Five-Star Checkup: Class of 2022
Now a month into the college football season, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney takes a look back at the 2022 five-stars to see how they’re performing so far. This is a weeklong series looking at all the five-stars by year still playing college ball.
THIS SERIES: Checking up on the 2023 five-stars
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FINAL 2023 TEAM RANKINGS: Comprehensive (overall) ranking | High school/JUCO ranking | Transfer portal ranking
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer portal player ranking | Transfer portal team ranking | Transfer Tracker | Message board
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The five-star athlete pulled a major signing day stunner when he flipped from Florida State to Jackson State to play for coach Deion Sanders and then after one season there he followed Sanders to Colorado.
Hunter has been a weapon for the upstart Buffaloes on offense and defense but especially at cornerback where he’s totaled nine tackles, an interception and two pass breakups in three games. He suffered a lacerated liver on a late hit against Colorado State and missed the Oregon game last weekend.
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Texas A&M emerged as the leader in his recruitment over Tennessee and Georgia and after backing out of a visit to Alabama and showing up in College Station in November of his senior year, he committed on that trip. In his freshman season, Nolen totaled 29 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Through four games, the five-star defensive tackle has 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks for the Aggies.
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In the spring before his senior season, Klubnik committed to Clemson over Texas, Florida and North Carolina. He landed his offer from the Tigers minutes after Ty Simpson picked Alabama.
The former Austin (Texas) Westlake standout is now Clemson’s starting quarterback and has completed 66 percent of his passes for 976 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions so far this season.
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An early Oklahoma commitment, Burden backed off that pledge and then a couple months later he chose Missouri over Georgia. The five-star receiver from East St. Louis, Ill., has been phenomenal for the Tigers and leads the team in all receiving categories by far with 32 catches for 504 yards and three touchdowns.
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A Michigan legacy, Johnson picked the Wolverines in the winter of his junior year despite a major push from USC and Ohio State as he and fellow five-star Domani Jackson were close friends. The Trojans continued to push but couldn’t flip him.
Johnson has played in two games this season with two tackles as he’s dealt with injuries after an excellent freshman season.
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Alexander played sparingly last season and took the redshirt year and so far this season after moving from inside to outside linebacker, he has one tackle in four games. After backing off an early commitment to Alabama, Alexander re-committed to the Crimson Tide in the summer before his senior season over Florida and Georgia.
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Penn State beat out a serious rush from Georgia while Alabama was also in there for the five-star defensive end from Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh. But he had the Nittany Lions out front for a long time.
Through four games, Dennis-Sutton has four tackles (one for loss) with a forced fumble and two QB hurries. He had three sacks in his freshman year.
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After an early commitment to USC following a visit to Los Angeles, Williams flipped his pledge to Georgia in the middle of his senior season. Through four games this season, the five-star defensive end has two sacks. As a freshman, Williams totaled 28 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 31 QB hurries.
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Alexander made a commitment to Georgia on signing day of the previous recruiting cycle but after taking a visit to Texas A&M, he backed off that pledge in the summer before his senior season. In October, Alexander re-committed to the Bulldogs over the Aggies, Alabama, Miami and others.
After totaling two sacks and 13 quarterback hurries as a freshman, Alexander transferred to USC for this season where he’s had 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks in four games.
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After an early commitment to Ohio State, Singletary backed off that pledge and then later picked Georgia over Florida and Miami. He redshirted in 2022 for the Bulldogs and then transferred to Arkansas for this season where he’s totaled 10 tackles and three pass breakups in four games.
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As a freshman, Styles played in 12 games and totaled nine tackles including one for loss mainly as a 17-year-old who reclassified down a class. So far this season, the five-star athlete is seventh on the team with 14 tackles.
In October of his senior year, Styles picked Ohio State over Notre Dame, where his brother played but has since transferred to Columbus. Styles’ father played for the Buckeyes.
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In mid-December, McMillan, who didn’t like the recruiting process much at all, flipped his commitment from Oregon to Arizona where he’s become one of the program's best receivers in recent memory.
This season the five-star has 21 catches for a team-high 341 yards and three touchdowns. As a freshman, McMillan finished with 39 receptions for 702 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns.
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As a freshman, Jones played in 13 games but mainly on special teams and he had a sack against rival Georgia Tech. So far this season, Jones has played in three games with three tackles.
He is a Florida State legacy and the Seminoles were believed to be the leader for some time, but Georgia beat them out, along with Alabama, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, on signing day.
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Campbell played in the season opener as a freshman and then in almost every game to close out his freshman year before starting at right guard in Texas’ first four games this season. Texas was always considered a front-runner in his recruitment and he picked the Longhorns during the second signing period over mainly Oklahoma along with Alabama, LSU and USC.
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In the summer before his senior season, Shaw committed to North Carolina over Clemson and Georgia among many others. As a freshman, Shaw totaled 18 tackles and two pass breakups in 13 games.
