<
>
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Get ESPN+

The best college football recruiting class by conference: ACC (plus Notre Dame)

As a redshirt freshman in 2013, Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy and was named MVP of the BCS National Championship game. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

Amid conference realignment that is changing college football, we decided to rank the top 10 recruiting classes from 2010 to 2019 for each Power 5 conference.

We recently evaluated our recruiting class rankings, considering how player rankings translated into actual production and how well each class did in the win column over the course of four years.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have broken down the Big 12 and the Pac-12. This time, we go through the ACC (plus Notre Dame).

For the ACC, it's a tale of two teams. Over this 10-year span either Florida State or Clemson won every conference title starting in 2011. The Atlantic blue bloods have combined for three national titles.

This decade was essentially split into two halves, with the Seminoles placing three classes from early in the decade on this list and the Tigers, who have won six straight ACC titles, dominating with multiple entries in the back half.

No other ACC recruiting class threatened to steal a spot away from either FSU or Clemson, which is supported by their respective dominance on the field over this period. Notre Dame, which is independent in football but associated with the ACC in other college sports and was a member in 2020, was eligible for this ranking, and was able to break up the Tigers' and Seminoles' dominance.

Here are the top 10 recruiting classes in the ACC over the past decade.