Five programs that should be pleased with 2023 rankings release
The updated 2023 Rivals250 dropped on Tuesday and there was a shift with some top prospects across the country. As a result, there were some changes in the 2023 Team Rankings. Coming out of this latest refresh, here are five programs that should be pleased with the rankings headed into the season.
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Should Branch be the No. 1 WR? | Who will be the next five-star?
Tuesday: New Rivals250 | Biggest Movers | Gorney goes position-by-position
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | QB rankings spotlight
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released | Could this be the best QB class ever?
Friday: State rankings released | Who is on cusp of four-star ranking?
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NOTRE DAME
Upon the rankings release, Notre Dame was able to take over the No. 1 spot in the 2023 team rankings due to multiple commits seeing big rises. Most notably, recent running back commit Dylan Edwards debuted in the rankings at No. 150 after a big performance at Future 50 last month.
Similarly, Peyton Bowen saw a jump into the top 50 after his own big performance at Future 50. Charles Jagusah and Braylon James also had healthy rises that helped push the Fighting Irish safely into the No. 1 position going into the season.
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OKLAHOMA
The debate on Jackson Arnold being a five-star going into the season was a heated one as some felt he did everything he needed at both Elite 11 and Future 50 to earn that status while some felt his struggles in 7-on-7 play at both events warranted concern. Nevertheless, Arnold saw a 17-spot rise to No. 21 overall, becoming the highest-ranked four-star in the country.
Adepoju Adebawore saw one of the bigger rises in his entire position group this time around as he moved up 64 spots into the No. 52 position. Other entries in the top 100 include Cayden Green (No. 38), Jaquaize Pettaway (No. 59) and Colton Vasek (No. 81). Recent outside linebacker commit Samuel Omosigho also debuted in the rankings at No. 194.
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USC
USC saw a pair of commits in the top 100 rise into the top 50 as Zachariah Branch has safely put himself among the five-star ranks at the No. 12 position while Braylan Shelby moved to No. 47 following a freakish track and field season.
Malachi Nelson remained in the top 10 while the Trojans sported six total commits in the rankings, all within the top 120.
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OREGON
The second-biggest riser in the entire rankings release was Oregon wide receiver commit Jurrion Dickey, who jumped 134 spots into the No. 23 position, just three spots behind five-star status. Arguably more impactful, Dante Moore also received a huge bump all the way to No. 2 overall after standout performances this summer at both Overtime 7v7 and Elite 11.
Further down in the ranks, Mississippi running back Dante Dowdell was another Oregon commit that made the biggest risers list as he moved up 73 spots to No. 173 overall.
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TEXAS
Other than Arch Manning holding onto his No. 1 ranking, Texas received a lot of positives in the new rankings release. Johntay Cook now sits at No. 27 in the country following big performances at Overtime 7v7, Future 50 and the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament.
Recent commit Malik Muhammad jumped to No. 34 overall after being in the discussion for the top cornerback at Overtime 7v7 and backing it up with another solid performance at Future 50.
In all, Texas has a whopping 14 commits in the Rivals250.