No one lands more top talent on annual basis than these guys.
Grant Hughes
College football analysts Carl Reed and Smoke Dixon each shared their top three recruiters ahead of the 2024 season during an appearance on the 247Sports' College Football Recruiting Show this week. Their selections included some of the nation's top assistant coaches from programs like Ohio State, Alabama and Oklahoma, plus a few under-the-radar names.
"When you talk about recruiting, you have to be able to communicate and build relationships," Dixon said on what makes a good recruiter. "You have to be able to go to any part of the country and come home with the player that you went out to go get."
Dixon, an All-SEC selection as a player at Alabama, has worn numerous hats in the coaching circuit. He spent four seasons as a pro scout for the Buffalo Bills and joined Vanderbilt as its director of scouting in 2021. He spent time as Maryland's general manager of recruiting before joining the 247Sports staff. Reed spent years as a renowned high school football coach at some of the nation's biggest prep schools before joining 247Sports.
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Here are the top recruiters in college football right now, according to Dixon and Reed:
Reed’s Picks: Brian Hartline, WR coach, Ohio State
Hartline has landed a whopping seven five-star receivers since joining the Ohio State staff in 2017. He's only getting better, too. He helped the Buckeyes fend off Florida and Miami for five-star wideout Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2024. He's already got a hard commitment from the class of 2026's No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 receiver, Chris Henry Jr. Don't forget he also recruited and developed first-round NFL Draft picks Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, among others.
Reed: "Every wide receiver in the country is hoping that Brian Hartline walks through their high school and offers them a scholarship. Hartline has identified, evaluated, developed and been right there with multiple first-round draft picks. He's a legend. High school coaches love him. The trainers love him. He has been excellent at continuing the tradition of elite wide receiver play at Ohio State. When I call my guys throughout the country and ask, 'Is Brian Hartline a guy that I can trust?' Everyone says the same thing: 'No doubt about it. Hartline is the real deal.'"
Vince Marrow, AHC, Kentucky
Marrow has landed 34 four-star commitments since arriving in Lexington in 2013 and remains at the top of his game, entering his 11th season with the Wildcats. The Youngstown, Ohio native has established a strong recruiting presence in his home state, where he pulled two four-signees this cycle — defensive lineman Brian Robinson and cornerback Terhyon Nichols. Those are two of a handful of four-stars Marrow convinced to come to Lexington in 2024. Marrow pulled off one of his best recruiting heists to date, landing 2025 four-star running back Marquise Davis over heavy favorite Michigan.
Levar Woods, ST coordinator, Iowa
Woods firmly established himself as one of the nation's top recruiters when he landed five-star defensive end AJ Epenesa over the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame in the class of 2017. Epenesa is the highest-rated recruit to commit to the Hawkeyes in the last 20 years, but Woods didn't stop there. He led the recruitment of Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Cooper DeJean in 2021 and four-star linebacker Cam Buffington this past cycle.
Dixon’s Picks: Freddie Roach, AHC, Alabama
Alabama did everything it could to keep Roach in the fold after Nick Saban retired, ultimately promoting him to associate head coach and bumping his salary to $1 million per year. He's landed six five-stars in his career and 19 other Top247 recruits. He received praise for keeping his commits at Alabama after Saban's departure, which included five-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, who briefly left Alabama for Iowa in the transfer portal before returning.
Dixon: "When Alabama had that massive shift when Nick Saban left, Alabama retained Roach, and he retained all of his recruits. On the recruiting trail, one thing that you hear about Freddie Roach is he builds relationships. He can recruit his state, or he could go up to Canada and land a recruit. The guys in his room all love him. They don't leave. They stay there because they know they're going to develop and get strong coaching."
Todd Bates, DL coach, Oklahoma
Bates helped build Clemson's defensive lines into some of the nation's best units during his stint with the Tigers (2017-21). He reunited with Brent Venables at Oklahoma in 2022 and has quickly flexed his recruiting muscles. He landed Oklahoma's third-highest-rated defensive lineman of all time, Adepoju Adebawore, in 2023 and reeled in the fourth-highest, David Stone, in 2024. The Sooners landed four four-star defensive linemen in addition to the five-star Stone in the 2024 cycle and Bates is a big reason why.
Kevin Beard, WR coach, Miami
Beard has only been at Miami for a year but has already greatly impacted the Hurricanes' recruiting efforts. He spearheaded one of the nation's best receiver hauls in the class of 2024, landing a trio of four-stars in Joshisa Trader, Ny Carr and Chance Robinson. Trader is a top-50 prospect. He's also building connections in future classes and landed highly-touted receiver Malachi Toney in the class of 2026 over Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan and Florida State.
