This season, only three states -- California, Florida and Texas -- merited a full Top 100 prospect list from Rivals. And while recruiting rankings are an inexact science, it's no coincidence that most the nation's elite programs over the last decade are schools located near the country's three biggest recruiting hot-beds.
And while college football in the state of Texas has undergone a dramatic upheaval in the last year, with Texas and Texas A&M parting ways, Baylor winning a Heisman Trophy and former SWC schools migrating to the Big 12, SEC and the Big East, the state's two largest schools were still able to keep most of its top talent at home.
Of the four five-star recruits from the Lone Star State, two (RB Johnathan Gray, DT Malcom Brown) are headed to Austin while one (RB Trey Williams) is off to College Station. DE Mario Edwards Jr., the only five-star to leave the state, is somewhat of a special circumstance, as he's going to Florida State, the alma mater of his father, former Dallas Cowboys CB Mario Edwards Sr.
Despite the Longhorns lackluster 13-12 record over the last two years and the Aggies replacing Mike Sherman with former UH coach Kevin Sumlin near the end of the 2012 recruiting cycle, both schools were even more dominant among the state's 33 four star recruits, with Texas getting 12 and Texas A&M getting 6.
Most of the Big 12 conference depends on a solid pipeline out of Texas, so it's no surprise that 37 of the state's top 100 prospects committed to the other 8 schools in the conference.
However, Oklahoma, which traditionally competes with UT and A&M throughout the state, had a down year, pulling in only 4 Top 100 players from Texas. That left room for a fierce battle in the middle of the Big 12, with Texas Tech (9) surprisingly coming ahead of a Baylor program coming off a Heisman Trophy (7), an Oklahoma State program coming off a Big 12 championship (7) and a TCU program coming off two BCS bowl appearances in the last three years (6) for number of Top 100 commitments.
One story-line to watch in future years will be the SEC's increased exposure in the state, as the addition of Texas A&M could open the previously closed Texas recruiting grounds to big-budget programs throughout the South. The Aggies new conference competitors only grabbed 8 of the state's Top 100 players.
And while SMU and Houston both received coveted Big East invitations, putting them (for now) among the AQ "haves" in college football, neither was able to use that to make much headway in the state, receiving a combined three Top 100 commitments.