Rivals250 Update: Position-by-position breakdown
NEW 2026 RIVALS250: Ranking | Toughest decisions
RIVALS CAMP SERIES DALLAS: Position MVPs | Ranking the QBs | Recruiting rumor mill
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
QUARTERBACK
There are not many changes at the top but by the end of summer – and especially after the Elite 11 and Rivals Five-Star – there could be significant changes.
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Five five-star quarterbacks remain with a slight change to the list as Houston commit Keisean Henderson moves ahead of Jared Curtis.
There are still a lot of possibilities for more five-stars with USC commit Jonas Williams and Landon Duckworth leading the way plus Texas commit Dia Bell could move up quickly as can Miami pledge Dereon Coleman.
Louisville commit Briggs Cherry has moved all the way up No. 13 nationally at the position after some terrific offseason performances and rave reviews by 7-on-7 coaches.
RUNNING BACK
There are a ton of talented running backs in this class but no five-stars yet. Ezavier Crowell and Savion Hiter lead the way as both remain uncommitted. New Notre Dame commit Javian Osborne and Jae Lamar are also elite and Carrollton (Ga.) Central's Jonaz Walton could move even higher after some excellent track times.
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The only five-star in this group is at all-purpose back in Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna's Derrek Cooper, who is a phenomenal mix of power, speed and versatility. This group is strong with KJ Edwards also in the five-star discussion (with Crowell) and then Oregon commit Tradarian Ball is a fringe top-50 player.
WIDE RECEIVER
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
Four five-stars lead the way and it's pretty much a lock that LSU commit Tristen Keys, Cederian Morgan and Ethan 'Boobie' Feaster are at the top and then Chris Henry Jr., who should return this summer from a knee injury and does have some proving to do to stay that high.
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Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei teammate Kayden Dixon-Wyatt is pushing for five-star status after a tremendous offseason and great junior season. Rochester (N.Y.) James Monroe standout Messiah Hampton is moving up fast, but maybe not fast enough. Wolfforth (Texas) Frenship's Chase Campbell is moving up as well.
At slot receiver, Tennessee commit Tyreek King, Georgia pledge Vance Spafford and Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech's CJ Sadler remain the top three but none have punched through to five-star status – yet. King and Spafford have already signed up for Rivals Five-Star and can earn that extra star with a huge performance there.
TIGHT END
For a few years, tight end was a position that was losing steam in the rankings because of NFL Draft trends – much like running back and linebacker – but it's becoming much stronger and should continue that way through an outstanding 2026 class.
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Two tight ends were taken in the first round of the draft in Michigan's Colston Loveland and Penn State's Tyler Warren and three more in the second round and that definitely got our attention. Oregon commit Kendre' Harrison is the only five-star so far but it seems like a near-lock that Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei's Mark Bowman will end up with that elite ranking as well.
Many others will get serious consideration as well as Kaide Prothro, Mack Sutter, Brock Harris, Carson Sneed, Lincoln Keyes, Ian Premer, JC Anderson and Matt Ludwig could all make a case to be inside the top 100.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The top of the offensive tackle group is absolutely loaded. There could be conversations about their order but Jackson Cantwell, Immanuel Iheanacho and Felix Ojo have proven time and again that they have very bright futures.
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More five-stars could be on the way at the position because Penn State commit Kevin Brown was so athletic and physical at the Rivals Five-Star as an underclassman and he'll be back in Indianapolis this summer. Sam Greer and John Turntine are different types of offensive tackles – Greer massive and physical, Turntine smaller but with great wingspan and athleticism – and are also one notch from five-star status.
There are no five-star interior offensive linemen but that could definitely change as well as two-way standout Lamar Brown has been dominant this offseason and Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher's Darius Gray have been phenomenal.
Clemson commit Grant Wise and Iowa commit Hudson Parliament could probably lift an 18-wheeler they're so strong.
DEFENSIVE LINE
LSU commit Richard Anderson is the lone five-star at defensive tackle and he's a physical force who carries 330-plus really well but he's probably topped out physically. Anderson is dominant and four-star Deuce Geralds will be under serious consideration for five-star status, especially with the NFL bloodlines, but we haven't pulled the trigger there yet. North Fort Myers, Fla., standout James Johnson has moved up a lot in the position rankings but we just need to see him more in person.
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At defensive end, five-star Richard Wesley showed dominance again at a camp Sunday where he's just a physical force that looks like Abdul Carter coming off the edge. He's definitely filling out physically and just dominant at the point of attack. Only having one defensive end isn't ideal but no one else has stepped up there yet.
