Rivals Rankings Week: Five storylines to follow, by state

The class of 2021 rankings have been updated throughout the week, and now we take a look at five storylines to follow in different states. One state in the northwest could have a historic class this cycle.

RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK FOR 2021 CLASS:

Monday: Top 10 revealed | Will USC nab No. 1 Korey Foreman?

Tuesday: Rivals100 revealed | New five-stars | Mind of Mike

Wednesday: Rivals250 revealed | Teams that should be pleased

Thursday/Friday: Position rankings revealed

Saturday: Team rankings revealed

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

It is early, but it looks like there could be a battle to the end to find out who the top running backs is in the state of North Carolina.

Heading into the fall, Will Shipley will be on top, followed by Evan Pryor at running back, with DeAndre Boykins very much in this conversation ranked as an athlete.

In the national rankings, they are within 10 ranking spots of each other. Shipley is No. 53, Boykins checks in at No. 59 and Boykins is sitting at No. 63. That tells you just how close Rivals.com sees this trio.

All three are dynamic with the ball in their hands, and all have impressive offer lists heading into their junior seasons. None of the three seem to be leaning towards any specific program at this time.

Ga’Quincy McKinstry is one of the select few Power Five football prospects that can say he also has offers to play major college basketball.

The Rivals100 talent out of Pinson (Ala.) Pinson Valley has offers to play football from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee and others. He can basically go wherever he wants to play college football.

If you didn’t know, he also is a star on the basketball court. And not long ago, he reported an offer from the Kansas Jayhawks.

Does this change things a little for McKinstry? He has talked about wanting to play both sports in college, but could the offer from the Jayhawks push him toward focusing only on basketball? Most do not think so, but it will be something to monitor.

Of course in-state programs like Alabama and Auburn are in the picture when talking football, but the early buzz around McKinstry is centered on Clemson. It is still early, but the four-star has talked about making an early commitment.

He not only has options in football, but now major options in basketball.

There are now three five-star offensive linemen in the Lone Star State. Entering this update, offensive tackle Savion Byrd was the lone five-star up front, but he has now been joined by tackle Tommy Brockermeyer and guard Bryce Foster.

Now, with the high school football season about to get underway in earnest, three of the top four offensive linemen in the country are from Texas. Not only did Brockermeyer add a fifth star, but he also overtook running back Camar Wheaton as the top player in the state.

Brockermeyer is the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country and Foster is the No. 1 guard in the country, so it looks like a very strong year in the trenches in the Lone Star State.

The 2021 class in Washington has a chance to be the state's best ever. There is only one five-star prospect in the state at this point, defensive end J.T. Tuiomoloau, but that is likely to change.

Right outside of the five-star rankings is wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who is ranked No. 12 in the Rivals100. He is the top-ranked receiver in this class and was strongly considered for five-stars.

Quarterback Sam Huard could also work his way into the five-star conversation. The Washington commit is the No. 16-ranked prospect in the country and a strong season could propel him up the rankings.

You read that right: Three of the top 16 prospects in the 2021 class are from the state of Washington. The state only boasts one five-star in the class right now, there's a very real chance that the Evergreen State could have three before the 2021 class is put to bed. To put that into perspective, the state of Washington produced total of three five-stars in the 2016-20 classes combined.

This class has a chance to be a very special one in the state of Washington.

Depending on who you ask, you will hear different answers about the best prospect in the Sunshine State. There are two five-stars in Florida at this time, cornerback Corey Collier and safety James Williams. Heading into their junior seasons, Williams is ranked No. 1 in Florida and Collier is right behind him. Both are top-10 prospects nationally.

Collier reports over 30 offers, Williams claims a modest 22 — both could commit to almost any school in the country tomorrow.

Collier and Williams are long, rangy defensive backs who can cover with ball skills and elite ability. It will be fun to watch this play out because either could end the 2021 cycle as the best prospect in the Sunshine State.