Rivals continues to roll out its updated rankings for the 2021 class and our focus today moves to the defensive line. There are already four five-star defensive linemen and 46 defensive linemen in the Rivals250. Below is a brief overview of the biggest storylines coming out of the rankings update as we wrap up the 2019 season.
2021 DL POSITION RANKINGS: Weakside defensive ends | Strongside defensive ends | defensive tackles
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK CLASS OF 2021:
Monday: Top 10 revealed
Tuesday: Rivals100 revealed | Mind of Mike on updated ranking
Wednesday: Rivals250 revealed
Thursday: Position rankings revealed
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
Teams with the top commits: Ohio State & Miami
No team has a commitment from more than one defensive lineman in the Rivals250, but Ohio State’s commitment from five-star Jack Sawyer is easily the single best commitment for any school. Sawyer was a shoo-in for the Buckeyes. The defensive end is an in-state prospect that committed to Ohio State when he was still a sophomore. Sawyer will almost certainly be the gem of this class.
Miami has the most defensive line commitments in the 2021 class (three) and the most four-star commitments (two). Chamon Metayer is the highest rated in the class right now. The defensive end chose the hometown Hurricanes in February, but he’s not the only hometown four-star defensive lineman to commit to Miami. Defensive tackle Savion Collins has been commitment to Miami since September of 2018. His commitment is the second oldest in this Miami class. Tyler Johnson, a defensive end from south Florida, is also committed to Miami.
Teams to watch: Clemson, LSU, and Penn State
Clemson already has its top targets in place for the 2021 class. The No. 1 priority is No. 1 prospect Korey Foreman. The defensive end also has Clemson near the top of his list of options. North Carolina Rivals100 defensive tackle Payton Page is very interested in Clemson and the Tigers have done a good job with him so far. Rivals250 defensive end Cade Denhoff has made it clear Clemson is one of his top choices and it seems like the Tigers have reciprocated that interest.
LSU is in position to land an outstanding group of defensive linemen in the 2021 class. Five-stars Foreman and Maason Smith are right at the top of their wish list. Most people believe Smith could be leaning toward LSU at the moment. Rivals100 prospects Payton Page, Landon Jackson and Monkell Goodwine aren’t much further down the list for LSU. Goodwine has a visit to LSU coming up in January and he remains in close contact with the coaching staff.
There is going to be some turnover along the defensive line at Penn State and the Nittany Lions are ready to reload with some impressive talent. Interior linemen like Rivals100 defensive tackles Tywone Malone and Elliot Donald, along with Rivals250 defensive tackles KaTron Evans and Marcus Bradley, are major priorities for Penn State. Goodwine is a top target for multiple schools, but Penn State was one of the first to make an impression on him. The Nittany Lions are also pushing for Rivals250 defensive ends Aaron Armitage, Elijah Jeudy and KeChaun Bennett.
Player to watch: Korey Foreman
Foreman is the obvious player to watch here. He’s the No. 1 player in the country and every school in the country is coming after him. So far, the teams that he is most interested in are Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and USC. The Trojans might have the inside track here because current Trojan Drake Jackson is a close friend and former teammate. That hasn’t slowed down the other top contenders though. Expect Foreman to take his visits and do plenty of research before committing.
