12/4/2014 football Edit

Inside look: Class of 2015 position rankings

Josh Helmholdt

Recruiting Analyst

PRO-STYLE QUARTERBACKS

Brady White

NOTABLE RISER: Zach Gentry, Albuquerque (N.M.) Eldorado (Up 7 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Ryan Willis, Roeland Park (Kan.) Bishop Miege (Down 5 spots)

COMMENTS: The new No. 1 player in the country is UCLA commit Josh Rosen, but he was already the No. 1 ranked pro-style quarterback. Nos. 2 and 3 behind him in the ranking are brand new, though, with Arizona State commit Brady White moving up two spots from No. 4 previously and Gentry making the biggest jump into the top five from No. 10.

DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACKS

Brandon Wimbush

NOTABLE RISER: Dwayne Lawson, Tampa (Fla.) Hillsborough (Up 7 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Lorenzo Nunez, Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison (Down 7 spots)

COMMENTS: Alabama commit Blake Barnett remains No. 1 after earning his fifth star. The No. 2 spot belongs to Notre Dame commit Brandon Wimbush after he moved into the rankings from pro-style quarterback. USC commit Sam Darnold also moves over from pro-style and finds a place in the top 10. Oklahoma State commit John Kolar comes in from outside the top 25 and debuts at No. 21.

ALL-PURPOSE BACKS

Nyheim Hines

NOTABLE RISER: Nyheim Hines, Garner, N.C. (Up 5 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: None

COMMENTS: Hines and Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic's Cameron Scarlett both moved up from a 5.8 to a 5.9 Rivals Rating and earn spots inside the top five. Among the new additions to the ranking, USC commit Dominic Davis comes over from the running back position and debuts at No. 7 after earning his fourth star, while Mississippi State commit Malik Dear comes in from the athlete ranking and also ranks among the top 10.

RUNNING BACKS

Soso Jamabo

NOTABLE RISER: Dexter Williams, Orlando (Fla.) West Orange (Up 15 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Tyreik Gray, Houston (Tex.) Lamar (down 19 spots)

COMMENTS: The ranking adds two new five-stars in Plano (Tex.) West's Soso Jamabo and LSU commit Derrius Guice, who both remain in the top five. Miami commit Mark Walton re-classifies from 2016 to 2015 and debuts in the ranking at No. 7. Another new addition is Arizona State commit Jaason Lewis, who comes over from the athlete rankings and debuts at No. 17. Five-stars Damien Harris and Jacques Patrick remain 1-2.

FULLBACKS

Aaron Cochran

NOTABLE RISER: Houston Heimuli, Bountiful, Utah (Debuts at No. 3)

NOTABLE DROPPER: None

COMMENTS: The only changes in the ranking resulted in prospects moving up after strong senior seasons. Stanford commit Heimuli debuts at No. 3, while Louisville commit Aaron Cochran settles in as a three-star fullback after answering questions about whether that position better suits him instead of defensive end or tight end.

WIDE RECEIVERS

J.F. Thomas

NOTABLE RISER: J.F. Thomas, Dallas (Tex.) Oak Cliff (Up 43 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Lavan Alston, Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure (Down 30 spots)

COMMENTS: The top three remain unchanged, but Florida State commit George Campbell moves up and regains a spot in the top five after one time being the top ranked prospect in this list. The highest debut in the top 10 goes to St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood's Ryan Davis, who is now No. 8. The biggest mover during this cycle is Thomas, a TCU commit, who earned his fourth star.

TIGHT ENDS

Chris Clark

NOTABLE RISER: C.J. O'Grady, Fayetteville, Ark. (Up 14 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Devonaire Clarington, Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington (Down 6 spots)

COMMENTS: Chris Clark has moved up from No. 2 to overtake UCLA commit Alize Jones for the top spot in the ranking. Arkansas commit O'Grady makes a big jump from the three-star range well into the Rivals250 and is now No. 3. Penn State commit Jonathan Holland makes the highest debut at No. 18 after moving over from the strongside defensive end ranking and up from a 5.6 to a 5.7 Rivals Rating.

OFFENSIVE TACKLES

Henry Roberts

NOTABLE RISER: Emanuel McGirt, Durham (N.C.) Hillside (Up 26 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Sam Madden, Barnegat, N.J. (Down 25 spots)

COMMENTS: The top seven is unchanged, with Apopka, Fla., five-star Martez Ivey still tops on the list. The bulk of changes come in the 10-30 range, where a number of new four-star prospects rise up the list. McGirt headlines that group of new four-stars that also features Texas commit Connor Williams and Washington commit Henry Roberts. Another Texas commit, Toby Weathersby, moves over from the offensive guard ranking and debuts at No. 13.

OFFENSIVE GUARDS

Zach Robertson

NOTABLE RISER: Jalen Merrick, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. (Up 11 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Steven Gonzalez, Union City, N.J. (Down 14 spots)

COMMENTS: The top 12 is ordered exactly the same as it was before the season, with Alabama commits Lester Cotton and Richie Petitbon leading the group at Nos. 1 and 2. Merrick accounts for the first change at No. 13 after he earned his fourth star. The two highest debuts come at No. 15, where Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco's Zach Robertson lands after moving over from offensive tackle, and No. 17, where Auburn commit Marquel Harrell sits after a big move into four-star territory.

