Rivals Rankings Week: Five programs that should be pleased

The Rivals.com updated rankings for the Class of 2019 continued Wednesday with the debut of the new Rivals250. The updated rankings saw plenty of new players move into the rankings and several others make moves up and down the charts. With the full list now on display, we examine five college teams that should be feeling pretty good about how the new rankings shook out.

MORE: A look at the new five-stars in the Rivals100 | Video highlights of the latest top 10 | Who is the No. 1 WR?

AUBURN

It’s hard to argue that any fan base should be more pleased about the new rankings, because the Tigers saw three of their commitments make the move to five-star status. The group is highlighted by five-star wide receiver George Pickens, who is now the No. 12 player in the country. He’s followed by linebacker commit Owen Pappoe (No. 26) and quarterback commit Bo Nix (No. 27).

But it’s not just the five-stars that give the Tigers reason to celebrate. Defensive end commit Jaren Handy comes in at No. 129, while offensive line commitment Keiondre Jones comes in at No. 143, making a move up seven spots from the last rankings update. Several major Tigers targets are also in the 250, including uncommitted athlete Zion Puckett, who moved up 119 spots to No. 114 overall.

CLEMSON

Clemson worked its way to the top of the college football world by recruiting elite talent, and it appears as it it’s going to be another big year in Death Valley. Clemson now has five players in the Rivals100, led by wide receiver commit Frank Ladson (No. 32). Future Tigers dot the rankings, with recent cornerback commitment Andrew Booth at No. 37, wide receiver commit Joseph Ngata at No. 45 and defensive back commit Sheridan Jones at 88. Jones moved up 31 spots this go-round, but it was linebacker commit Bryton Constantin who made the biggest leap of all the Clemson commits, shooting up 133 spots to No. 92 overall after winning linebacker MVP honors at the Five-Star Challenge.

All in all, the Tigers have nine commitments in the Rivals250, including new entrant and Tigers tight end commitment Jaelyn Lay, who went from outside the 250 to No. 128 overall.

OKLAHOMA

Much like Auburn, Sooners fans didn’t have to wait long to celebrate the release of the new rankings, especially after seeing wide receiver commit Theo Wease come in at No. 2 overall. Things only continued to improve when the full Rivals100 was released on Tuesday, as Sooners quarterback commitment Spencer Rattler earned five-star status and moved up to No. 21 overall. Wide receiver commit Trejan Bridges also earned five-star status and moved up to No. 25 overall. All told, the Sooners have 11 commitments in the Rivals250, including recent offensive line commit Stacey Wilkins, who moved up 135 spots to No. 56 overall.

TEXAS A&M

Jimbo Fisher is used to having classes near the top of the Rivals.com Recruiting Rankings, and even though he’s in a new location it doesn’t look like that trend is going to end anytime soon. The Aggies saw one of their commitments, defensive back Erick Young, make the move up to five-stars and he wasn’t the only future Aggie to see his stock rise. Recent wide receiver commitment Dylan Wright made a massive move up the charts, rising 109 spots to No. 119 overall. The Aggies class, which is firmly in the Top 10 of the Rivals.com Team Rankings, included nine Rivals250 prospects in all.

LSU

The Tigers have reason to celebrate once again, as No. 1 overall prospect Derek Stingley remains the bell cow of their class. But now he and offensive line commit Kardell Thomas have some company in the Five-Star Club. LSU wide receiver commit Trey Palmer made a big move up the rankings after impressing at the Five-Star Challenge, joining the duo as a five-star and coming in at No. 19 overall.

Palmer’s big move up will surely get a lot of attention, but offensive line commit Anthony Bradford also made another big leap, this time going from No. 124 to No. 67 overall. Linebacker commit Donte Starks also moved from outside the Rivals250 to No. 223 and fellow linebacker commit Marcel Brooks moved from No. 235 to No. 195.

#RivalsRankingsWeek Schedule

Monday: Who could land in new top 10? | Top 10 players revealed | Who is top wide receiver? | Could McCoy make push for No. 1?

Wednesday: Three players on cusp of Rivals100 | New Rivals250 released | Rival Views | For which prospect did each analyst go to bat? | Could Auburn slip past Alabama?

Friday: DL rankings | LB rankings | DB rankings | ATH rankings

Saturday: Team rankings breakdown