Best-ever International recruiting class makes massive waves on National Signing Day

| American Football | 02/04/2022

One of the most exciting moments for any student-athlete is receiving a scholarship offer. However, nothing is official until these same prospects put pen to paper inking their commitment to their future universities.

This year international prospects made their presence felt like never before as several teenagers from around the globe have made it their commitments official across the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and other top college football conferences.

With a long list of four and three-star prospects racking up offers from powerhouse programs, the proof is in the pudding for this group of global players as the strongest international signing class in the game’s history.

The nation’s top junior college prospect Jeffrey M’ba (France) chose to take his talents to Auburn University after the four-star prospect received over 30 offers from blue-chip programs. M’ba is a former Virginia commit who grew up in France, after moving from the Congo to Europe as a young child.

Another highly coveted defensive lineman to commit this year was Germany’s Hero Kanu. Kanu spent two seasons playing football in California and quickly propelled himself into elite prospect status. The four-star defensive tackle became an All-American selection receiving over 40 offers. Last month, Kanu chose to take his Bavarian–born talents to Columbus joining the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

The European lineman trend continued as Magnus Møller (Denmark), Liridon Mujezinovic (Bosnia & Albania), and Moritz Oberhofer (Germany) chose Illinois, Maryland, and Colorado State respectively. Defensive end Aric Burton (Germany) also inked his commitment to West Virginia.

Internationals took center stage again as Germany’s Jasper Friis joined the trending HBCU movement signing with Hall of Famer Deion Sanders at Jackson State.

Jumping back to the SEC, Vanderbilt University showed an eagerness to recruit across the pond signing defensive linemen Yilanan Ouattara (Germany), Linus Zunk (Germany), and Darren Agu (UK).

Three-star Swedish tight end Theodor Melin Ohrstrom and German pass-catcher Martin Klein committed to Texas A&M and Michigan respectively.

Unsurprisingly Australian punters signed in bunches as nine punters committed to programs in the Pac-12, ACC, and SEC. Linebacker Zachary Neilsen also committed to Tulsa.

Stepping back from the division one FBS level several international prospects made their commitments to schools across all levels of college football. From division three commits Anton Jacobs and Leon Friebel (Germany, Dickinson) to the junior college dream chasers like Vito Moriana Sigel (Spain) and Freddie Pelling (UK), this class of international prospects looks more ready to make an impact on college football than any group before them.

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and