The preseason rankings updates are upon us as the 2025 class rankings get a refresh this week. The latest 2025 five-stars will be unveiled tomorrow and Julian Lewis is facing a mountain of competition as he tries to hold onto the top spot in the Rivals250.
Who should be ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250? The national recruiting analysts - Adam Friedman, John Garcia Jr., Adam Gorney, Marshall Levenson, Greg Smith and Sam Spiegelman - give their takes on who they think should be ranked No. 1 in the Rivals250.
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Five-Star Countdown
Tuesday: New Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney goes position-by-position | Biggest risers
Wednesday: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings breakdown | RB rankings breakdown | WR/TE rankings breakdown | OL rankings breakdown
Thursday: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings breakdown | LB rankings breakdown | DB rankings breakdown | ATH rankings breakdown
Friday: New state rankings released | Who is No. 1 in each state?
Saturday: Roundtable on the new Rivals250 rankings
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FRIEDMAN’S VIEW: Bryce Underwood
The Rivals Five-Star and the other camps attended by top prospects this summer afforded the analyst team an updated look at many of the highest-ranked prospects in the nation. Julian Lewis, Bryce Underwood and Tavien St. Clair are separated by the slimmest of margins in my mind. I worry that we’ve “over scouted” Lewis, made too ambitious of a projection with St. Clair, and haven’t learned enough about how Underwood performs against high-end competition. Heading into the pivotal senior season, I’ll give the nod to Underwood, the most physically gifted and experienced of the three quarterbacks, as the top player in the Rivals250.
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GARCIA’S VIEW: Tavien St. Clair
St. Clair, after seeing him at multiple events this off-season, may offer the best combination of physical upside and overall ceiling when looking at this elite crop of quarterbacks. There is no doubting his physical stature, on a classic pocket style passer frame, while also being equipped with modern athletic traits. His multisport background allows for a live arm with multiple angles as needed on top of a mechanically smooth delivery. The Ohio State commitment is among the safest bets in the class, but it also feels like there is considerable room to grow here.
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GORNEY’S VIEW: Julian Lewis
If this is a contest about the biggest quarterback or the most physically gifted then I would go with St. Clair or Underwood. But if this is about the overall best quarterback in the class then I'm sticking with Lewis in the No. 1 spot.
The USC commit who is still being pursued heavily by Colorado, Indiana, Auburn and others is only supposed to be a junior this upcoming season, he had a phenomenal sophomore year, he has that special quality of making great decisions and avoiding bad throws and while he's a pocket passer, Lewis has the ability to throw on the run, create and pick up yards with his feet when necessary.
He's also proven it numerous times on the biggest stages. Whether it was at the Rivals Five-Star or the Elite 11 this summer or a bunch of 7-on-7 tournaments or especially in games, Lewis has always delivered and continues to prove he's one of the best players in this class.
LEVENSON’S VIEW: Tavien St. Clair
At this point in the cycle, as the 2025 prospects enter their senior seasons, I feel that St. Clair has shown enough to warrant the rise to being the No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250. Lewis, the current No. 1 prospect, has done nothing wrong in his development, but looking to the future, I like St. Clair. If you were to build a quarterback in a lab in this recruiting cycle, there is a good chance it would come out looking like St. Clair and for that reason, I feel a rise is in order. He has an NFL body at 6-foot-4, 228 pounds and has certainly displayed his skills in a bright manner while at the Elite 11 Finals and the Rivals Five-Star this offseason. It is also easy to envision him having early success at Ohio State given his arm talent and the array of elite weapons he will have at his disposal.
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SMITH’S VIEW: Tavien St. Clair
St. Clair is the complete package at quarterback. He’s got great size and can make all the throws on the field. The future Buckeye can really push the ball downfield with his big arm but he also does a nice job throwing with touch and layering his passes. His ability to throw on the run is underrated at this point but it’s a real asset. The scary thing for opponents now and in the Big Ten is that he’s still getting better. The Ohio native is an elite prospect and looks like a future NFL QB.
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SPIEGELMAN’S VIEW: Tavien St. Clair or Bryce Underwood
This is a question I continue to go back and forth over. There are two prospects leading the conversation as their senior seasons get underway -- St. Clair and Underwood. St. Clair is enormously impressive attacking downfield with a live arm and fantastic vision seeing the field, which was on full display during the Rivals Five-Star earlier this summer. Underwood might be the best athlete in the country as well as the best quarterback. During LSU's Friday Night Lights, Underwood delivered strike after strike after strike in a camp setting, fit several throws into tight windows, and made high-level passes in the 7-on-7 portion. There's a case to be made for both St. Clair and Underwood, and I think it'll become clearer later on in the fall.