CENTERS

NOTABLE RISER: James Daniels, Warren (Ohio) Harding (Up 2 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Luke Hiers, Lake Wales, Fla. (Down 4 spots)

COMMENTS: Tristen Hoge and Brandon Kennedy continue to hold down the top two spots on the list. Daniels, an Iowa commit, moves into the top five after earning his fourth star. The only other changes are accounted for by Arkansas commit Zach Rogers and UCF commit Luke Hiers moving down from 5.8 to 5.7 Rivals Ratings.

WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE ENDS

NOTABLE RISER: Keith Joseph Jr., Pascagoula, Miss. (Up 14 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Mekhi Brown, Columbus (Ga.) Carver (Down 8 spots)

COMMENTS: Brown's drop accounts for the only big changes in the top 10, and allows for Tennessee commit Darrell Taylor, who moves over from the athlete position, to assume the No. 10 spot on the list. Joseph, a Mississippi State commit, and Virginia Tech commit Trevon Hill, both make big moves into the top 20.

STRONGSIDE DEFENSIVE ENDS

Raequan Williams

NOTABLE RISER: Raequan Williams, Chicago (Ill.) DePaul College Pre (Up 13 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Shameik Blackshear, Bluffton, S.C. (Down 12 spots)

COMMENTS: Blackshear's drop allows Georgia commit Chauncey Rivers to move into the top five. That accounts for the only major changes in the top 10, but Nashville's Kyle Phillips, along with Williams, make positive moves and hold down spots No. 11 and 12. Ohio State commit Dre'Mont Jones also makes a big jump and now is the highest ranked three-star at No. 24.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Neville Gallimore

NOTABLE RISER: Neville Gallimore, St. Catherine's (Ont.) Canada Prep Academy (Up 9 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Jamal Milan, Chicago (Ill.) Al Raby (Down 9 spots)

COMMENTS: The only notable moves in the top 20 come from Gallimore, who moved into the Rivals100 this update, and Long Beach (Calif.) Poly's Joseph Wicker, who moves over from strongside defensive end and up from a 5.8 to a 5.9 Rivals Rating. Oklahoma State commit Vaimoe Sekona and Boston College commit Ray Smith both make their debuts in the ranking after moving up to a 5.7 Rivals Rating.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

Khaylan Thomas

NOTABLE RISER: Khaylan Thomas, Etiwanda, Calif. (Up 4 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: None

COMMENTS: The inside linebacker ranking was one of the least changed in this update. Ohio State commit Justin Hilliard remains No. 1 and the top 13 spots remain the same. Thomas, an Arizona State commit, represents the first change. He and West Virginia commit David Long both saw positive movements up from where they were coming out of the summer. The ranking also expands from 25 to 30, with Northwestern commit Nathan Fox among the new names on the list.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

Ben Humphreys

NOTABLE RISER: Manny Bowen, Barnegat, N.J. (Up 13 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Kyahva Tezino, Los Angeles (Calif.) Salesian (Down 11 spots)

COMMENTS: Five-star Malik Jefferson remains No. 1 on a list that sees no changes with the top nine names. There are changes further down the list in the 5.8 Rivals Rating range where Penn State commit Bowen, and new four-star, and Duke commit Ben Humphreys both make 10-plus point jumps. There were several positive movers among the three-stars, including Auburn commit Elijah Sullivan, who jumped 22 spots in this update.

CORNERBACKS

Roney Elam

NOTABLE RISER: Roney Elam, Newton, Tex. (Up 24 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Avery Anderson, Colorado Springs (Colo.) Pine Creek (Down 7 spots)

COMMENTS: Elam, a Texas A&M commit, and Pittsburgh commit Jordan Whitehead both made huge jumps in this update and now rank as top 13 prospects at the position. LSU commit Kevin Toliver II and Penn State commit Garrett Taylor both make slight downward corrections, but remain in the top 10. The ranking expands by 10 and now features 75 prospects.

SAFETIES

Marcus Lewis

NOTABLE RISER: A.J. Westbrook, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland (Up 21 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: Jamile Johnson, Dallas (Tex.) South Oak Cliff (Down 26 spots)

COMMENTS: Now the nation's No. 2 overall prospect, Florida State commit Derwin James remains tops in the safety position rankings. Alabama commit Deionte Thompson jumps one spot and now sits No. 2 behind James. Another Alabama commit, Shawn Burgess-Becker, moves into the ranking from the athlete position and takes over as the No. 5 prospect in the ranking while uncommitted Washington D.C. prospect Marcus Lewis comes in from the cornerback rankings and debuts at No. 6.

ATHLETES

Ykili Ross

NOTABLE RISER: Stephen Johnson III, Leandro, Calif. (Up 12 spots)

NOTABLE DROPPER: None

COMMENTS: As prospects' college positions became more clear this fall, many moved out of the athlete ranking to specific positions. Gone from the post-summer top 10 are Shawn Burgess-Becker (safety), Torrance Gibson (dual-threat quarterback), Malik Dear (all-purpose back), Blake Lynch and Jalen Christian (wide receiver). In their place, Ykili Ross makes the highest debut at No. 3 after coming over from the cornerback ranking.