Inaugural SI All-American Watch List Features the Top 1,000-Plus Recruiting Prospects from Across the Nation

Massive recruiting undertaking breaks down the top players down by state, plus every Power 5 school’s commitments and top targets

Welcome to what's next in college football recruiting. 

Wednesday morning, Sports Illustrated announced its initial watch list, including more than 1,000 high school senior football players, for the 2020 SI All-American team.

But this is unlike any watch list you've seen before. 

It's the widest, most in-depth public analysis of any recruiting class ever.

“We have scouting analysis and video highlights for all 1,000 candidates, broken down by state,” Sports Illustrated’s director of recruiting John Garcia Jr. said. 

The list also is broken down by verbal commitments and top targets for each of the 65 Power 5 schools (as well as Notre Dame and BYU).

Did we mention that none of this is behind a pay wall?

Or that this is being done in conjunction with BamaCentral's ongoing recruiting coverage?

The University of Alabama's class has picked up a lot of recent momentum, including with linebacker Kendrick Blackshire announcing his commitment on Tuesday night. He was the 12th addition the class, and Nick Saban is looking to pick up at least one more standout prospect over the next few days.

College football’s 2021 recruiting class is already the most unique in the modern history of the sport due to summer camps being cancelled and players being unable to visit campuses (or be visited by coaches). 

There’s a leap of faith like never before.

“The in-person evaluation opportunities that usually take place in the spring and summer went away, as did the official and unofficial campus visits that go so far in shaping a prospect’s decision on college,” Garcia said.

But rather than slow the recruiting process, the inverse has happened.

“More than 700 of the 1,000-plus high school seniors on our SIAA watch list have already committed verbally to a college, in many cases without having set foot on the campus," he said. "What we’re seeing is unprecedented,” Garcia said.

He cautioned that the avalanche of early verbals could trigger an equally unprecedented number of de-commits as the first signing period in December draws closer.

Some of his other observations about this recruiting cycle include: 

• Alabama is always a state that offers both elite prospects and major depth. And this group will bring instant impact potential at the college level, even in a conference as stout as the SEC. The quality and quantity of players on the defensive side really stand out, with prospects like Tennessee verbal commit Dylan Brooks (DE, Roanoke/Handey High) and uncommitted guys like Ga’Quincy McKinstry (CB, Pinson/Pinson Valley High) and Jeremiah Williams (LB/DE, Birmingham/Ramsay High).”
• “There are two significant storylines coming out of Georgia right now with this class of high school seniors. First is the volume of talent. Traditionally, the big three states in every recruiting cycle are Florida, Texas, and California. Georgia is now No. 3 ahead of California. The second trend with Georgia is the amount of talent in the secondary. The group is loaded and, generally speaking, they’re big physically, which matches the trend we’re seeing in the NFL with DBs who are 6-feet or taller.”
• “Florida is especially known for producing skill-position players and this recruiting cycle is no exception, particularly so when you look at the receivers. I truly believe the quality of the receiving corps in Florida this year could match up with the entire rest of the nation combined.”
• “The quarterback talent coming out of Texas in this recruiting cycle is head turning. California is often thought of as the quarterback state, but Texas is Quarterback Central for the 2021 recruiting cycle. We have 17 QBs from the state on our SI All-American watch list. Their verbal commitments so far speak to the excellence of the talent, with Garrett Nussmeir going to LSU, Dematrius Davis to Auburn, Jalen Milroe to Texas, Eli Stowers to Texas A&M, and it just keeps going.”

The 10 states with the most candidates for the SI All-American team are Florida (142), Texas (129), Georgia (84), California (79), North Carolina (55), Alabama (44), Ohio (37), Virginia (32), Michigan (30) and Maryland (28).

The watch list is just the next step in Sports Illustrated's commitment to recruiting coverage.

Specific to this year, the 1,000-plus candidates will be narrowed to 250 finalists in October, and 99 finalists in November. It will culminate with 25 first-team Sports Illustrated All-Americans saluted at SI’s annual Sportsperson of the Year banquet in New York in December.

On Thursday, the nation's No. 1-overall prospect will be revealed, followed by the first of its positional top 10 lists (quarterbacks) on Friday. The Preseason Top 99 (the SI99) will be announced on August 24.

Follow SI All-American at si.com/college/recruiting/ and on social media: @SIAllAmerican and #SIAAtop1000