Rivals Rankings Week: States with most Rivals250 talent
The updated Rivals250 for the 2024 class has been released, and while the same five states remain at the top the distribution of Rivals250 talent within those states has changed slightly.
Florida extends its dominant lead with 53 prospects in the updated Rivals250. It is followed by Georgia with 38 prospects, Texas with 32, California with 23 and Alabama rounds out the top five once again with 11 players.
*****
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars
Tuesday: Rivals250 revealed | Biggest risers | Gorney's position-by-position
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings revealed | Teams that should be pleased | Recruiting update on top 25 players | QB rankings spotlight | RB rankings spotlight | WR/TE rankings spotlight | OL rankings spotlight
Thursday: Defensive position rankings revealed | Will there be another five-star QB? | DL rankings spotlight | LB rankings spotlight | DB rankings spotlight | ATH ranking spotlight
Friday: State rankings revealed
*****
Florida: 53 prospects
Florida increases its already massive lead over No. 2 Georgia by 15 prospects with 53 players in the new RIvals250. Desmond Ricks, the nation's No. 2 prospect, continues to lead the way as one of 12 five-stars in the 2024 class and remains the only five-star defensive back in the nation. Florida also remains the top state in terms of five-star talent, with four of the nation's 12 five-stars residing within its borders, which is up one from our last rankings release.
The Sunshine State is one of three states that added a newly minted five-star during the latest release in talented WR Joshisa Trader. It also leads the way in top 100 talent with an astounding 24 players residing in the state. The only category that Florida did not lead the way in is Rivals250 newcomers, with its lone addition being QB Davi Belfort. The state's biggest riser is OL Eddy Pierre-Louise, who jumped an impressive 63 spots.
*****
Georgia: 38
While Georgia still has a decent lead over No. 3 state Texas, it took a step back in terms of Rivals250 talent by losing two prospects for a total of 38 players in the updated rankings. Newly minted five-star ATH Mike Matthews takes over as the class headliner and comes in at No. 11 overall. Mathews is also the state's biggest riser.
Although Georgia is down in terms of the number of Rivals250 talent from our previous release, there is one newcomer in ATH Sacovie White, who makes his debut as the nation's No. 250 player.
*****
Texas: 32
Texas retains its No. 3 spot with 32 Rivals250 prospects, and although the state's number of representatives remains the same it has added four Rivals250 newcomers. DE Colin Simmons remains the class headliner as the No. 4 overall player, and he is followed by fellow five-star and No. 9 overall player WR Micah Hudson, which makes Texas the only state outside of Florida with more than one five-star player.
The four Rivals250 newcomers in the latest release are RB Frankie Arthur, DB Ju'Juan Johnson, RB Harry Stewart III and ATH Terry Bussey. The Lone Star State had two major risers in ATH Xavier Filsaime and DB Kobe Black, who jumped 59 and 53 spots, respectively.
*****
California: 23
California remains in the No. 4 spot in the latest rankings update and increases its number of Rivals250 players by two with 23 players making the cut. Quarterback Julian Sayin remains the class headliner and lone five-star prospect while coming in at No. 5 overall.
The lone Rivals250 newcomer from the Golden State is running back Lamar Radcliffe, who makes his debut at No. 203 overall. The most notable riser from California is OL Brandon Baker, who jumps 12 spots to become the No. 141 overall player in the nation.
*****
Alabama: 11
Alabama once again rounds out the top five with 11 total Rivals250 prospects in our newest release. Although Alabama is high in terms of elite talent, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the class headliner comes in at No. 81 overall in DE Kavion Henderson.
There was little change overall within the state as Alabama didn't have any newcomers in the latest rankings release. OLB Demarcus Riddick is the state's biggest mover by jumping 47 spots to become the nation's No. 87 overall prospect.