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Mid-Atlantic Spotlight: Biggest questions prior to new rankings

Quavaris Crouch
Quavaris Crouch (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

The Rivals analyst team starts the process of updating the Rivals rankings of the 2019 and 2020 classes this week following a busy spring evaluation period that included, among other events, 13 Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas events. Today, we look at some of the biggest questions to answer in the Mid-Atlantic region going into those meetings.

RELATED: Biggest questions in the Midwest before new rankings | Biggest questions in the Southeast

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

  1. Will Quavaris Crouch hold on to the top spot in the Rivals100?  

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Crouch was named the top player in the Rivals100 after a dominant junior season in which he rushed for over 3,000 yards as a running back and recorded 14 sacks on defense. For the last year or so Crouch, listed as an athlete, has been leaning toward playing linebacker at the next level and there will certainly be a learning curve for him.

Where Crouch is in the development process is hard to gauge, since he has been sidelined while recovering from a surgery this entire offseason. Injuries and surgeries have a tendency to knock a prospect off their development trajectory, but there are some that fight through it and don’t miss a beat when the season comes around. There are a lot of prospects pushing for the top spot in the Rivals100, and if one of them succeeds in knocking Crouch out of the No. 1 spot, Crouch surely won’t drop much.

  2. Can Devyn Ford remain the top-ranked running back?  

The 2019 recruiting class isn’t as talented as the last few classes, but the running back position is fairly strong, especially at the top. Ford, Penn State’s highest-rated commitment, currently leads the position group, but five-star Trey Sanders is breathing down his neck.

Ford was solid in his latest performance at the New Jersey Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas and Sanders has been impressive this offseason, as well. The competition between them has been fierce throughout the rankings cycle and the distance between the two has decreased with every rankings release.

  3. What will happen in a crowded cornerback field?  

Tayvion Land
Tayvion Land (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

As it stands right now, there are eight cornerbacks from the Mid-Atlantic with a four-star rating. Clemson commit Sheridan Jones leads the way, followed by Maryland commit Tayvion Land, and Penn State commits Tyler Rudolph and Marquis Wilson. Virginia Tech commit Nyquee Hawkins, Tyus Fields, Stanford commit Salim Turner-Muhammad and Marlin Devonshire sit outside the Rivals250 right now, but there could be some shuffling when the new rankings are released.

Some of these players with their fourth stars showed that their game has been progressing, but others looked stagnant. A few names could be awarded their fourth star and there will be some shifting among those that are inside and outside the Rivals250.

  4. Who is the top player in New Jersey?  

John Olmstead
John Olmstead (Rivals.com)

That's one of the more hotly debated questions among the readers with roots in the Garden State. Notre Dame commit John Olmstead, Penn State commit Caedan Wallace and Alabama commit Antonio Alfano have been the main contenders for the title since the first 2019 Rivals250 was released in August.

Alfano led the group at the time, but he fell outside the Rivals100 in the rankings release after his junior season. Olmstead took over the No. 1 spot in the state rankings, followed closely by Wallace at Nos. 54 and 55 in the Rivals250.

Each of the three players stayed in relatively the same spots when the most recent rankings release came out in February. Olmstead kept a low profile this offseason, but Wallace and Alfano put their skills on display and made their case to shuffle the order at the top of the New Jersey state rankings.

  5. Will an elite wide receiver emerge?  

John Metchie
John Metchie (HeraldMailMedia.com)

With DeMarcco Hellams’ move to athlete, the chances are pretty slim that a wide receiver from the Mid-Atlantic moves up enough to enter the Rivals100. John Metchie, No. 170 in the Rivals250, is currently the closest pass catcher to the Rivals100 and a 70-spot jump isn’t very common.

Still, other candidates to emerge could be Khafre Brown, Isaiah Hazel or a handful of other receivers that have had good camp seasons. The 2019 recruiting class could end up being the first class since 2015 not to have a wide receiver from the Mid-Atlantic in the Rivals100.

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