At edge rusher, Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul's Anthony 'Tank' Jones is the only five-star but there are many to consider. Jake Kreul is the Energizer Bunny with a relentless motor, Zion Elee is lean but has maybe the best burst off the line of scrimmage in the class and Jamarion Carlton is a physical specimen who's a nice combination of both. More five-stars are needed along the defensive line by the end of this recruiting cycle.
LINEBACKER
Based on NFL Draft considerations, linebacker is a position that has been dramatically reduced in importance when it comes to the rankings process because they're just not being picked at a rapid clip by pro teams. That has to play a factor in our thinking and that has been represented as Loganville (Ga.) Grayson's Tyler Atkinson remains the lone five-star prospect.
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There will also be some things to consider such as Talanoa Ili and Xavier Griffin staying at linebacker since their height could move them to edge rusher over the long term based on draft trends. Ohio State lean Cincere Johnson could move up much higher and new Ole Miss commit Izayia Williams is a physical specimen and great at the position but five commitments already for him is a concern.
DEFENSIVE BACK
New USC commit Elbert Hill remains the top cornerback and one of only two five-stars at the position along with LSU pledge Havon Finney Jr., but there could be changes coming to the top end of this group.
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Four-star Samari Matthews is excellent and has had maybe the best offseason of anybody. Brandon Lockhart, also a USC pledge, is super smooth and showed it off again this weekend at an event. Alabama pledge Jorden Edmonds more than held his own at the Navy All-American Bowl. More needs to be seen from fellow Bama pledge Zyan Gibson and he'll be at the Rivals Five-Star.
Safety could also see some significant changes. Ohio State commit Blaine Bradford and Jireh Edwards are the five-stars and they'll battle for that top spot until the end. But there are many other long athletes behind them including Aiden Hall, Chace Calicut, Jett Washington and others who could compete for five-star status.
Bralan Womack, who has the Buckeyes high on his list among others, remains the top nickel.
ATHLETE
Through this recruiting cycle, we'll try our best to place a lot of these athletes at their future positions – if they only have one. Five-star Brandon Arrington is truly a two-way star and while he projects at cornerback, the Spring Valley (Calif.) Mount Miguel recruit is also a standout receiver because of his speed.
No one else there is probably close to a five-star ranking yet.
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USA Today
43 minutes ago
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Preseason US LBM Coaches Poll overlooks quarterback inexperience at top of rankings
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USA Today
43 minutes ago
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New York Times
44 minutes ago
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What we learned from Netflix's SEC football documentary, ‘Any Given Saturday'
These appeared to be the final days of the Billy Napier era at Florida. So much so that a Gator fan can be heard yelling 'Bye, Billy,' as the beleaguered coach walked off the field following a loss last October to Texas A&M. An awkward moment caught by a Netflix camera crew, which was still filming minutes later when Napier addressed his team in the locker room. Advertisement 'It's critical that we stick together. It's going to be hell out there,' Napier tells his players, pointing at the walls. 'It's going to be hell on the outside. Do not allow them to divide us.' This was one of several locker room scenes caught by Netflix cameras, who followed around a majority of SEC teams last year. There is South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, after a close loss to LSU, telling his team, 'we let their ass off the hook.' There is Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea, in his pregame speech before an upset of Auburn, claiming he overheard an Auburn coach tell his players, 'they're still Vanderbilt and we're still Auburn.' 'Think about that s—!' Lea shouts at his players. 'This is absolutely about earning some goddamn respect.' And in quieter moments, there is Arkansas coach Sam Pittman talking frankly about a game being important to keep his job. There is Beamer's wife, Emily, saying she doesn't like to leave the house and face people in the community after a loss. And the cameras are on inside LSU coach Brian Kelly's car as he talks with his agent Trace Armstrong, who also represents Garrett Nussmeier, about whether the LSU QB should turn pro. 'Interesting world we live in,' Kelly tells someone off-camera after the call ends. 'He's my agent. But he's representing players that are on my team.' SEC Football: Any Given Saturday, a Netflix Sports series offering an exclusive look at key matchups throughout the SEC season, premieres August 5. Witness the unparalleled pressure, commitment, and raw emotion it takes to be a D1 football player in college football's leading… — Netflix (@netflix) July 14, 2025 Netflix has scored hits with sports documentaries going behind the scenes on Formula One, the PGA Tour and the NFL in recent years, among others. Now college football gets its turn: 'Any Given Saturday' is available on Netflix starting Aug. 5, with a seven-episode run that covers the 2024 season through an SEC lens. Advertisement Formula One gained popularity in the U.S. after 'Drive to Survive' debuted in 2019. Paul Martin, the English executive producer for Box to Box Films, which produced both 'Drive to Survive' and 'Any Given Saturday,' was asked if they were aiming to do the reverse this time, bringing college football to a worldwide audience. 