We all know that on a per player average quality basis, OSU and Alabama have been nearly nearly the equal of each other over the last several years. However, I looked at the 2016 to 2020 year recruiting classes on the 247 composite player rankings, which will capture the majority of players playing in the 2020 National Championship game, and I quantified a few statistics based on the players signed. I included transfers, which are not included on the 247 recruiting page, because these players count against the 85-man scholarship limit, so my numbers are slightly different than the 247 summary page.

Here is the recruiting summary from the 2016-2020 recruiting classes:

The thing that jumps out to me is that Alabama signs nearly 3 more players per year on average than OSU, which means Alabama needs to reduce 3 more players per year on their roster than OSU to stay under the 85-man scholarship limit. This is a big advantage over time because players who do not measure up can be eliminated from the roster to make room for players who are making the cut, thereby potentially enabling a stronger roster, on average, over time.

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