Sacramento State is trying to make college football history in its first season with Brennan Marion as head coach. The Hornets currently hold one of the 10 best recruiting classes for 2026 on any level.
This does not apply only to the FCS!
Before we go any further here, there are a few things that need to be established. Recruiting rankings in college football are completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. They don’t actually mean anything real. Projected talent metrics do not translate to on-field results. There is no guarantee that these four- and five-star players will be good. Two- and three-star recruits could end up as first ballot Hall of Famers. A highly-ranked recruiting class may not be as good as a lower-ranked class. You get it.
With that being said, Sacramento State deserves proper credit for its current ranking. 247 Sports currently lists the Hornets’ recruiting class as the No. 10 class in the country for 2026. There is still a very long way to go before Early Signing Day in December and National Signing Day in February, so this will not hold. Things are going to change.
Still, Sacramento State is the only FCS program to be ranked. Only Oregon, Kansas, USC, Texas A&M, Penn State, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee and Notre Dame are ranked higher.
Sacramento State is on fire!
Brennan Marion took over as head coach in late December after the sudden resignation of Andy Thompson. He has since secured verbal commitments from nine three-star recruits.
- WR Kamarie Smith
- ATH Isaiah Ene
- ATH Sharroid Whitehead
- TE Jaden Hernandez
- ATH Luke Galer
- QB Jacob Chambers
- OT Jayden Ross
- ATH Darnell Turner
- WR Dezmyn Hardy
Former five-star wide receiver Agiye Hall also committed to play for the Hornets as a transfer after two full years away from the sport. There is talent on its way to northern California.
Although Sacramento State will not be ranked inside of the top-10 for long, it is possible that its 2026 class will finish inside the top-50. That has never happened. Never before has an FCS school finished that high in the rankings. The Hornets could make recruiting history if this momentum keeps rolling.
As the Pac-12 continues to redefine its future, Sacramento State is lobbying hard for a promotion. The university wants to jump up to the FBS level and it is reportedly willing to spare no expense.
Josh Wood, the co-chairman of the university’s ‘Sac12’ executive committee, claimed to secure $35 million in NIL money from “local business and community leaders and a local tribe.” Exact details of this supposed fortune are not entirely clear (and I have my doubts) but that number would put the Hornets near the top of college football, on any level, in terms of funding. Perhaps their current No. 10 ranking correlates to spending?