Analyzing 2017 position rankings
The February update of the Rivals position rankings sees some positions experience significant changes, while others look very similar to the post-junior season update.
RELATED: Full 2017 position rankings
NOTABLE RISER: Sam Ehlinger, Austin (Tex.) Westlake (Up 9 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Jake Bentley, Opelika, Ala. (Down 4 spots)
COMMENTS: A couple big moves highlight a list that otherwise saw very little movement. Ehlinger, a Texas commit, jumps all the way up to No. 6 in the ranking after his nine-point move. The other big move belongs to Kentucky commit Mac Jones, who earns his fourth star and climbs into the top 15 of this ranking.
NOTABLE RISER: Jack Sears, San Clemente, Calif. (Up 5 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: After a bump to a 6.0 Rivals Rating and move into the Rivals100, Michigan commit Dylan McCaffrey is the new No. 2 in this ranking behind Texas A&M commit Tate Martell, who remains No. 1. Sears’ bump earns him a spot in the top 10, while Ocala (Fla.) Vanguard signal caller N’Kosi Perry makes the highest debut at No. 11.
NOTABLE RISER: Stephen Carr, Fontana (Calif.) Summit (New No. 1)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Only one change happens in this update at the all-purpose back position and that is Carr, a USC commit, nudging just slightly ahead of Maryland native Anthony McFarland for the No. 1 spot on this list after being No. 2 behind McFarland. Tennessee native Chase Hayden earned his fourth star in this update, but remains as the No. 7 player in this ranking.
NOTABLE RISER: Todd Sibley, Akron (Ohio) Hoban (Up 1 spot)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Toneil Carter, Houston (Tex.) Langham Carter (Down 6 spots)
COMMENTS: Carter’s drop is the only change in the top 15, and it makes room for Clearwater, Fla., four-star Adarius Lemons to move into the top 10. Mississippi native Kylin Hill makes the highest debut at No. 20 after moving up to a 5.7 Rivals Rating, while Sibley, an Ohio State commit, is now the highest-rated three-star in the ranking.
NOTABLE RISER: Daquon Green, Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Bay Tech (Up 13 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Princeton Fant, LaVergne, Tenn. (Down 12 spots)
COMMENTS: The top of this list is more crowded after seven prospects in the top 18 all saw their ratings increase during this rankings period, including new five-stars Donovan Peoples-Jones and Joseph Lewis. The highest debut in this ranking is made by California native Bryan Thompson, who settles in at No. 18, while Green, a Florida commit, breaks into the top 30 after his bump up to four stars.
NOTABLE RISER: Kedrick James, Waco (Tex.) La Vega (Up 3 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Two Texas-based prospects earned their fourth stars and reside in the top 10 after this update. James, a Baylor commit, made the biggest jump in position, landing at No. 7. Meanwhile, Texas commit Major Tennison jumped two spots and sits at No. 10. The top five, led by Notre Dame commit Brock Wright, remains unchanged.
NOTABLE RISER: Robert Hainsey, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (Up 18 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Carter Lynch, Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s (Down 15 spots)
COMMENTS: The four five-stars who top this list remain unchanged, with Brooklyn’s Isaiah Wilson still leading the list at No. 1. Spots 5-9, though, welcome four new names, including Hainsey and Alabama commit Alex Leatherwood, who take over spots eight and nine, respectively. The highest debut comes from California native Kanan Ray, who checks in at No. 24 after he earns four stars.
NOTABLE RISER: Edward Ingram, DeSoto, Tex. (Up 10 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: The top 10 sees a lot of shake up, with Ingram now rounding out that segment following his move to four-stars. Three players now in the top five, including Miami commit Navaughn Donaldson, earned a bump in their Rivals Rating and climbed during this update. Another new name in the top 10 is Charlotte native T.J. Moore, who moves over from the offensive tackle ranking and debuts at No. 8.
NOTABLE RISER: Cesar Ruiz, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (Up 2 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Jack Anderson, Frisco, Tex. (Down 1 spot)
COMMENTS: Ruiz used a strong showing a the Under Armour Future 50 event in Orlando last month to boost his Rivals Rating and take over the top spot. Anderson, a Texas Tech commit, had been No. 1, but slides to No. 2 after he drops from a 6.0 to a 5.9 Rivals Rating. The rest of this ranking remains unchanged and stands at five total prospects.
