8/7/2007 football Edit

Previewing the ranked Rivals250

Jeremy Crabtree

Recruiting Editor

Rivals.com is about to take its recruiting coverage into uncharted waters with its release of the Rivals250 on Wednesday.

For the first time, the top 250 players in the nation will be ranked in order from No. 1 to No. 250.

After Monday's release of the Rivals100, the top spots are set. But who will come in at No. 101?

What positions are the deepest?

Which states have the most players on the list?

This ranking has been the most difficult to compile at Rivals.com. When the Rivals250 was first launched more than two years ago, it was always done as a way to show how many blue-chippers there were in the nation each and every year. The next logical step is to rank those players in order from the top to the bottom.

Doing a national top 100 list is never easy, but imagine the angst putting together a list that includes an additional 150 players. That's the task the Rivals.com recruiting staff was faced with when it met last week to discuss the updated rankings.

There were quite a few players that were no-brainers – guys that just missed the Rivals100, or guys that are already highly ranked as 5.9's on the Rivals Rating Scales.

Position Breakdown

ATH

ILB

OLB

SDE

WDE

PQB

APB

DQB

Those guys were easy to place in the rankings, but as the list progressed, it became difficult to determine what made player No. 191 that much better than player No. 221.

The simple answer is that they aren't that much better. To be ranked among the top 250 players in the nation means you are among the top 1 percent of the all the high school football players in America. To be honest, a four-star player is still regarded as the type of player that should have a great impact wherever they sign.

So who ended up being ranked No. 101?

That debate was pretty intense, with guys like Matt Meyer, Solomon Koehler, Kye Staley, Tavarres King, Templeton Hardy and Joseph Ibiloye all being considered. Those players make up the next six guys off the board, but you'll have to come back Wednesday to find out the order.

It's no surprise that the Big Three of California, Florida and Texas lead the way in the rankings. Both California and Florida have 31 players on the Rivals250. Texas is right there with 30 players.

Other talent-rich states like Georgia, Ohio, Alabama and Pennsylvania each had more than 10 players on the list.

With so many skill players at the receiver spot, it's no surprise to see it as the deepest position in the 250. Overall there are 41 players in the ranking at the receiver spot. The next highest position is offensive tackle at 29.

[rl]