So far through four wins, the five-star defensive tackle has played in three games and has recorded only four tackles.
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As coaching changes happened at Florida and LSU, Wiggins kept a close watch leading up to decision day as the hometown Tigers beat the Gators and Alabama for the Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep Academy five-star defensive end.
As a freshman, Wiggins finished with five tackles in five games. He’s only played in one game so far this season and has no stats.
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After nearly a year-long commitment to USC, Jackson backed off his pledge for about a month before re-committing to the Trojans over Alabama, Michigan and others. As a freshman, Jackson played in seven games with two tackles. So far this season playing in all four wins, Jackson has totaled 11 tackles and two pass breakups.
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The Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter five-star linebacker made an early commitment to Ohio State and never really wavered although Alabama and others tried to flip him numerous times. Playing special teams last season, Hicks had six tackles. This season the five-star linebacker has played in all four games with two stops.
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Notre Dame and Ohio State made serious pushes for the Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk five-star safety but Nwankpa picked Iowa in the end. As a freshman, Nwankpa had 12 tackles and a pick-six. So far this season, he’s totaled nine tackles and an interception in four games for the Hawkeyes.
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An LSU legacy (his father Jamie was also an LSU quarterback), Howard committed early to the Tigers and while many others tried to flip him, he stuck with his pledge. His commitment lasted longer than his time in Baton Rouge, though, as he transferred after one season and limited action to Ole Miss. In a stacked QB room led by starter Jaxson Dart, Howard has only played in one game this season.
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Texas A&M beat out Texas and LSU for the Houston (Texas) North Shore five-star cornerback but he ran into trouble numerous times in College Station and since transferred to LSU after one season. There were some apparent issues there as well but so far this season he’s played in three games with six tackles and a pass breakup.
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Florida State, Georgia and USC were also involved in Pritchett’s recruitment but Alabama won out early in his senior season. After redshirting in his freshman year, Pritchett has played in a few games for the Crimson Tide this season but is also battling for time with five-star freshman Kadyn Proctor.
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After being committed to LSU early in his recruitment, the New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr five-star receiver backed off that pledge and picked Alabama, admitting he would’ve stayed with the Tigers if LSU retained coach Ed Orgeron.
After dealing with injuries and hardly playing as a freshman in Tuscaloosa, Anderson transferred to LSU. He has eight catches for 33 yards in four games so far.
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North Carolina beat out Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia to land Rice in the middle of his senior season as the Cavaliers were probably the biggest threat to the Tar Heels. He appeared in two games at right guard as a freshman and he’s seen action in one game so far this year.
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An early Oklahoma commitment, Brown flipped to USC once Lincoln Riley left the Sooners for the Trojans. The top-rated all-purpose back in the 2022 class, Brown had 238 rushing yards and three touchdowns along with 16 catches for 175 yards and three more scores as a freshman. He was moved strictly to receiver this season where he’s played in only one game.
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Humphrey played in three games in his freshman year and so far this season has played in three games with five tackles. An early Florida commit, Humphrey backed off that pledge and chose Georgia over Texas A&M and LSU.
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An early LSU commitment, Mathews backed off that pledge and the Ponchatoula, La., five-star took it all the way to the second signing day when he chose Texas A&M over the Tigers and Florida. After starting the last three games of his freshman season, Mathews has totaled 12 tackles and a pass breakup so far this year.
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Following an early commitment to Florida, James backed off that pledge but the Mobile (Ala.) Faith Academy five-star linebacker ended up picking the Gators again over Alabama and others about two months later. He was sixth on the team with 47 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a freshman. This season, James leads the team with 27 tackles and a sack.
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After Brent Venables left Clemson to take the Oklahoma job, Campbell reopened his recruitment and days later picked Alabama over Texas A&M and others. Campbell mainly played special teams as a freshman and this season the five-star linebacker has registered 14 tackles (one for loss) so far.
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On the second signing day, Stewart committed to Texas A&M over Georgia and Miami as both of those programs made serious late pushes for the Opa Locka (Fla.) Monsignor Pace standout. As a freshman, Stewart totaled 23 tackles (3.5 for loss) including 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
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The five-star offensive lineman from Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach played in all 13 games as a freshman including 118 total snaps on offense. Conerly has played in all four of Oregon’s games this season. At times, Washington and Michigan were the front-runners and then it looked like USC would win out but two months after the second signing day, Conerly picked Oregon over the Trojans following a late visit.
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A reclass from the 2023 group, Overton chose Texas A&M over Georgia and Oregon a couple months following the 2022 signing day. Overton started the last three games of his freshman season with 31 tackles and a sack. So far this year, the five-star from Milton, Ga., has three tackles in four games.
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After an early Texas commitment, Stewart backed off that pledge and months later the five-star receiver from Frisco (Texas) Liberty picked Texas A&M over the Longhorns, Florida, Alabama and LSU. Stewart led the Aggies with 53 catches for 649 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. So far this season, he has 22 receptions for 307 yards and three scores.