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Rivals Rankings Week: Texas leads the way in producing Rivals250 talent

David Hicks Jr.
David Hicks Jr. (Sam Spiegelman)

The updated Rivals250 for the class of 2023 has been released, and many of the usual suspects known for producing elite talent are at the top again. The South continues to reign supreme with no other geographical region making the top five.

Texas leads the pack with 50 prospects in the latest update. It is followed by Florida with 39 prospects, Georgia with 21 and Alabama with 20. Louisiana rounds out the top five with 17 prospects in the new Rivals250.

Notably absent from the list of top producers is California, which finished fourth in 2022 and just missed the cut here.

RELATED: New 2023 state rankings

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Previews: Who should be No. 1? | Which QB should be next to receive a fifth star? | Can Nico Iamaleava unseat Arch Manning as No. 1 QB? | Who is the best defensive lineman?

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

Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Gorney's thoughts | Biggest movers | Thoughts on M'Pemba, Tate, Haynes

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Five schools that should be pleased | Breaking down the QB rankings | Breaking down the RB rankings | Breaking down the WR/TE rankings | Breaking down the OL rankings

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released | Breaking down the DL rankings | Breaking down the LB rankings | Breaking down the DB rankings | Breaking down the ATH ranking

Friday: State rankings released

Saturday: Rival Views

Sunday: Who will move up most in the next Rivals250?

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1. TEXAS - 50

TJ Shanahan Jr.
TJ Shanahan Jr. (Rivals.com)

Texas separated from the pack by adding an additional five prospects to the Rivals250 in the latest rankings release. Five-star defensive end David Hicks Jr. retains the top spot ahead of fellow five-star prospects OG TJ Shanahan Jr. and LB Anthony Hill.

Texas also leads the way in Rivals250 newcomers with DB Tay'Shawn Wilson, DB Jayvon Thomas, DB Chance Rucker, APB LJ Martin, QB Austin Novosad and OT Colton Thomasson making their debut.

Major risers from the Lone Star State include QB Jackson Arnold and DE Johnny Bowens, who jumped 103 and 67 spots respectively.

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2. FLORIDA - 39

The Sunshine State comes in at No. 2, and although Texas has pulled away from Florida in terms of overall prospects, it is Florida that has the most five-stars with five. Two of the five-stars are newly minted in WR Carnell Tate and DE Keon Keeley, who were both awarded their fifth star this week .

While Florida only had one addition to the updated Rivals250 in WR Aidan Mizell, there were some prospects who made major upward moves. The biggest riser was Clemson WR commit Nathaniel Joseph, who made an incredible 90-spot jump. Other risers of note were Rueben Bain up 75 spots, Damon Wilson up 54 and Michigan commit Raylen Wilson up 30.

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3. GEORGIA - 21

Zechariah Owens
Zechariah Owens (Rivals.com)

The Peach State remains in the third spot with 21 players in the updated Rivals250. While there was little movement from the previous release, Georgia is actually down one prospect from the 22 it had in the previous rankings release. Also notable is the state does not have a single five-star at this time after finishing with two such prospects in the 2022 class.

The most glaring difference in this rankings update is that there wasn't a single prospect from Georgia who improved their ranking in the latest release. The lone exception to this is Rivals250 newcomer OT Zechariah Owens, who debuts as the No. 161 recruit in the country.

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4. ALABAMA - 20

Karmelo Overton
Karmelo Overton

Alabama comes in at No. 4 with 20 players in the updated Rivals250, although the state continues to lack a five-star prospect, the number of recruits who made the cut is up from 19 in our previous release.

The lone Rivals250 newcomer from the state is LB Karmelo Overton, who makes his debut at No. 198 overall. QB Christopher Vizzina saw his stock rocket up 83 spots and is now the No. 54 recruit in the nation.

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5. LOUISIANA - 17

Louisiana rounds out the top five and is very strong at the top with two five-stars and 11 prospects in the top 100. The class headliner is also the nation's No. 1 overall player in QB Arch Manning. WR Shelton Sampson comes in as the other five-star from The Boot and he is also the No. 2 overall player at his position.

There weren't any Rivals250 newcomers in the state and there was actually very little movement overall. Running back Trey Holly comes in as Louisiana's biggest mover by jumping 38 spots to become our No. 86 overall prospect.

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