Rivals Rankings Week: Texas, Florida in tight race for No. 1 state
The updated Rivals250 for the 2023 class has been released and the usual suspects are at the top again. The South continues to reign supreme, and while the same five states from our last release are at the top, there has been some movement within those five.
Texas added two players and continues to lead the way with 45 prospects in the latest update. It is followed closely by Florida with 44 prospects, Alabama with 21 and Georgia with 20. Louisiana continues to round out the top five with 17 prospects in the new Rivals250.
NEW STATE RANKINGS: Hawaii, Wisconsin added during latest update
NEW POSITION RANKINGS: Athlete | Safety | Cornerback | Outside LB | Inside LB | Strongside DE | Weakside DE | Defensive tackle | Offensive Tackle | Offensive Guard | Center | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Running Back | All-Purpose Back | Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Should Branch be the No. 1 WR? | Who will be the next five-star?
Tuesday: New Rivals250 | Biggest Movers | Gorney goes position-by-position
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Teams that should be pleased | QB rankings spotlight | RB rankings spotlight | WR/TE rankings spotlight | OL rankings spotlight
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released | D-Line rankings spotlight | Linebacker rankings spotlight | DB rankings spotlight | Could this be the best QB class ever?
Friday: State rankings released | Who is on cusp of four-star ranking?
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1. TEXAS
TJ Shanahan Jr. maintains the top spot, followed by fellow five-star prospects Anthony Hill, David Hicks Jr. and Javien Toviano.
There were two Rivals250 newcomers in the state: Oklahoma OLB commit Samuel Omosigho and Arkansas CB commit Jaylon Braxton. An eye-opening six players from Texas moved up 40 or more spots during the latest update – led by Baylor QB commit Austin Novosad, who made a gigantic 76-spot leap to become the No. 136 player overall.
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2. FLORIDA
The Sunshine State comes in at No. 2 overall again, but it has closed the gap on Texas even more with 44 players making the latest Rivals250. Florida continues to lead the nation in five-star talent, with a total of eight, which is up two from the last rankings release.
The only newly minted five-star player in the 2023 class was Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. And Florida is a great example of the rich getting richer with the addition of Washington import Jayden Wayne.
There are two Rivals250 newcomers from the state in Ohio State WR commit Bryson Rodgers and Penn State CB commit Conrad Hussey. There was little upward movement within the Florida borders as the biggest riser of the impressive group is WR Tyler Williams, who moved up nine spots.
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3. ALABAMA
Alabama lost one player overall, but the state retains the No. 3 spot with 21 prospects in the latest Rivals250. Oddly enough, with as much talent as Alabama has produced in 2023 it continues to lack a five-star prospect.
Alabama didn't have a Rivals250 newcomer in the latest update, but it did have a major riser in Alabama WDE commit Yhonzae Pierre. Pierre jumped 102 spots to become the No. 93 prospect in the 2023 class.
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4. GEORGIA
The Peach State remains in the fourth spot with 20 players overall in the Rivals250, which is up from the 19 players it had in the previous release. While there are a number of players who will be considered for five-star status by the time this class is finished being ranked, Georgia currently falls into the same category as Alabama in that it does not have a single five-star player.
Georgia's lone RIvals250 newcomer is Clemson commit Branden Strozier, who makes his debut as the nation's No. 200 player. The state's biggest mover is TE Ethan Davis, who jumped 28 spots to No. 92 overall.
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5. LOUISIANA
Louisiana rounds out the top five again with 17 prospects and the nation's reigning No. 1 overall player in Texas QB commit Arch Manning. Manning remains the only five-star player from The Boot, with the next closest player coming in at No. 40 overall in fellow Texas commit DB Derek Williams.
Louisiana didn't have any Rivals250 newcomers during the latest release and with three players improving their previous ranking there was very little upward movement overall. The state's two biggest risers jumped 38 spots apiece in new No. 107 prospect OT Zalance Heard and No. 109 prospect and LSU OT commit Tyree Adams.