Signing Day on Dec. 20 kicks off the Early Signing Period. The storylines these days are regarding transfer portal and of course high school recruiting, but December used to belong to the Junior College players, who had an exclusive signing window to themselves. The creation of the Early Signing Period, which began in December of 2017 for the 2018 class, took the shine away from the JUCOs. But there are a lot of really good players in the JUCO ranks worth knowing.
This class of 2024 especially is full of former top recruits and we’re highlighting the top 20 in our updated JUCO rankings.
While JUCO players receive less attention than they used to, there’s the sense that it’s a haven for finding diamonds-in-the-rough, if you’re willing to pull up your sleeves and put in the effort to identify and thoroughly evaluate. That is easier said than done with so much manpower being put toward the portal.
“JUCO is way under-recruited, but there’s always a fear of the unknown with JUCOs,” one college football personnel staffer said. “With the portal, they’re viewed as less risky because they’ve played at a more similar level. The JUCO process is tougher because the portal has gotten to the point where finding names and watching film is more efficient. JUCO you have to grind it out a little bit to find names and info on their GPA, if they are qualifiers, if you have to wait to spring — there are more moving parts, so I think that’s led to an under-recruiting of junior college kids.”
RELATED: How the class of 2023’s top-10 JUCO prospects fared in Year 1
There are currently 28 JUCO players committed to Power Five schools. By the Early Signing Period, that number should climb towards 40, but not much higher. By June, however, that number could shoot way up. In the 2023 class, we saw closer to 80 Power Five signees, but a good portion of those came in the spring.
So while the first wave will come next week, expect another big wave.
“When you get to May, the players available at JUCOs are better than the portal kids usually,” said one college personnel director. “Kids who have great falls move up in December in the portal, kids who get beat in spring practice and don’t think they’ll have as good of a chance to play enter in May.”
Group of Five schools in particular stand to benefit from smart JUCO recruiting. Utah State, Toledo, Arkansas State and Charlotte all have top-40 JUCO commits. Schools like San Diego State, Southern Miss, FAU, San Jose State, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina and others have also pulled in good JUCO talent in 2024.
“I think undoubtedly the Power Five schools will miss some of those guys,” one college coach said. “They will get highly-recruited high school kids and big time portal kids and won’t dig on the junior colleges and that’s where some of these G5 schools who lose guys to the portal will be able to replace that talent, because it’s hard to lose an older player to the portal and replace that with a high school kid.”
There are a number of bouncebacks who find themselves at JUCOs. Utah State is signing former Georgia defensive lineman Marlin Dean, for instance.
At the top of the board, former five-stars like Chris Marshall, Antonio Alfano and Demond Demas are all available. All have talent and credentials, but have pasts that schools must feel comfortable with in order to recruit them.
“You have to do your homework on them,” one Power Five assistant coach said. “It obviously depends on the situation. It’s not unheard of that a guy goes to a JUCO and gets himself together. You might hit big. But with so many portal options now, it’s a matter of whether or not you need to take the risk.”
“If it’s a certain type of transgression, like it involves a female, we won’t even turn the film on,” says another school.
There are many JUCO success stories and quite a few JUCO products in the NFL, and with more players finding it an option if they leave an FBS program, there is talent abound.
No. 1: Chris Marshall, WR, Kilgore (Uncommitted)
The debate for No. 1 was a difficult one. Kilgore College’s Chris Marshall is a former five-star, top 25 prospect in the country. He signed with Texas A&M, was suspended twice, then transferred to Ole Miss where he was shortly dismissed for violation of team rules.
So there are red flags.
But there is also considerable upside. That was evident right away at Kilgore when Marshall went for 139 yards and two touchdowns in his first game there. Then he was injured and missed five weeks. He returned and had several big outings — a two-touchdown performance against Tyler and a 162-yard game against Blinn — and finished with 21 receptions for 449 yards and five touchdowns.
All of that baked together makes Marshall a tough prospect to assess, but the film shows the same explosiveness from high school at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds.
To date, we have not received word on any schools offering Marshall but he is finishing classes he needs to graduate. Once that happens, we could find out more in the late winter or spring about about where his next school could be.
Marshall is one of three JUCO players with a 93 rating and he slots in at No. 1 in our rankings.
No. 5: Antonio Alfano, DL, Lackawanna C.C. (Uncommitted)
Antonio Alfano will be one of the more intriguing prospects to follow in this class, JUCO, high school or otherwise.
A former No. 1 overall prospect in the country, he signed with Alabama, transferred to Colorado, and did not appear in a game with either school.
Was he truly worthy of being the No. 1 overall recruit in his class? That could be greatly debated at this point, but watching him explode off the ball at Lackawanna College this year, it was clear he still has high-major talent.
Exactly where he will end up is still to be determined and it might not be at a Power Five school, but there is no question there is still difference-making ability here.
No. 8: Demond Demas, WR, Garden City C.C. (Uncommitted)
The theme of this 2024 JUCO class could really be about the redemption opportunities for former blue-chip wide receivers. Demond Demas is seeking that. He was a five-star and No. 32 overall prospect out of high school. He signed with Texas A&M and caught 15 passes for 235 yards a touchdown, but off-field legal issues led to a suspension and ultimately, leaving for Garden City Community College.
This season, he was second on the team with 29 receptions for 329 yards and a touchdown in eight games. Not eye-popping stats, but offered glimpses (like a 95 yard touchdown against Iowa Western) that the talent is still there. Nebraska, Toledo and Houston are some of the schools mentioned in conjunction with him down the stretch of this recruitment.
He was tough to know exactly what to do with but as a former five-star with high-end physical tools, he comes in as our final four-star JUCO prospect, with a 90 rating.
No. 14: Tyler Woodard, S, East Mississippi Community College (Mississippi State commit)
A safety out of Last Chance U’s original destination, East Mississippi Community College, Tyler Woodard is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound prospect who showed closing speed in run support and ability to play in the box but also has cornerback experience so he can play in coverage. Committed to Mississippi State, he is also considering Tennessee and Arkansas still down the stretch.
No. 20: Brien Taylor, DL, Blinn College (Florida commit)
A Houston native, Brien Taylor was an offensive tackle pushing 300 pounds in high school but leaned out and became a high-end defensive line prospect. At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, he also could project to playing multiple fronts. He is headed to Florida where the Gators get a player witha lot of developmental tools. He missed some time this season, but in six games had 39 tackles (9.5 for loss) and half a sack for Blinn.
