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Rivals Rankings Week: States with most Rivals250 prospects

Colin Simmons
Colin Simmons

The updated Rivals250 for the 2024 class has been released, and while the same states make up the top five for Rivals250 prospects there have been some major moves in terms of the talent distribution. The most notable change is Florida dropping from the No. 1 spot after previously holding a commanding 15-prospect lead over former No. 2 Georgia.

After finishing third in the previous rankings release, Texas now leads the way with 45 prospects. The Lone Star State is followed by Florida with 42 prospects, Georgia with 34 and California with 19. Alabama rounds out the top five once again with 11 players.

2024 STATE RANKINGS

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 Rivals250?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: Rivals250 released | Biggest Movers | Latest recruiting news on top 50 players

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Breaking down the QBs | Breaking down the RBs | Breaking down the WRs/TEs | Breaking down the O-linemen

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released | Breaking down the D-linemen | Breaking down the linebackers

Friday: State rankings released

Saturday: Roundtable

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TEXAS: 45 

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Micah Hudson
Micah Hudson (Rivals.com)

Texas goes from third to first by adding a whopping 24 newcomers to the latest Rivals250. Defensive end Colin Simmons remains the class headliner as the No. 3 overall player, and he is followed by fellow five-star Micah Hudson, who moved up two spots to become the new No. 6 overall. Texas is one of only four states that has more than one five-star player.

The most notable of the 24 Rivals250 newcomers from Texas are offensive tackle Blake Frazier, running backs Taylor Tatum and James Peoples and Texas A&M commit Ashton Funk, who all debut in the top 100 of the latest Rivals250 release.

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FLORIDA: 42

Jeremiah Smith
Jeremiah Smith (Rivals.com)

The Sunshine State is down 15 prospects with 42 players in the new Rivals250. The state lost one player due to the reclassification of former No. 2 overall prospect Desmond Ricks and is now led by the nation's new No. 2 overall prospect in Ohio State wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith. Florida added one new five-star in IMG defensive tackle David Stone, which keeps the state at the top for five-star talent with four.

Although down in numbers, there was one new addition to the latest Rivals250 in defensive back Ricky Knight, who makes his debut as the No. 204 player overall. The biggest riser in the state is offensive tackle Jonathan Daniels, who jumped 113 spots to become the No. 130 player overall.

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GEORGIA: 34 

Eddrick Houston
Eddrick Houston (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Georgia, the former No. 2 state, comes in at No. 3 in terms of Rivals250 talent with a total of 34 prospects in the updated rankings. Newly minted five-star Eddrick Houston takes over as the class headliner, and he is followed by Mike Matthews and two additional newly minted five-stars in Florida commit Myles Graham and KJ Bolden. The three newly minted five-stars put Georgia at a total of four, tying it with Florida for the state with most five-star talent.

Although down four in terms of the number of Rivals250 talent from our previous release, there are four additions to the latest Rivals250 update in Demello Jones, Amir Jackson, Christopher Jackson and Air Noland. The state's biggest mover is quarterback Jake Merklinger, who jumped 87 spots to become the No. 94 player overall.

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CALIFORNIA: 19 

Julian Sayin
Julian Sayin (Birm/Dotting the 'Eyes)

California remains in the No. 4 spot in the latest rankings update with 19 prospects in the latest Rivals250, which is down four prospects from the previous release. Five-star quarterback Julian Sayin remains the class headliner as the No. 5 player overall and is followed by newly minted five-star Georgia commit Peyton Woodyard, who comes in at No. 9 overall.

The lone Rivals250 newcomer from the Golden State is all-purpose running back Nathaniel Frazier, who makes his debut at No. 170 overall. The most notable riser from California is defensive back Dakoda Fields, who jumps 68 spots to become the No. 111 overall player in the nation.

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ALABAMA: 11 

Demarcus Riddick
Demarcus Riddick (Rivals.com)

Alabama once again rounds out the top five with 11 total Rivals250 prospects in the latest release. Outside linebacker Demarcus Riddick is the new class headliner, as he jumped 39 spots to become the nation's No. 47 overall player. Although the state is high in terms of elite talent, it still remains void of a five-star player.

The interesting part of Alabama's Rivals250 makeup in this update is that although the number of players represented remained the same, it took four Rivals250 newcomers in Alabama commit Perry Thompson, Jordan Ross, Joseph Phillips and Kevin Riley to make the 11. There were also two major movers in the latest update, with Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe and Travaris Banks jumping 103 and 102 spots, respectively.

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