NOTABLE RISER: Michael Allen, Sugar Hill (Ga.) Lanier (Up 12 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Damion Barber, Harrisburg, Pa. (Down 10 spots)
COMMENTS: The February update sees this ranking grow by 10 players, several of whom come in from other positions. That is the case with new No. 2, Jarez Parks of Florida, who was in the outside linebacker rankings previously. Allen’s big jump lands him a spot in the top 10 at No. 7, while UCLA commit Hunter Echols makes the highest debut of prospects who did not change position at No. 17.
NOTABLE RISER: Martin Andrus, Los Angeles, Calif. (Up 4 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: With former No. 4 Chuck Filiaga moving out to the offensive tackle rankings, Andrus now rounds out the top five after his four-spot move in this update. New four-star LaBryan Ray out of Alabama makes the highest debut on the list at No. 12, while Kansas State commit Wyatt Hubert debuts at No. 19. Iowa commit A.J. Epenesa remains No. 1 in this ranking.
NOTABLE RISER: Jordon Riley, Durham (N.C.) Riverside (Up 4 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: The No. 1 ranked player in the 2017 class, Marvin Wilson, headlines the defensive tackle list, and he is joined in the five-star ranks now by LSU commit Tyler Shelvin. The No. 3 spot belongs to Florida State commit Ja’Len Parks after he saw a bump in his Rivals Rating. Further down the list, Riley and Ohio native Derrius Mullins receive bumps with Riley now at No. 14 and Mullins at No. 22.
NOTABLE RISER: Anthony Hines, Plano (Tex.) East (Up 5 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Hines accounts for the only movement in the top 10, jumping from No. 10 to No. 5 after his performance at the Under Armour Future 50 event in Orlando last month. The highest debut was made by Alabama native Sterling Jones at No. 16, while California’s Ezekiel Noa and Mississippi’s Aaron Odom also make first-time appearances after the ranking moves out to include a top 25.
NOTABLE RISER: Jaden Hunter, Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake (Up 4 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Markail Benton, Phenix City (Ala.) Central (Down 7 spots)
COMMENTS: Hunter’s bump earns him a spot in the top five, but the majority of action occurs in spots 12-26 where prospects like Florida State commit Bradley Jennings Jr. now reside after upward moves. The ranking grows by 10 and now includes 40 prospects, including Syracuse commit Isaiah McDuffie and UCLA commit Rahyme Johnson.
NOTABLE RISER: AJ Terrell, Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake (Up 16 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Marcus Williamson, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (Down 13 spots)
COMMENTS: A trio of five-stars top this ranking, led by Western Pennsylvania native Lamont Wade at No. 1. Dallas’ Chevin Calloway cracks the top 10 after a small bump and Terrell is now up to No. 13 after his big move. Another big move was made by Oklahoma City native Justin Broiles, who went from No. 40 in the last ranking all the way up inside the top 20 after this update.
NOTABLE RISER: Brian Edwards, Miramar, Fla. (Debuts at No. 16)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Davondre Robinson, Santee (S.C.) Lake Marion (Down 3 spots)
COMMENTS: Robinson’s drop accounts for the only movement in the top 10, but he remains in that group at No. 9. The rest of the list also sees very few changes, except for a few new additions. Edwards makes the highest debut, followed by Houston native Grant Delpit at No. 21. The new additions account for an expanded list that now ranks the top 40 prospects at the position.
NOTABLE RISER: Grant Calcaterra, Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic (Up 4 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Maleik Gray, La Vergne, Tenn. (Down 6 spots)
COMMENTS: After drops from Gray and Nathan Tilford, Tampa’s Devan Barrett takes over the No. 2 spot on this list behind Tennessee native JaCoby Stevens, who remains No. 1. North Carolina native Hamsah Nasirildeen and Juliano Falaniko of American Samoa are new four-stars who now rank in the top 30. Calcaterra is one of a pair of three-stars moving up the list, and he now ranks No. 40.