With the updated Rivals250 being unveiled Tuesday, it's now time to dive into the position rankings. The offensive position rankings are being released today and up next are the wide receivers and tight ends.
NEW POSITION RANKINGS: Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB | RB | All-Purpose RB | WR | TE
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position
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2023 RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK:
Sunday: Who could supplant Arch Manning atop the Rivals250?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Should Samson Okunlola be the No. 1 OT? | Meet the new five-stars
Tuesday: Rivals250 released | Biggest risers | Gorney goes position-by-position
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Five teams that should pleased with new Rivals250 | Breaking down QB rankings | Breaking down RB rankings
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released
Friday: Final state rankings released
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NO. 1 AT THE POSITION: Carnell Tate
Tate takes over as the new No. 1 receiver prospect in the nation. This is a move that many saw coming and his overall development during the past year has certainly earned him the honor. Tate's size and speed enable him to stretch the field as an outside receiver. His quickness combined with a special ability to take a routine underneath catch the distance will also enable him to line up in multiple receiver spots.
This versatility will make him a matchup nightmare at the next level while also making him extremely hard for defensive coordinators to game plan against. Tate has strong hands, is a polished route runner and has that killer instinct that the best receivers in football must have.
His recruitment continues to evolve as he is one of the most sought after players in the country, but look for Tennessee, Ohio State, LSU and Notre Dame to battle for the nation's No. 1 receiver until the end.
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TWO PROGRAMS TO WATCH: USC and Arkansas
As things stand right now, USC has the best chance at landing the top receiver class in 2023. With two of the nation's top 10 receiver recruits already committed in newly minted five-star Zachariah Branch and four-star Makai Lemon, USC is the only team with a pledge from top 10 prospects at the position and the Trojans have two of them to boot. The Trojans are also in good standing with the nation's No. 2 receiver Brandon Inniss, and should they land him it will be really hard for another team to end up with three of the top 10 players at the position.
Similar to USC with the receivers, Arkansas already has two of the top 10 tight ends committed in Luke Hasz and Shamar Easter. The Razorbacks also have the No. 27 TE committed in Jaden Hamm, and should they hold onto the commitments of all three, it will be hard for another team to top that class of tight ends. There are some wildcards here though. Should Georgia find a way to land No. 1 TE Duce Robinson in addition to their current TE commits of No. 2 Pearce Spurlin and No. 28 Lawson Luckie, the Bulldogs would win the battle at TE. But, that is looking like less of a possibility as Robinson closes in on a decision.
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THREE PROSPECTS TO WATCH: Duce Robinson, Jaxon Howard, Malik Elzy
Duce Robinson once again comes in as the only 6.0-rated four-star TE and No. 1 overall prospect at the position. He is as physically gifted as they come and has a ton of playmaking ability on top of it. The crazy part about Robinson's talent on the football field is that he's relatively new to the game as he focused on other sports like baseball (where he is a potential Major League Baseball prospect) growing up. His dad was a football player at Florida State and his mom swam at Florida, but surprisingly neither program appears to be in his top group. Look for Robinson's recruitment to be a battle among USC, Georgia, Texas and Alabama in the end.
Jaxon Howard is the complete package and may be just as good on defense as he is at tight end. He is the son of his high school head coach Willie Howard, who starred on the football field at Stanford prior to being a second-round NFL draft pick. Howard checks all of the boxes when it comes to being an elite level player at the next level and he is as hardworking and humble as they come on top of it. Howard is down to a final four of Minnesota, Michigan, LSU and Miami. It will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out and if he opts to stay home and be a hometown hero at Minnesota in the end.
Malik Elzy has always been a special talent, but his development both physically and athletically over the past year have taken him to a whole new level. Elzy has been lights out this entire off-season and proven capable of being a matchup nightmare for even the best defensive back prospects in the nation. He is a big body receiver who runs crisp routes, catches the ball naturally and uses his strength to overpower DBs on 50-50 balls. Elzy also happens to be the biggest riser at receiver in the Rivals250 by jumping 87 spots to become the No. 110 player overall. Although his recruitment is still open and new teams will continue to enter the mix, it looks like his decision will come down to Illinois, Notre Dame, Cincinnati or Nebraska.
