Rivals Rankings Week: New 2021 QB rankings
Rivals continues to roll out its first Rivals250 for the class of 2021 this week and our focus turns to quarterbacks.
Oklahoma commit Brock Vandagriff lost the top spot in the new rankings but he’s still very high on the list and many other outstanding quarterbacks are high up there as well. Here is a breakdown of some of the biggest names and storylines at the position.
UPDATED 2021 RANKINGS: Pro-style quarterbacks | Dual-threat quarterbacks
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
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
TEAM WITH TOP COMMIT: Oklahoma
Oklahoma has had back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners and back-to-back No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, so it’s no surprise the Sooners are having no problems recruiting top-flight quarterbacks.
Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian’s Brock Vandagriff committed to Oklahoma over Georgia and many others in June and he has all the tools to be special in coach Lincoln Riley’s offense since he has a big arm, he’s accurate, he can make all the throws, he’s a leader and he has athleticism.
Last recruiting cycle, the Sooners landed five-star quarterback Spencer Rattler. This season, Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts is leading the offense. And in two years, Vandagriff comes in. Things are really good in Norman.
*****
TEAM TO WATCH: Georgia
Even though junior seasons are not yet underway, three of the top four pro-style quarterbacks in an absolutely loaded group are already committed, with Vandagriff to Oklahoma, Kyle McCord to Ohio State and Sam Huard to Washington.
That leaves Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga’s Caleb Williams as the last of that bunch and his recruitment has definitely heated up in recent months. Georgia looks like the team to beat and he has a great relationship with the Bulldogs, but there are two others to watch in LSU and Oregon.
If Williams likes what he sees from the Tigers’ offense this season then LSU could move quickly up the list. The Ducks have always intrigued him, but they feel like an outlier at this point.
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PLAYER TO WATCH: Preston Stone
Texas was considered the frontrunner for Stone, a high four-star dual-threat quarterback from Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal School, but when the Longhorns landed a commitment from four-star Jalen Milroe, that threw everything in flux.
SMU has now emerged as a serious contender as playing for coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator and position coach Rhett Lashlee is certainly intriguing. Another team to watch early for Stone is USC ,especially if he likes what he sees from the Trojans’ new offense - and its new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell - this season.