College football recruiting panic index: Should Auburn, Colorado slow summers be cause for concern?

While college football news is hard to come by in the early summer months, recruiting season is just starting to heat up for the 2026 class. Prospects around the country were busy with official visits in May and June and, now that that period has ended, many are shifting into decision mode before the fall season starts.

More and more highly ranked recruits are making early decisions, since both roster spots and NIL earning potential are limited by schools balancing resources with an eye towards the transfer portal. Revenue sharing will further compound matters.

So, even though there's a long way to go to the early signing period in December, a lot can be learned about a school's recruiting class in the summer. Plenty can change over the next few months, but if a school isn't recruiting well right now, there could be cause for concern.

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With some major decisions on the horizon, it felt appropriate to check the temperature of some high-profile programs that are lagging behind in recruiting right now. To do that, I've conjured up a "panic Index," from a scale of 1 to 5 -- 1 meaning there's not much cause for concern, and 5 meaning "fire everybody even though it's still the offseason."

247Sports Team Composite Recruiting Ranking: 79

Panic Index: 4

It isn't just the fact that Auburn's recruiting class currently ranks behind the likes of Oregon State and Houston -- both programs that have a comparable amount of recruits. It's the fact that the Tigers have had two four-star prospects decommit in June. Linebacker Shadarius Toodle flipped to Georgia, while wide receiver Devin Carter, who ranks as the No. 15 WR in 2026, jumped ship for a Florida State team that went 2-10 last season. Granted, Carter is a Florida State legacy, so the Seminoles were able to play that distinct advantage in their favor. The top prospect in Auburn's class, four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, took official visits to Florida and Tennessee as he's actively looking around at other schools.

The Tigers did do well to flip Top247 quarterback Peyton Falzone from Penn State, but that's the only great news they've received over the past month. Auburn isn't even favored, as things stand, to land another top-10 prospect from the state of Alabama. Though the Tigers have some great freshman and sophomore talent already on their roster, their 2026 recruiting desperately needs a spark soon.

247Sports Team Composite Recruiting Ranking: 105

Panic Index: 1

Colorado's recruiting ranking and the level at which fans should panic may seem incongruous. True, it's not great that a Power Four program only has four commits at this stage of the recruiting cycle, but Colorado coach Deion Sanders has never placed a ton of emphasis on high school recruiting. The Buffaloes haven't signed more than 20 prospects in a class since 2023 -- Sanders' first full year with the program -- and they've welcomed a combined 25 true freshman to Boulder over the past couple of years. For reference, most schools sign around 25 high school prospects each year.

Sanders has lived by the portal thus far, and it does not seem like that approach is going to change. That hasn't stopped Colorado from making big-time additions like five-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton in 2024 and four-star quarterback Julian Lewis in 2025. We'll see if they can get a third straight headliner in 2026.

247Sports Team Composite Recruiting Ranking: 36

Panic Index: 3

A month ago, there would have been much more cause for concern for the Sooners. However, they have bolstered their class with 10 commitments in the month of June. They won a huge battle against LSU and other SEC powers to land Bowe Bentley, the No. 7 quarterback prospect, from Celina, Texas. They also beat the likes of Nebraska, USC and Tennessee to land a commitment from three-star offensive lineman Deacon Schmitt.

That being said, it doesn't seem as if Oklahoma is heavily involved with a lot of top-level prospects, especially not of the caliber that the Sooners are used to landing. They finished outside the top 15 last cycle and, unless Brent Venables puts together a standout season on the field, they could be looking at a repeat in 2026.

247Sports Team Composite Recruiting Ranking: 31

Panic Index: 1

You have to scroll down the list a bit to find Oregon's 2026 class, which currently sits just outside of the top 30 nationally. While that's weird to see for a program that has dominated the trail under young coach Dan Lanning, there's no real cause for concern. The Ducks only have 10 commits thus far, but the quality of those commits is so high that Oregon already ranks ahead several programs that are approaching, or have exceeded, 20 prospects in their class already. Seven of Oregon's commits hold at least a four-star rating, and six sit inside the Top247. Oregon's class has an average prospect grade of 93.20, which is behind only LSU.

There's good reason to believe more quality recruits will be joining in the near future, as well, especially as recruits make decisions over the early summer months.

247Sports Team Composite Recruiting Ranking: 22

Panic Index: 2

Things have started to heat up for Tennessee recruiting after a very slow first half of 2025. The Vols have added four prospects to their 2026 class since June 27 and, as a result, they've seen their class ranking skyrocket from 51 all the way to the top 25. A couple of those new commits were fairly significant recruiting wins. Tennessee beat Ole Miss for three-star offensive lineman Edward Baker and Texas A&M for three-star wide receiver Legend Bey, a Forney, Texas product. While Tennessee only has three blue-chip prospects committed, two of those are five stars, including the nation's No. 1 player in Faizon Brandon.

A couple of those three stars -- including Bey -- are right on the cusp of four-star status, as well, and the average ranking of recruits in Tennessee's class is a solid 90.37. It would be nice to see the Vols win a few more battles for high-profile prospects, but they still have some big fish on the line, like five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys and five-star running back Savion Hiter, that they're in the thick of it for.