Rivals Rankings Week: Breaking down the 2023 QBs
With the updated Rivals250 being unveiled yesterday, it's now time to dive into the position rankings. The offensive position rankings are being released today and up first are the quarterbacks.
NEW POSITION RANKINGS: Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Should Branch be the No. 1 WR? | Who will be the next five-star?
Tuesday: New Rivals250 | Biggest Movers | Gorney goes position-by-position
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Teams that should be pleased
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released | Could this be the best QB class ever?
Friday: State rankings released | Who is on cusp of four-star ranking?
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NO. 1 AT THE POSITION: Arch Manning
The race for No. 1 is tightening but Manning held on to the top spot for now. There are parts of his game that warrant criticism and each game of this fall will, like every other top prospect, be analyzed. There have been very few instances this offseason where people were able to get a look at his development so moving him out of the top spot in the rankings without having a clear picture of his progress wasn't the right way to go.
The Texas commit checks all the boxes physically, has enough mobility and throws the ball with power and consistent accuracy. All of that in addition to Manning's knowledge of the game helped keep him at No. 1 in the Rivals250.
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TWO PROGRAMS TO WATCH: Texas A&M and Notre Dame
It seems as though Texas A&M is serious about pursuing a top quarterback in this class but it struck out on five-star Dante Moore (Oregon) and No. 60 in the Rivals250 Austin Novosad (Baylor). The Aggies currently have their sights set on five-star USC commit Malachi Nelson. The Southern California star has been committed to head coach Lincoln Riley since July of last year, flipping his commitment from Oklahoma to USC in November. But Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher is doing his best to get Nelson's attention. The Aggies hosted Nelson for a visit at the end of July and they are pushing him to flip.
Notre Dame has a big-time commitment in the 2024 class in CJ Carr but the Fighting Irish are still looking for a quarterback for this year. They missed on Rivals250 standout Rickie Collins (flipped from Purdue to LSU), Novosad and a few others but they are zeroing in on Kenny Minchey. The Tennessee native committed to Pittsburgh in April and went on to have a really impressive spring and summer camp season. There is a lot of ground Notre Dame needs to make up here but the Pitt commitment hasn't completely shut the door on the Fighting Irish.
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THREE PROSPECTS TO WATCH
Given how it seemed like he was so close to Lincoln Riley, Nelson possibly flipping away from USC would be one of the most shocking things to happen in this recruiting cycle. His visit to Texas A&M a few weeks ago went well and Texas A&M is continuing its push to flip him but USC is working to make sure he stays onboard.
Nelson isn't giving much away right now but he hasn't said anything to shut down the Texas A&M talk surrounding his recruitment.
Minchey has seen his stock rise thanks to an impressive offseason but now the Pitt commit is getting a lot of attention from schools around the country. Notre Dame is making a particularly hard push to flip him.
Pitt has a strong hold on Minchey right now but they'll need to keep up the fight to make sure he signs later this year.
An Arizona native playing in Southern California, Tiller committed to Boise State in March but he has seen his stock steadily rise this offseason. Cal offered a couple weeks ago and the coaches have been in contact with his coaches fairly often.
Tiller is also pretty close with a couple of the Cal quarterbacks. A flip isn't imminent but don't be surprised if he takes an official visit to the Berkeley campus this fall.