Rivals Rankings Week: Five-Star Countdown

It's another Rivals Rankings Week as the 2024 class rankings is receiving a refresh. We kicked things off as always with the Five-Star Countdown, revealing a new five-star throughout the day from No. 20 to No. 1.

Rivals recruiting director Adam Gorney offers his thoughts on each below.

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be No. 1?

Monday: Five-star countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: Rivals 250 released | Ten prospects on the verge of five-star status | Gorney's thoughts

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released

Friday: State rankings released | Who will finish as top RB?

Saturday: Rankings Roundtable

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Gorney's Take: The Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle five-star quarterback retained his No. 1 ranking despite not doing a whole lot of national events so far this offseason, although that will change later this week when the Elite 11 starts. Instead, Dylan Raiola was more focused on training in Southern California and figuring out his recruitment as the former Ohio State pledge ended up picking Georgia over USC and Nebraska.

Despite not doing many events, Raiola remains elite: He has great size, an incredible arm and phenomenal leadership qualities as well.

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Gorney's Take: Jeremiah Smith could be the most physically gifted No. 1 receiver in a recruiting class since Julio Jones in 2008. Hyperbole can take over in recruiting media sometimes but the Ohio State pledge – who’s also being pursued by Georgia, Florida and others – has phenomenal size, tremendous athleticism, elite playmaking ability and hands. The Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna is virtually unstoppable on the high school level as an outside receiver.

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Gorney's Take: The Lee's Summit (Mo.) North prospect should have probably already been a five-star but it’s happened now and Nwaneri, who looked great at the Kansas City Under Armour Camp, shot all the way up to No. 3 overall. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound edge rusher has everything one looks for in an elite defensive end from length, a physical nature, the ability to bend off the edge, inside and outside moves and so much more.

Oklahoma has an edge in his recruitment with Oregon, Tennessee, Missouri and others involved.

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Gorney's Take: Julian Sayin has never backed down from working out at an event or throwing with some of the best quarterbacks in any class as he won the position MVP award at the Rivals Camp in Los Angeles and then was the best QB at the Steve Clarkson QB Retreat recently.

The Alabama commit from Carlsbad, Calif., is so technically sound, almost never throws a bad ball and is getting bigger physically to last in the SEC. What he showed at Clarkson was extraordinary as even some of the college QB counselors were raving about his arm strength and ability to put the ball on the money every time.

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Gorney's Take: The Duncanville, Texas, five-star defensive end who briefly held the No. 1 overall spot in the 2024 class did not perform on the field much this offseason but Simmons has made plenty of statements before. He’s an aggressive, energetic, active edge rusher and outside linebacker. He can wreak havoc coming off the edge with his bouncy athleticism or chase down the ball carrier to get him on the ground.

LSU and Texas are at the top in his recruitment but he was just at Miami over the weekend. Other programs are in the hunt, as well.

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Gorney's Take: If there’s a good comparison for Micah Hudson it could be Garrett Wilson, who unfortunately ended up as a high four-star prospect (the second player outside five-star status in 2019). Wilson killed it at Ohio State and then was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Hudson, the Temple (Texas) Lake Belton standout, is the same height and weight as Wilson and the two have a similar playing style where they look so smooth, super sudden and have reliable hands.

Texas and Texas Tech are mainly battling it out for Hudson, who caught 65 passes for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

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Gorney's Take: Wherever Mike Matthews lines up, he excels. The five-star is an outstanding receiver who caught 48 passes for 1,030 yards and nine touchdowns last season and he can also flip around and be hugely impactful at safety as well.

The Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview standout also does not shy away from competition as he’s been to numerous events this offseason across the country and has looked great at all of them.

Tennessee could have the edge right now but Clemson, Georgia and others are right there as well.

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Gorney's Take: Justin Scott has been working through his recruitment this offseason and has not been to any national events so it will be important to get an apples-to-apples comparison when possible for the five-star defensive tackle from Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius.

Still, he’s a huge prospect who can not only overpower offensive linemen but blaze past them with speed and active hands.

Georgia leads in his recruitment with Notre Dame and Miami also high on his list.

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Gorney's Take: KJ Bolden has the length, intelligence, instincts and athleticism to make anything happen on the back end where he covers ground so quickly that nothing can get behind him and then can also come up and make plays all over the field. Bolden is so rangy and what makes him even more special is that the five-star trusts what he sees to go make a play on the ball wherever it is on the field.

Georgia still seems to have an edge in his recruitment but Clemson recently closed the gap. Ohio State and others are there as well.

