Rivals Rankings Week: Updated 2021 athlete rankings
The Rivals rankings for the class of 2021 have been updated, and we are breaking down the position rankings throughout the week. The final position to cover is athlete, which sees more volatility than any other position due to the number of prospects that move in and out of this ranking each update.
2021 RANKINGS: Athletes
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
TEAMS WITH MULTIPLE COMMITS: Texas and Florida State
Texas commit Billy Bowman holds onto the top spot in the athlete position rankings after ascending to that spot in the post-junior season update. His fellow Longhorn commit Juan Davis sits at No. 31 in the ranking after this update. The pair of athlete prospects committed to the Longhorns during the same week last July.
Florida State, meanwhile, checks in with a pair of prospects ranked, both landing a few spots from each other. Dequaveon Fuller plans to follow his older brother Quashon Fuller to Tallahassee. He checks in at No. 42 in this ranking, while fellow Florida State commit KeyShawn Spencer is just a few spots back at No. 45. Oregon was in this group with a pair of commitments from Seven McGee and Anthony Beavers, who both rank in the top 10 at the athlete position, but Beavers de-committed from the Ducks on Wednesday.
PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Nathaniel Wiggins
Atlanta’s Nathaniel Wiggins was ranked outside the top 20 when the 2021 athlete rankings were last updated back in December, but he made a big jump into the top 10 in this update. Wiggins was the only prospect to make the three-star to four-star jump in this update of the athlete position, and lands at No. 9 in this ranking.
Wiggins has also seen a commensurate expansion of his recruiting process. In just the week that started on Jan. 19, Wiggins added eight new offers from the likes of Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. With his offer list fast-approaching two dozen total schools, Wiggins announced a top 10 the day after National Signing Day.
PROSPECT TO WATCH: Chase Smith
One prospect who received a lot of discussion during rankings meetings was Florida native Chase Smith, who debuts in this ranking at No. 16. Smith landed a few offers during his junior season, but his recruitment started to really build momentum in January when he landed offers from Oklahoma, Miami, Utah, Florida State, Florida and Purdue. A two-way prospect who plays both wide receiver and safety for his Bayside High team, Smith earned Player of the Year honors in his District after catching 50 passes for 716 yards and seven touchdowns, and totaling 72 tackles and four interceptions on defense. The tall, rangy athlete has playmaking ability on either side of the football, and starts off rated as a four-star prospect.