East Coast Spotlight: Big rankings questions

The high school football season is more than halfway over and some answers to the big rankings questions are coming into focus. This week the Rivals national analyst team will be taking a close look at some of the biggest rankings questions in their parts of the country. Up first is the East region.

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Hobbs hasn't taken his foot off the gas after seeing his recruitment blow up because of his performance at the Rivals Camp Series in Charlotte in the spring. The massive defensive lineman is having an outstanding senior campaign and it's clear he'll find his way into the Rivals250 in the next rankings update.

Where should he land? There will be a lot of shuffling in the order of defensive linemen but it wouldn't be surprising to see him inside the Rivals100 or right around that range.

Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are all battling for his services and for good reason.

There are just 10 prospects in North Carolina rated at least four-stars, which is slightly lower than the last few years, but a few three-star players are looking to change that. Tennessee receiver commit Nathan Leacock has had an impressive senior year and is one of the leading receivers in the state. Defensive back Chris Peal's physical traits are what college coaches are looking for in the secondary.

Florida State defensive line commit Keith Sampson is a four-star candidate as well. He's been living in the opposing backfield this year. The total number of North Carolina prospects that get at least a four-star rating this year may not be an all-time high but there are some moves that could push that number higher.

This is a tough question because the other players at the top of the 2024 rankings are really impressive too but Davis needs to be seriously considered as a top-five prospect. Davis and his Providence Day squad have blown out all but one of their six opponents this season so his stats may not be as eye-popping as some other elite signal callers. Still, he's completing nearly 77 percent of his passes on the season and has a 22-5 touchdown to interception ratio. If Davis keeps this up, the discussions about him moving into the top five will continue to heat up.

Four of the top 10 defensive tackles reside in the East region and the difference at the top of the rankings is razor thin. Ohio State commit Jason Moore leads the group followed closely by Georgia commit Jamaal Jarrett and Alabama native James Smith. Moore and Jarrett will be the focus in this article but Smith is very much in the conversation for the top spot at the position.

Moore's natural athleticism, length and ability to make plays in the backfield have propelled him to what has been a dominant senior season so far. Jarrett, on the other hand, is a massive interior presence that can throw around offensive linemen and stop ball carriers before they can cross the line of scrimmage. Each of them have different styles and fit different schemes so closely watching the rest of their senior seasons could help sort out the remaining questions about each of them.

Lambert is a highly touted offensive tackle out of the Boston area and currently ranks just inside the 2024 Rivals100. He's a great athlete at the position with a soccer background and excellent flexibility in his lower half. Strength is a bit of a question with Lambert and his dominance as a run blocker leaves more to be desired but his skills as a pass blocker are very good.

He still has plenty of time to develop and iron out some of those issues but his current ranking as the No. 5 offensive tackle in the class may be a bit high for now.