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Gorney's Take: Every time David Stone shows up somewhere to compete, the five-star defensive tackle just continues to win reps. He’s now 6-foot-4 and 282 pounds, fast, stronger than he looks with a motor that never stops. Earlier in his career, Stone was fast and elite off the snap but he was a little undersized. That’s no longer the case as the five-star continues to develop physically while keeping his athleticism.

Oklahoma is the frontrunner here since he’s originally from the state but Miami, Michigan State and others are pushing.

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Gorney's Take: In his junior season, Kamarion Franklin totaled 19 sacks. Everybody knew his intention of getting in the backfield and causing problems and no one could stop him. He is not only powerful and dominant on the high school level but he also moves really well and has great athleticism. An early comp would be Jeffery Simmons but Franklin might have the edge from an athletic standpoint.

The Lake Cormorant, Miss., standout has Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida State and Miami standing out most in his recruitment.

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Gorney's Take: The Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge standout moved up to five-star status. It probably should've happened sooner since Justin Williams has phenomenal junior film and projects as an elite prospect at the next level and beyond. He’s really a 21st century kind of player who is listed at inside linebacker but covers so much ground, leads the defense and makes plays everywhere. He can run down the ball carrier to show off his speed, he can come into a hole and bring people down, and Williams can also go sideline to sideline to make plays.

Oregon has the edge but Georgia, Texas, Alabama and others are in the mix.

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Gorney's Take: Joshisa Trader’s performance at the OT7 in Phoenix was indicative of what kind of player he can be – on both sides of the field. At times, the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna standout shined at wide receiver, using his speed and physical nature to get open and make plays. Then he would flip over to defensive back – where many feel he’s even better – and Trader would make plays there whether knocking balls away at safety or getting in there and ripping it out.

His versatility is what makes Trader so valuable as Miami, Florida State and Ohio State look best in his recruitment.

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Gorney's Take: The Atlanta Woodward Academy five-star linebacker is a complete gamer. He doesn’t have the elite length of other five-stars on this list but he is athletic, he can cover in space and he can blitz from the edge or up the middle. Graham has a phenomenal feel for what’s going to happen and then getting around the ball carrier and making the play.

And like his father, Earnest, the Florida commit can flip over to running back and make plays with his physical running style there.

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Gorney's Take: Eddrick Houston sheds blockers at will and what the five-star defensive end does best is he never stops attacking the ball carrier and he doesn’t stop playing until the ball carrier is on the ground.

The Buford, Ga., standout is not getting every single sack or tackle but when the play breaks down, Houston is outstanding at pursuing players and not giving up until the whistle blows. With speed and power coming off the edge, Houston collapses the pocket and then finishes at the end.

Georgia definitely looks good with Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, USC and others involved.

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Gorney's Take: What stands out most about Zaquan Patterson is that he stands out everywhere on the field. He could be a nickel corner, a one-high safety, a blitzer off the edge, anything the defense needs. Patterson is also fantastic at blocking kicks on special teams. The new five-star has an awesome feel when he’s on the field. Miami is the frontrunner with Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and Auburn rounding out his top five.

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Gorney's Take: Defensive coordinators are going to have a field day with Dylan Stewart because he can line up anywhere across the defensive line and make a tremendous impact. The new five-star from Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy can be an outstanding edge rusher, he can move inside and put his hand down, he can blitz from up the middle standing up and any running back who tries to dance away from Stewart or put moves on is quickly put on the ground.

Stewart will need to fill out more at the college level but he has great balance and athleticism and his ranginess is special.

Miami, South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee and many others remain in the mix.

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Gorney's Take: When unencumbered off the line of scrimmage, Ryan Wingo shows off excellent top-end speed and he has game-breaker ability. There is no question about his size and quarterbacks must love him because he has a massive catch radius.

The St. Louis (Mo.) University standout has not done many events this offseason as he’s toured the country looking at schools. Georgia, Notre Dame, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan and many others are still involved in a wide-open recruitment.

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Gorney's Take: On the nation’s best team at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, Peyton Woodyard stood out as a safety who played with advanced intelligence, was a step ahead of the offense many times and could play in space when needed. But he was even better coming up by the line of scrimmage and making plays either blitzing or somewhere in the backfield.

Georgia has held onto his commitment but he was just at USC this past weekend with teammate Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Also, Alabama and Ohio State are trying to flip him as well.

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Gorney's Take: Jadyn Davis, a Michigan commit, had a monster junior season which solidified his five-star status for now as he completed more than 72 percent of his passes for 3,425 yards with 43 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day recruit picked the Wolverines over Ohio State, North Carolina, Clemson and others.

He has a strong arm, puts the deep ball on the money regularly but also dips the ball a little bit and has some sidearm motion in his release. HIs senior season and showing in the all-star events will settle out his ranking but there’s no question Davis is an elite talent.

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