Summer is the new busy season in college football recruiting.Early signing day no longer feels like the holiday it was in the not-so-distant past. While flips will occur over the course of the 2026 college football season, the element of surprise that used to accompany the early signing period has disappeared due to the popularity of summer commitments.Many classes in the 2027 recruiting cycle already hold 20 or more prospects. Deep classes like the ones at Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Florida are a result of putting in work ahead of the summer, while classes like the ones at Notre Dame and Miami swelled at the beginning of the summer.On the other hand, there are a handful of programs receiving attention on the recruiting trail because of the weakness of their classes. Of course, finishing strong is more important than starting strong in recruiting, but the programs that fall behind will more than likely resort to flipping committed prospects down the stretch.Cody Nagel of CBS Sports compiled a list of eight college football programs off to slow starts on their 2027 classes. Some of these classes are those of struggling Power Four programs, but others are those of more prominent powers.AlabamaThe Crimson Tide sat near the top of the SEC in Rivals' final 2026 industry recruiting rankings, squashing any notion that its brand was a thing of the past. Right now, Alabama's 2027 class is dead last in the SEC, a shocking sight after its prolonged stretch of dominance.Alabama's three blue-chip commitments are from No. 1 quarterback Elijah Haven, No. 20 quarterback Trent Seaborn and No. 22 running back Nigel Newkirk. Kalen DeBoer has assured the Crimson Tide faithful that the class will grow, although he also mentioned the benefit of smaller classes to roster retention in this era of college football.IndianaIndiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during spring football practice at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesUnlike the other two powers Nagel mentioned, Indiana does not possess a traditional recruiting prowess. The Hoosiers' national championship victory should carry weight for recruits, but Curt Cignetti's approach to roster construction may limit what they can do in high school recruiting.The national championship run was made possible by a bevy of transfers the Hoosiers acquired in the 2025 offseason, and they took a similar approach with the portal this year. The long-term sustainability of that method remains to be seen, but why mess with a formula if it works wonders right now?MichiganThe Wolverines' class is the best of the three struggling powers Nagel mentioned, sitting at 18 overall commitments with 11 four-stars. The problem with Michigan's class is that it sits beneath other prominent Big Ten powers.Both USC and Ohio State hold fewer commitments in their 2027 classes and outrank Michigan because of their recruitment of five-star prospects. Oregon also outranks the Wolverines, but that is a result of one more four-star commitment in its class.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow