Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Ryan O'Bleness looks at five burning questions ahead of the this month's update for the 2025 and 2026 recruiting cycles.

THIS SERIES: Four tough rankings questions in the Midwest | Southeast | Mid-South | Florida | West

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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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One of the most intriguing Northeast prospects to monitor is four-star defensive tackle and Oklahoma commit Trent Wilson. The Wise High School (Upper Marlboro, Md.) standout already ranks as the No. 130 prospect nationally, the No. 5 defensive tackle and the No. 3 player in the state of Maryland in the 2025 cycle.

However, after a strong performance at the Rivals Five-Star event in Jacksonville, Wilson could make a significant move up the Rivals250. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Wilson plays with power and explosion, and his athleticism at his size stands out.

Wilson was a prospect who Rivals identified as somebody who could boost his ranking at the Five-Star. He dealt with a minor injury going into his junior campaign and for part of the 2023 season. He didn't do many other national events throughout this offseason, but he caught the attention of the Rivals recruiting analysts while in Jacksonville.

Moving on to the 2026 class, Harrisburg (Pa.) offensive tackle Kevin Brown was one of the standouts at the Rivals Five-Star event and earned recognition as being one of the very best offensive linemen there, despite several class of 2025 trench players in attendance.

Brown has an impressive, muscular build at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds and plays with a mean streak in between the whistles. After stonewalling many defenders in front of Rivals' evaluators in Jacksonville, Brown squarely put himself in the five-star prospect conversation.

Brown certainly looks like one of the top tackles in his class. However, while the recent Penn State commit is in consideration for five-star status, it is a difficult group to join and a question the analysts need to ponder.

Savion Hiter, out of Woodberry Forest School in Virginia, currently boasts the No. 1 ranking for running backs in the 2026 class, but will he keep it in the upcoming rankings release?

Hiter was unable to make it to the Rivals Five-Star event in Jacksonville in June due to a schedule conflict, but he impressed evaluators later that month in the Under Armour Future 50 camp in Bradenton, Fla. He also showed out at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Charlotte earlier in the year.

He has many physical traits that stand out with his size, speed, athleticism and fluidity. He has dominated the competition throughout his high school career and should be in line for another big campaign as a junior. Running backs such as Tradarian Ball, DeZephen Walker and others are on his heels, however.

Michigan is toward the top of Hiter's list right now, with Georgia and others heavily pursuing as well.

Already ranked as the No. 3 safety in the 2026 class, and the No. 22 overall prospect nationally, Jireh Edwards has an opportunity to bolster his rankings even further in the next update.

The burning question, though, is if Edwards can grab control of the No. 1 safety spot in the 2026 cycle. Currently, Edwards ranks behind fellow four-stars Zelus Hicks and Blaine Bradford.

The Saint Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) star has great size and length at the safety position at 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, and combines that with his speed, physicality and ball skills. Edwards impressed at the Future 50 camp in June and could potentially move up in the rankings to some degree.

Edwards is coming off of a late-July visit with Oregon.

The Northeast region is strong with interior offensive line prospects, boasting the top-two offensive guard prospects in the 2026 class.

Currently, Tyler Merrill out of Cumberland Valley High in Pennsylvania holds down the top spot in the positional ranking, while Darius Gray out of St. Christopher's School in Virginia is the No. 2 guard. This battle will be something to watch when the next 2026 update is released.

Merrill is a little bigger at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, compared with Gray at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds. However, the two have very similar wingspans (with Gray actually having a slightly longer wingspan).

Both are highly coveted prospects, with Merrill pushing close to 30 scholarship offers and Gray inching closer to 40 offers. Merrill is coming off of a visit with Notre Dame, while Gray was most recently at Florida State.

It will be interesting to see if Gray gets the nod over Merrill this time around, or if Merrill can hold onto the top spot once again.