Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney ranked the 10 best states when it comes to star power in the 2022 and 2023 classes. Closing out the series is Texas at No. 1.
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RANKING THE STATES: No. 10 Pennsylvania | No. 9 Virginia | No. 8 Ohio | No. 7 Tennessee | No. 6 Louisiana | No. 5 Alabama | No. 4 California | No. 3 Georgia | No. 2 Florida
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
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OVERVIEW
If rankings stay the way they are in the state of Texas until the end of this recruiting cycle, it will go down as arguably the best class ever in the state as seven prospects are already ranked as five-stars.
There are an additional 45 four-stars in the 2022 class. In 2023, five-star David Hicks, Jr., leads the way and already there are another 45 four-stars in that group.
RECRUITING
The top three prospects in the state of Texas remain uncommitted, and all of their recruitments could still go in many directions. Five-star cornerback Denver Harris has been pegged to Alabama for a long time, so much so that he’s openly admitted hearing it from people close to him. But Texas, LSU and Texas A&M are still in there battling for the Houston North Shore standout.
New five-star receiver Evan Stewart out of Frisco Liberty has Florida very high on his list, with Alabama, LSU and Texas still involved. Stewart had been committed to the Longhorns earlier in his recruitment, but the Gators could have the edge at this point.
Five-star defensive tackle Keithian Alexander was an early Georgia pledge and despite backing off that commitment, the Bulldogs are still very much involved in his recruitment. The Fort Worth Brewer standout will be at the Georgia-Clemson game in Charlotte this weekend, and Texas A&M is the other team high on his list. Many believe the Aggies lead for him now.
The two other uncommitted five-stars in Texas are offensive linemen Kam Dewberry, who has Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Ohio State as his top five, and Devon Campbell, who recently released a top five of USC, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama.
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SOME THOUGHTS
The 2022 class in Texas is loaded, but having seven five-stars and 45 four-stars is pretty aggressive in terms of rankings, especially compared with the other elite states in the country right now - Florida, Georgia and California. Rankings will work themselves out through senior seasons and all-star events. Many of the five-stars are justified, but some will have to prove it in the coming months because there are definitely other worthy candidates in other parts of the country.
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Evan Stewart does have a chance to become the No. 1 receiver in the 2022 class as we try to figure out who should be on the top of that ranking. Right now, East St. Louis, Ill., recruit Luther Burden is No. 1 and he faces a big test in two weeks when his team visits powerhouse Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. But it is not settled who is on the top at that position as there are still lots of moving pieces and things to figure out.
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One question I have for the rest of this season and into the all-star events is this: Is Keithian Alexander basically Marvin Wilson? And if that is the case, is that worrisome? Wilson was 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, roughly the same size as Alexander. Wilson was dominant on the high school level and ranked second overall in the 2017 class. Alexander is a five-star who’s No. 10 overall. But Wilson didn’t have a tremendous career at Florida State, went undrafted and is now on the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad. Alexander is more sudden and maybe even more powerful, but it’s a comparison I’ve heard - and one I don’t really like if we think Alexander should be ranked that high.
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The two positions that are really interesting in the 2023 class in Texas are defensive end, where David Hicks Jr. and Jordan Renaud already look like college-ready players, and then receiver. There are all shapes and sizes of receivers in that class, with Jalen Hale being the physical specimen, Johntay Cook and Jaquaize Pettaway bringing the speed and then Jaden Greathouse being that receiver/tight end tweener who is a matchup problem in the red zone. It’s a great class, but maybe not as elite as the 2022 group right now.
