Putting the exclamation point on another week of new rankings, the new 2020 state rankings come out today. First up is the Mid-Atlantic and five storylines to keep an eye on.
1. Defensive linemen rising in North Carolina
When the 2020 rankings were last updated, we highlighted how many good wide receivers were near the top of the North Carolina state rankings but since then the defensive linemen in the Tar Heel state have really come into their own. The Carolinas are known for churning out great defensive linemen year after year and the 2020 recruiting class may not be very different at all.
Defensive end Desmond Evans is in the Rivals100 while teammates Jacolbe Cowan and Kedrick Bingley-Jones are in the Rivals250. All three of these players are in the top six of the state rankings.
2. Talent spread throughout New Jersey
The highly-rated talent in New Jersey is generally geographically concentrated in the northern part of the state but in the 2020 state rankings there is a lot of parity. The top 20 players in the state are spread pretty evenly across the state, including the central and southern parts of New Jersey. The top three players in the state, Jalen Berger, Luke Wypler and Kevin Bauman, play in northern New Jersey but the next two players, Korey Smith and Chris Mayo, play in central New Jersey. Nine of the top 20 players in the state are from southern New Jersey.
3. Virginia in DC's rearview mirror?
Virginia is always one of the top states for talent but Washington D.C. has more highly-rated prospects in the 2020 class. Led by five-star linebacker Mekhail Sherman, six players rated at least four-stars play their high school football in D.C. and there are only four in Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia is led by Antoine Sampah, its own five-star linebacker. Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett and defensive back Luke Hill help Washington D.C. out-pace Virginia in the Rivals100 as well. Running back Chris Tyree is Virginia's lone four-star in the Rivals100.
4. Connecticut's Canadian flavor
The top four players in Connecticut's top five did not change but the addition of defensive end Kenny Mestidor alters the complexion of the state rankings. Mestidor, a well-known prospect from the offseason camp circuit, is Canadian. He already has a few offers under his belt and there should be more schools that throw their hat into the ring. Mestidor joins Rivals250 defensive tackle and fellow Canadian Lamar Goods at Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More. Goods has a very impressive offer sheet but has yet to play a down of football in the U.S.
5. New York's finest…since 2014?
Football in the Empire State has been getting better over the last few years. The 2020 class is in position to be the best to come out of the state since 2014. Rivals250 prospects Lamy Constant and Sofian Massoud are already four-star prospects. Matthew Jones and Jeremy Ruckert were four-stars in the Rivals100 in 2018 but the 2020 class has a good chance of adding another to the four-star ranks. Running back Tirek Murphy is on the brink of earning that coveted fourth star, which would give New York three four-star prospects for the first time since 2014.
