Rivals Rankings Week: New 2022 ATH rankings
The post-summer update of the 2022 class recruiting rankings is complete, and now we break down the rankings of each position. The "Athlete" position boasts the No. 1 overall prospect in the country in Florida State commit Travis Hunter, but the position is deep behind him, with eight more athletes ranking among the top 100 overall.
TODAY'S RANKINGS RELEASES: Athletes | Cornerbacks | Safeties | Inside linebackers | Outside linebackers | Strongside defensive ends | Weakside defensive ends | Defensive tackles | Kickers
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Five-star countdown
Tuesday: Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney's thoughts | Biggest movers | Meet the new five-stars | Should Walter Nolen be the No. 1 DL?
Wednesday: QB rankings spotlight | RB rankings spotlight | WR/TE rankings spotlight | OL rankings spotlight | Who should be the No. 1 RB?
Thursday: DL rankings spotlight | LB rankings spotlight | DB rankings spotlight | ATH rankings spotlight
Friday: State rankings
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PROGRAMS WITH THE TOP COMMITS: Alabama, Florida State, Penn State
Travis Hunter could be a generational talent, and legitimately has the ability to excel on both sides of the field ala Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey. Him alone gives Florida State enough clout to make this list, but the Seminoles also have a commitment from three-star Virginia athlete Brian Courtney, who plays quarterback in high school but is likely headed for tight end in college.
Alabama now has a trio of athlete commitments after the recent addition of Jake Pope. He joins four-stars Emmanuel Henderson and Amari Niblack as athletes on the Crimson Tide’s commitment list.
Penn State has a pair of Rivals250 athlete commits in Mekhi Flowers and Cristian Driver. The Nittany Lions also added three-star athlete prospects Camron Miller and KJ Winston at the end of July.
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PROSPECT TO WATCH: Azareyeh Thomas
Strong off-season camp performances earned four-star Azareyeh Thomas a nice bump into the Rivals100, where he ranks as the No. 62 overall player and No. 5 Athlete prospect. That rise in rankings coincides with an expected August decision from the Florida native. He took official visits to his top three schools of Florida, Georgia Tech and LSU in June.
There has been a lot of LSU confidence this summer, but proximity to home and opportunity for early playing time make the Florida Gators a strong threat. Thomas has not announced a specific decision date, but has continually expressed a desire to make his decision this month.
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PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Amari Niblack
At one point early in the rankings process, Alabama commit Amari Niblack was rated as a 5.5 three-star tight end. He made a big jump back in the winter after impressing at some camps and 7-on-7s, then made another big jump this summer after showing his continued athletic progression.
We had previously moved Niblack to wide receiver, but he is in the Athlete category after this rankings update. Alabama likes his potential on the defensive side of the football, but the size and athleticism is still there to be a receiver at the next level.
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CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
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