Rivals.com national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. looks at four burning questions ahead of the next rankings update for the 2025 recruiting cycle, including potential new five-stars as the season begins.
THIS SERIES: Four tough rankings questions in the Midwest | Southeast | Mid-South
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MORE: Recruiting Rumor Mill | Do Nebraska and Tennessee have a legit shot at five-star David Sanders? | NFL Top 100 players as high school recruits | Ten programs that won July recruiting
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
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1. Can either Jaime Ffrench or Hylton Stubbs earn a fifth star?
Jacksonville is unusually loaded among college football prospects in the 2025 cycle, especially at the top. Right now, Florida State offensive line commitment Solomon Thomas is the lone five-star of the group, but that could be set to change after what Mandarin High duo Jaime Ffrench and Hylton Stubbs have done over the last year. Each had exceptional seasons as national recruits and each has followed it up with banner performances since -- including nearby at the Rivals Five-Star event at the Jacksonville Jaguars facility.
Ffrench has looked like an elite wide receiver for years, known for his polish and consistency as a true inside-out threat. This offseason, has has reinforced those notions while working very well against blue-chip defenders in many settings with gaudy wins at all three levels. Stubbs has flashed as much as any safety projection in the cycle, taking home MVP honors at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Miami back in April before a strong 7-on-7 slate showcasing true range with the ball in the air. At the Rivals Five-Star, he helped his team to an undefeated 7-on-7 run, held up in 1-on-1 coverage and even won the vertical leap challenge.
The time, perhaps for each, has come.
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2. Who is the top prospect at IMG Academy?
The combination of elite recruits in multiple classes, new transfers and sky-high expectations always has IMG Academy buzzing this time of year. Ahead of another camp of good-on-good and that national schedule, trying to spot the best on the field won't be easy. Going into these updates, 2026 offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe occupies the top spot, but he has added competition going into August.
No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2025 Rivals250, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, has long been on the brink of five-star status as he showcases a true three-down skillset to match his prep production and NFL pedigree. Fellow top-100 recruits in wide receiver Donovan Olugbode and defensive backs Ksani Jiles as well as Zech Fort have long been among the most coveted on campus. New acquisitions in the trenches may make it just as interesting, with towering Alabama offensive lineman Michael Carroll and ultra-productive pass rusher Jake Kruel now on campus in Bradenton.
The competition at the top, with this current roster at least, has seldom seemed as fluid. It won't be easy to go against the rising-senior already tabbed No.1 at his position in America, either.
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3. How high can recently committed linemen Ziyare Addison and Max Buchanan climb?
These two central Florida offensive linemen have each climbed up the ranks in about every update Rivals has produced over the last year. Each started lower than where they probably should have, too, for clear reasons now in the rearview mirror. Ziyare Addison is a multi-position, multi-sport star who converted to offensive tackle as an upperclassman. Max Buchanan played much lighter in 2023 due to an illness he hadn't previously disclosed.
Since, Addison's length and athleticism has created as much intrigue as any prospect at any position relative to a rise. Buchanan, now up over 300 pounds and carrying it better than ever while getting his strength back, has been equally as impressive in competitive settings against blue-chippers up and down the defensive line. Each had arguably their best showing of the offseason against truly elite competition at the Rivals Five-Star, too.
it's safe to say both Addison and Buchanan are working up the ladder, so it's just a matter of how high each will present in the final preseason update.
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4. Who is the top passer in Florida for 2026?
This question will be one repeated and analyzed again and again all the way through January 2026, so let's dive into it before these big arms kick off their junior seasons. The best of the bunch as of this writing are each four-stars early on in the tracking of the 2026 class. Texas commitment Dia Bell is ranked highest, with Michigan commitment Brady Hart, Notre Dame pledge Noah Grubbs and Florida-bound Will Griffin all in the mix thereafter. Miami dual-threat commit Dereon Coleman and fellow Orlando-area star Michael Clayton are also blue-chippers and within the Rivals250 in what looks like the most stacked class of passers in Sunshine State history.
The group varies aplenty in style, too, making the splitting of hairs that much more complicated. Bell is a wiry dual-threat with the maturity one would expect given his resources and pedigree as the son of longtime NBA player Raja Bell. Hart is another tall and lean passer with a big arm, unafraid to push it down the field like he did as a breakout junior en route to a state title at Cocoa (Fla.) High. Grubbs is another big prospect with another big arm, recently transforming his body to add more lean muscle to his frame. Griffin has not had an issue in the size department, even profiling as the type of runner who could move the sticks with power if need be. Coleman is the smallest, yet most athletic of the bunch and his arm can keep pace all the same while Clayton has some of the classic pocket-passer traits Grubbs shines with.
See the dilemma? Bell has the ball in his court for now, but there is an expanding group of unique challengers at his heels. This race will be among the most talked about for years to come.
