Rivals Rankings Week: Top state ranking storylines

The 2020 rankings are completed, and Rivals.com has turned its focus to the 2021 class. We have been updating the rankings all week, and there have been some changes in the state rankings. We take a look at five storylines.

NEW 2021 STATE RANKINGS

RIVALS RANKING WEEK (2021 CLASS) SCHEDULE

Monday: Countdown of new five-stars | Who should be No. 1?

Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Mind of Mike column

Wednesday: Position rankings released | Team rankings breakdown

Friday: New state rankings released

Back in June 2018, quarterback D.J. Uaigalelei moved to the top of the Rivals100 for the first time. We knew it was a very strong year in the state of California, and from June 2018 to November 2019, the Clemson signee was No. 1 in the country.

Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee took over the top spot in November and finished the cycle as the No. 1 prospect in January. Uiagalelei finished No. 3, behind Bresee and another California quarterback, Bryce Young, an Alabama signee.

Fast forward to today, and for the third 2021 rankings update, California defensive end Korey Foreman is the prospect that everyone is chasing. The elite end out of Corona Centennial is already committed to Clemson and he could have committed to any program in the country.

The talent at the top in the Golden State is not what it was a year ago, but it is still very good. It is hard to see someone in California challenging Foreman for the No. 1 spot in-state based on what we have seen so far. He checks every box and, like Bresee in 2020, we could see a defensive lineman finish as the No. 1 player in America again in 2021.

Corey Collier, Jacorey Brooks, Mario Williams and others were ranked ahead of Tyreak Sapp when rankings were updated in November, but not anymore. There is a new No. 1 in the state of Florida.

Sapp had a strong junior season, then flashed at the Future 50 in January, so he has been on a hot streak in recent months. The Florida commit moved up 108 spots, from No. 120 to No. 12.

There are 11 prospects from Florida in the Rivals100, so Sapp has plenty of talent chasing his heels, but after the February update, the St. Thomas Aquinas star is on top of the Sunshine State.

After an impressive junior season and a very strong showing at the All-American Combine in San Antonio, Iowa tight end Thomas Fidone shot up the rankings 144 spots from No. 204 to No. 60. Could he make a push for that fifth star down the road? He has a great frame, soft hands and he is one of the more coveted tight ends in the 2021 class.

Iowa, the in-state program is very much in this, but the Hawkeyes will have to battle the likes of Michigan, Nebraska and Notre Dame.

It is a banner year in Iowa. The state boasts 20 prospects with Power Five offers, which equals the most the state has had since 2004. The state averaged 11 prospects with Power Five offers over the last decade, and those were after the cycle was completely done. We're only in February of these kids' junior years.

In the 2020 rankings, wide receiver Rakim Jarrett (Maryland signee) checked in at No. 19 nationally, and he was the top prospect in Washington, D.C. That was an extremely impressive ranking for an area of that size, but class of 2021 quarterback Caleb Williams is ranked No. 3 in the Rivals100 this cycle, and that is an all-time high for the District of Columbia.

Williams is a national name, and he has been that for more than a year, and programs from all over are in pursuit. There was Georgia chatter in the spring, that shifted to LSU during the season, and after all the changes in Baton Rouge, Oklahoma has been the program trending most recently, but Maryland may be more in this than some may think as well.

He has the skillset all coaches covet in a quarterback due to his ability to throw and run. Williams is a game-changer, and before all is said and done, could end up not only as the top prospect in Washington, D.C., but in the entire country.

The top prospects in Ohio are making early decisions. And most of those decisions are in favor of the Buckeyes. The top six prospects in the state have committed, and five of those have pledged to Ryan Day and Ohio State.

Jack Sawyer headlines the state, and the five-star defensive end committed to the Buckeyes over a year ago. No. 3 is offensive tackle Ben Christman, No. 4 is defensive tackle Michael Hall, No. 5 is inside linebacker Reid Carrico and No. 6 is wide receiver Jaydan Ballard.

The one missing in there is the No. 2 prospect in the state, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles, and he is committed to Notre Dame.

The Buckeyes are involved with others in their home-state, and running back Corey Kiner is one to watch. He checks in at No. 7 and this one could come down to Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State.