Five teams that should be pleased with new 2020 Rivals250 rankings
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK: Analysts discuss first 2020 Rivals250 | Top 10 for class of 2020 revealed | Mind of Mike
The Rivals.com rankings release for the class of 2020 continued on Wednesday with the debut of the Rivals250. The first full release for the class saw plenty of new players jump onto the national radar but also included several players who have already made a commitment or are trending in that direction. With the full list now on display, we examine five college teams that should be feeling pretty good about how the new rankings shook out.
MIAMI
The U already has eight total commitments in the class of 2020 and six of them landed in the initial Rivals250. The group is led by wide receiver commit Marc Britt, who sits at No. 43 overall in the nation. Since Mark Richt arrived in Coral Gables to coach his alma mater, he’s re-established the Canes as a recruiting force in South Florida and that’s showing up year after year. After a successful season on the field in 2017, his sales pitch is even more enticing to Sunshine State prospects and it’s leading to more jumping into the fold earlier and earlier. All six of Rivals250 prospects committed to the Canes are from the area known as the “State of the U” and by the time the class if all said and done the school will likely have double-digit signees from the same area.
OKLAHOMA
The Sooners already have three commitments in the Rivals250, led by the nation’s No. 18 overall prospect, running back Jase McClellan. Coming off of a run to the College Football Playoff in 2017, the Sooners are ranked No. 3 in the Rivals.com team rankings for 2019 and are off to a great start when it comes to the class of 2020. There are also three prospects from the state of Oklahoma in the initial Rivals250, including prime Sooners wide receiver target Javian Hester (No. 98). The Sooners have done a nice job keeping talent close to home in recent years and having a trio of elite prospects early on only boosts the likelihood of that trend continuing in the future.
ALABAMA
Recruiting fans are used to seeing the Tide near the top of the recruiting rankings on a yearly basis and the school is once again off to a hot start. Alabama currently has three commitments in the Rivals100, led by the No. 96 overall player, wide receiver Dazalin Worsham. The Tide generally start as early as some programs in terms of taking commitments from high school underclassmen, but having Worsham and the nation’s No. 177 overall player, linebacker Jackson Bratton, in the state of Alabama has made the school’s job a little easier. The Tide are also heavily involved with five-stars McKinnley Jackson and Arik Gilbert, and are once again in a good position when it comes to building an elite class.
USC
The Trojans don’t have any commitments yet in the class of 2020 but that doesn’t mean their fans don’t have a reason to celebrate the new rankings. California prospects, and more importantly to USC fans, Southern California prospects currently sit in the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 overall positions. Five-star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is obviously a national-level recruit, but the Trojans have already made quite an impression on him early in the process. The same can be said for No. 2 overall prospect, linebacker Justin Flowe. With five California prospects in the initial top 17, it’s shaping up for a great year for talent on the West Coast and the Trojans could be in line to benefit from that more than any other program.
GEORGIA
The Bulldogs have two early commits in the Rivals100, but that’s just the start of the reason why the school has to be happy about the new rankings. As evidenced by the way they closed 2018, the Bulldogs now can recruit at a national level and still have the benefit of having a lot of talent right in their backyard. That’s once again the case in 2020, as five of the top 24 prospects in the country are from the Peach State. But it’s not just the top of the Rivals250 that includes Georgia targets as the state has a whopping 28 prospects ranked overall. Obviously Georgia can’t land them all but a healthy dose of in-state talent should be plenty for the school from which to choose.
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Revealing the top 10 players | Making the Case: Three who could land in top 10 | Who is the toughest to rank in 2020?
Tuesday: New Rivals100 | Mind of Mike: Farrell reacts to new R100 | Who should be No. 1 in 2020? | Will No. 1 player in 2020 head to Clemson?
Wednesday: The inital Rivals250 for 2020 | Five teams that should be pleased the most with new R250 | Rival Views | Godfather and Gorney Podcast | Rivals Rankings Podcast
Thursday: QB rankings | RB rankings | WR/TE rankings | OL rankings | Commitment Issues Podcast | Take Two | New Rivals250 by the numbers
Friday: DL rankings | LB rankings | DB rankings | ATH rankings | Take Two
Saturday: Team rankings breakdown
Sunday: Mid-Atlantic states rankings | Southeast states | Midwest states | Texas | Florida | West states