Rivals Rankings Week: New 2021 defensive back rankings
Rivals continues to roll out its first Rivals250 for the class of 2021 this week and our focus turns to defensive backs.
There are currently two five-stars and both are from the state of Florida. Miami (Fla.) Palmetto’s Corey Collier is the top cornerback nationally and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Western’s James Williams is the No. 1 safety. Here is a breakdown of some of the biggest names and storylines at the position.
UPDATED 2021 RANKINGS: Cornerbacks | Safeties
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
TEAM WITH TOP COMMIT: Alabama
None of the top eight safeties are committed yet and neither are the top two cornerbacks, so we move to the third-best corner in Latrell McCutchin, who’s ranked No. 60 overall in the 2021 class.
From Austin (Texas) Lyndon B. Johnson, McCutchin visited Tuscaloosa over the summer and committed a few days later, saying he loved the coaching staff and all Alabama has to offer. It’s early, but it sure looks like he’s completely happy with his Crimson Tide pledge.
Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and SMU were also considered.
TEAM TO WATCH: Miami
Miami already have 12 commitments in the 2021 class - more than any other team in the country - and all of them are in-state prospects.
At the same time, the top eight prospects in the state of Florida remain uncommitted so there is still a lot of opportunity for the Hurricanes and other programs to ramp up their recruiting efforts even further especially at defensive back since Collier and Williams, a former Miami pledge, remain open in their recruitment.
Collier might be leaning toward Florida State and Williams is giving Georgia a close look but it’s still really early.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Tony Grimes
Tony Grimes had an impressive performance at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge this summer and was mentioned in the five-star discussion for the 2021 class but it was decided he would stick as a top four-star.
The Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne cornerback is going to have a lot of recruiting attention in the next couple years.
Texas A&M, Clemson and Texas are going to be in there until the end, according to Grimes, who’s also looking at Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma and others. This summer Grimes planned to have a top 10 list by Sept. 1 and that date is fast approaching.