12/8/2014 football Edit

Eason rises to No. 1 in Rivals100

Mike Farrell

National Recruiting Director

Paramus (N.J.) Paramus Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary was outstanding on film and moved up to No. 2 while new five-star additions Marlon Davidson, a defensive end from Montgomery (Ala.) Carver, and quarterback Shea Patterson from Shreveport (La.) Calvary Academy jump into the top 10 at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively. Davidson is that rare big defensive end who can get after the passer and is effective against the run. He makes some plays that big men shouldn't be able to make, especially in changing direction and in pursuit of the football. Davidson moved up an impressive 70 spots into the top five.

Louisiana quarterback Shea Patterson became a five-star after his stellar junior season.

As for Patterson, who moved up 34 spots, he's just good at everything.

Three other players make their debuts as five-stars led by St. Petersburg (Fla.) IMG Academy cornerback Saivion Smith, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete who can do so many things on the football field. Smith checks in at No. 16, a bump of eight spots, and impresses on both offense and defense.

At No. 18 is new five-star Daelin Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 227-pound linebacker who is committed to USC. Hayes played some of his junior year in California before moving back to Michigan and enrolling at Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech and showed off his tackling skills in space and physicality.

At No. 19 is a familiar name in Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas defensive end Nick Bosa, the son of former Boston College All-American John Bosa, and brother of current Ohio State All-American Joey Bosa. While Joey was ranked No. 47 nationally, he never got a fifth star on Rivals.com and clearly has played up to that level in college. Watching Nick on film and in person, there is a lot of Joey there and we don't plan on making the same mistake twice. At 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, Nick is growing into his frame just like Joey did and he makes plays at the point of attack against the run and in the backfield with his quickness. He's strong, relentless and plays with an anger that can't be taught. Bosa moved up 27 spots.

The only other big move among the five stars was the slide of Toccoa (Ga.) Stephens County offensive tackle Ben Cleveland for reasons essentially out of his control. For some reason Cleveland is playing mostly defensive end and hasn't seen much time at offensive tackle but still has sky-high potential. Cleveland keeps his fifth star but slides 17 spots down to No. 20 overall.