'I think the truth of it is when we're making these shows, I try not to think about who the audience is going to be,' Martin said. 'As we never did on Formula One, we never sat down and said, 'Hey, can we do a show that really introduces the sport to an American audience. We just went out and we made what we thought was the best show possible, and hopefully people get on board with that and see that and agree that they like it. We certainly want to keep the SEC fans happy. It would be great if new fans come in.' SEC coaches are notorious for their secrecy, and six of the conference's biggest brands — Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Missouri and Oklahoma — chose not to let Netflix film them. The series does suffer from not having those big brands. Tennessee was the only College Football Playoff participant that allowed Netflix to film, and its presence seems tacked-on, making only a late appearance in the final episode. But the series does have compelling moments. South Carolina and Vanderbilt, which had the two most surprising, feel-good seasons, are prominently featured. Napier's escape from the hot seat — at least for one year — is well chronicled in the second episode. So is Florida's quarterback switch from Graham Mertz to DJ Lagway — and Mertz let Netflix cameras come in the room as he prepared for ACL surgery. 'You're the first person to ever shave my leg,' Mertz tells a nurse technician. The show, released as preseason practice before 2025 begins, may be about the 2024 season, but most of the players featured are back, including Lagway, Nussmeier, South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers, Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, Auburn WR Cam Coleman and LSU LB Whit Weeks. And with no SEC head coaches being fired last season, all the coaches are back, too. The episodes delve into how close some came to not being back. 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There's a lot that didn't make the cut, and some teams (such as Kentucky) hardly got airtime. Recognizable college football personalities — Paul Finebaum, Andy Staples and Alyssa Lang — serve to set the scene. There's plenty of football; the camera shots are mostly via the sideline, so it's not just television replays. But the on-field action comprises a small part of the series. And lest it seem pure SEC propaganda, the first episode homes in on LSU losing to Southern California, and the second episode opens with Florida losing to Miami. The latter sets up the story of Napier's seeming fall, with Gator fans clamoring for Lagway to start, and Napier eventually pulling out of it. 'Credit to Florida, when you would fully expect them to shut down, because they were under so much pressure internally and externally, they let us keep the cameras rolling,' Martin said. Martin described himself as a longtime Miami Dolphins fan and had lived in Los Angeles. So American football wasn't foreign to him, but he had 'never really gotten into college football,' he said. A contact at Creative Artists Agency, who was a 'Drive to Survive' fan, suggested Martin do a college football documentary. When Martin said he wouldn't know where to start, CAA suggested the SEC, which used CAA to sell its media rights. An introduction was made to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, with discussions beginning in the summer of 2023. They went to an athletic director's meeting in North Carolina, and then a coaches meeting in Birmingham, Ala., along with Netflix officials, presenting the vision to the coaches. Advertisement The filming was done quietly, with Netflix and the SEC not officially announcing the deal until after the season. 'I mean, it was great,' said Taurean York, a linebacker at Texas A&M who was filmed with his family eating Thanksgiving dinner. 'The crew ran it the right way. They mic'd you up for practice. They watched practice. They had you doing stuff after practice with them. They just want to see what it was like to be a Division I football player.' Pavia, the Vanderbilt quarterback, is one of the brash co-stars of the show, dishing out one-liners about Auburn coach Hugh Freeze ('He had an opportunity to recruit me. But he didn't') and Alabama ('I know it's Alabama and they got six first-rounders. Well I'm a first-rounder in my mind. You've gotta be a little psychotic, you know what I mean?') But Pavia is, in one scene, dinged by one of his teammates. During a film session, an unidentified teammate playfully — maybe — tells him: 'You don't do s— at practice. You sit and practice and run around and talk s—.' When Pavia asks about run plays, the teammate says: 'Those are fake rushes. We don't use those in the game.' In another episode, Texas A&M and Mississippi State are featured leading into rivalry games against Texas and Ole Miss. Both games go the wrong way for the team Netflix featured. That's a theme: This is not a series meant to highlight just the winners. It's also a byproduct of the winning teams not participating, another reason some of the season's biggest games — Georgia-Texas, Georgia-Alabama — are not in the series. 'You never get everyone in the first season,' Martin said. 'For whatever reason, some people just want to see what it's going to look like. Some people feel like, 'hey, listen, I might win this thing this year, and I don't want any distractions.' And we fully respect anyone's decision to be in it or not.' Yes, Martin said 'first season.' And if it returns for a second, it would likely be the SEC. That makes the response to the series intriguing: Does the series do so well that Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Missouri feel like they missed out? Another season, and a shot at more programs, would produce even more compelling stories. 'Hopefully we'll get to do some more,' Martin said. 'You've got to find an audience for it. But I think the audience will be there.' (Top photo of Napier: James Gilbert / Getty Images for ONIT)
