | Montclair, NJ | 6'5" | 275 | 9 FCS offers |
22 | DELAWARE | OL | Stevon Brown | Baltimore, MD | 6'4" | 275 | East Carol. decommit – 15 offers |
23 | JAMES MADISON | LB | Mateo Jackson | Richmond, VA | 6'2" | 215 | Cincinnati offer – 6 FBS offers, 15 total |
24 | RICHMOND | OL | Joe More | Nashville, TN | 6'5" | 275 | Navy decommit – 9 offers |
25 | VILLANOVA | WR | Elijah Trent | Rockville, MD | 6'3" | 180 | 4 FBS offers, 8 total |
26 | STONY BROOK | OL | Chris Chernak | Brooklyn, NY | 6'7" | 290 | FAU, Buffalo – 7 total offers |
27 | RICHMOND | RB | Aaron Dykes | Knoxville, TN | 5'10" | 185 | Army – 10 total offers |
28 | RHODE ISLAND | DE | James Makskin | Norwalk, CT | 6'4" | 260 | Temple decommit – 5 offers |
29 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | OL | Chris Donnelly | Ramsey, NJ | 6'3" | 260 | Coastal Carolina |
30 | MAINE | OL | Matthias Staalsoe | Watertown, CT | 6'3" | 295 | Hawaii |
31 | ELON | QB | Joey Baughman | Wadsworth, OH | 6'1" | 190 | Ohio Mr. Football |
32 | DELAWARE | WR | Justis Henley | North Wales, PA | 5'11" | 165 | Air Force and Army |
33 | ALBANY | OL | Kobe Thomas | Allentown, PA | 6'2" | 265 | Army, Navy – 5 offers |
34 | DELAWARE | QB | Anthony Paoletti | Broomall, PA | 6'2" | 195 | 3 FBS offers – 7 total |
35 | VILLANOVA | OL | James Petrovcik | West Orange, NJ | 6'4" | 285 | UCF, Buffalo, James Madison – 7 offers |
36 | RHODE ISLAND | DE | Ryan McDonough | Vero Beach, FL | 6'4" | 246 | Ga. Southern decommit – 3 FBS offers |
37 | JAMES MADISON | TE | Drew Painter | Hershey, PA | 6'4" | 240 | UCF offer – 13 total offers |
38 | TOWSON | WR | Daniel Thompson | Ashburn, VA | 6'4" | 215 | James Madison – 4 total offers |
39 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | LB | Zach Banks | Salisbury, CT | 6'2" | 230 | None known |
40 | VILLANOVA | ATH | Jalen Jackson | Richmond, VA | 5'10" | 205 | Old Dominion – 6 offers |