Midwest Spotlight: Toughest rankings questions

The final rankings update for the 2023 class is set to be released later this month and there is a lot to finalize before then. Final postseason performances as well as in-person evaluations at the Under Armour Next All-America Game, All-American Bowl, and the upcoming Polynesian Bowl will weigh heavily into this last update to the rankings.

A number of players from the Midwest were active during the all-star season and their performance at the games and preceding week of preparations will have an effect on the rankings. Here are some of the toughest rankings questions we'll be facing in the Midwest.

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RELATED: Toughest rankings questions in the East Region

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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100

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The region currently boasts around three dozen Rivals250 prospects depending on which states you include, so there will be very little wiggle room for additional players on the list. While we could see one or two recruits making the move in, any more than that would likely mean a player from the region dropping out.

Based on feedback from the Under Armour game and the practices leading up to it, the most likely candidates to crack the elite list could be a pair of Michigan natives in Michigan signee Amir Herring and Kentucky signee Khamari Anderson. Word out of Orlando is they both had impressive weeks and it will be interesting to see if the analyst team as a whole feels that they should move into the Rivals250 in the end.

The only clear-cut part of the region's quarterback rankings is that five-star Dante Moore is the region's No. 1 prospect at the position. After Moore things get a little hazy and it will be interesting to hear the analyst's opinions on the group of Midwest quarterbacks who participated in the recent all-star events.

Avery Johnson and JJ Kohl competed in the Under Armour game and although I was not in attendance for that, early reports point to Kohl having a slight edge over Johnson who currently sits eight spots ahead of him in the Rivals250.

Ohio State signee Lincoln Keinholz took part in the All-American Bowl and had mixed results throughout the week. There is no question that the future Buckeye has talent and although he was not spectacular during the game, he did finish on a high note with a couple of nice touchdown passes. I'm excited to see how the team sees this group shaking out.

Proctor had an impressive week in San Antonio and definitely solidified himself as a five-star recruit, but will the analyst team see his performance as being enough to hold on to the top spot? The most likely competition for Proctor's top spot should theoretically come from fellow five-star tackles – Samson Okunlola and Francis Mauigoa – but there could be a wildcard entering the mix as well.

Okunlolo is a talent and there is little doubt that he has all of the tools to be a big time player at Miami and beyond, but at the same time he struggled with some of the elite defensive linemen at the All-American Bowl. Maugoa, who has also signed with Miami, did not participate in any of the all-star events which will likely make the top spot hard for him to achieve.

The wildcard I spoke of is none other than LSU signee Zalance Heard, who by all reports had a phenomenal showing throughout the week of Under Armour game prep in Orlando. He even drew comparisons to former first-round draft-pick D.J. Fluker by Adam Gorney in this week's edition of Tuesdays with Gorney. That is incredibly high praise, but only time will tell if it is enough to knock Proctor from the throne.

Heading into the all-star games there were a number of borderline five-star candidates from the region and it will be interesting to see if the analyst team feels like any of the candidates took the next step and earned the extra star. Some of the potential five-stars on watch included Adepoju Adebawore, Cayden Green, Drayk Bowen, Jermaine Mathews, Jeremiyah Love, Brenan Vernon, Luke Montgomery and Malachi Coleman.

There will be limited five-star slots available and unless a player unanimously impressied the group as a whole during recent events, the likelihood of an additional Midwest five-star could come down to the player who had the best showing at the position of most value. Should that be the case, the region's best shot at an additional five-star could come down to the two highly rated defensive ends in Adebawore and Vernon. Of course this is all speculation at this point and I am really interested to see how the analyst team sees this playing out.