Shakeups in Rivals.com's final 2016 position rankings
The final position rankings of the 2016 class have been completed, and there are several shakeups following all-star season when prospects can be further evaluated against top-flight competition.
PRO-STYLE QUARTERBACK
NOTABLE RISER: K.J. Costello, Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic (Up 2 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Feleipe Franks, Crawfordville (Fla.) Wakulla (Down 1 spot)
COMMENTS: The winter all-star game season gave us a chance to see eight of the top nine players at the position, resulting in some minor tweaks to the position ranking. Costello regains his spot at No. 2 in the ranking after a strong Army Bowl performance, while Oklahoma commit Austin Kendall also jumps two spots and takes over at No. 4 after a good showing in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. Georgia commit Jacob Eason remains No. 1.
DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK
NOTABLE RISER: Terry Wilson, Del City, Okla. (Up 14 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Dillon Sterling-Cole, Houston (Texas) Westfield (Down 8 spots)
COMMENTS: Shea Patterson’s MVP performance in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl strengthened his spot atop this list. The only change in the top five is Florida State commit Malik Henry swapping spots with Tennessee commit Jarrett Guarantano at No. 2. Oregon commit Terry Wilson utilized his Semper Fi Bowl game opportunity to vault way up in the final rankings update, while Sterling-Cole slides after missing his opportunity.
ALL-PURPOSE BACK
NOTABLE RISER: D'Vaughn Pennamon, Manvel, Texas (Up 5 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Tavien Feaster, Spartanburg, S.C. (Down 2 spots)
COMMENTS: Penn State commit Miles Sanders takes over No. 1 after Feaster’s continued lack of consistency and effort drops him from the top spot. Ohio State commit DeMario McCall moves in from the Athlete position and takes over at No. 2, while Pennamon’s bump earns him a spot in the top five. Further down the list, Arizona commit J.J. Taylor jumps into the ranking at No. 16 after earning a ratings bump.
RUNNING BACK
NOTABLE RISER: Vavae Malepeai, Mililani, Hawaii (Up 7 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Kareem Walker, Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic (Down 5 spots)
COMMENTS: Walker has held the top spot in this ranking throughout, but drops to sixth in the final update. Alabama commit B.J. Emmons finishes No. 1 overall after being No. 4 in the previous update. That No. 4 spot is now held by Malepeai, who jumps into the top 10 after a strong showing at the Army Bowl. Florida State commit Amir Rasul, Notre Dame commit Tony Jones and Ole Miss commit Jarrion Street are other positive movers.
FULLBACK
NOTABLE RISER: Bailey McElwain, Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt Trussville (Debuts at No. 5)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Once again there are few changes in the five-person fullback ranking. LSU commit Devin White remains No. 1, followed by Michigan commit Kingston Davis, UCLA commit Jalen Starks and Arkansas commit Hayden Johnson. McElwain, a Stanford commit, enters the ranking and rounds out the top five.
WIDE RECEIVER
NOTABLE RISER: Cornell Powell, Greenville (N.C.) Rose (Up 15 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Rontavius Groves, Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn (Down 16 spots)
COMMENTS: With former No. 1 Nate Craig-Myers dropping from five-star status, Arizona State commit N'Keal Harry takes over as the top prospect in this ranking. He is followed by new five-star Tyler Vaughns, a USC commit, at No. 2. Powell’s jump gets him to the No. 4 position on the list, while Mississippi native A.J. Brown also makes a big jump to crack the top 10 after a strong showing at the Under Armour game.
TIGHT END
NOTABLE RISER: Miller Forristall, Cartersville, Ga. (Up 18 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Although most of the top tight end prospects participated in an all-star game this winter, the position ranking sees very few moves at the top. California native Devin Asiasi accounts for the only move in the top five, jumping from No. 4 to No. 2 after showing well at the Army Bowl. Forristall and Missouri native Chase Allen each make jumps from the bottom of the ranking to the mid-tier.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
NOTABLE RISER: Tramonda Moore, Oklahoma City (Texas) John Marshall (Up 19 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Willie Allen, River Ridge (La.) John Curtis (Down 23 spots)
COMMENTS: Winter all-star games revealed the postseason ranking was pretty accurate. A couple prospects previously in the top 10 moved over to the offensive guard position, leaving new five-star Landon Young’s one-spot jump to No. 3 as the only ranking adjustment in the top 10. Notre Dame commit Liam Eichenberg and Moore are new four-stars and debut in the top 15 for the first time.
OFFENSIVE GUARD
NOTABLE RISER: Landon Dickerson, Hudson (N.C.) South Caldwell (Up 2 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Deonte Brown, Decatur (Ala.) Austin (Down 13 spots)
COMMENTS: Dickerson takes over as the new No. 1 with his slight adjustment upward and Patrick Hudson and Terrance Davis slumping. The majority of adjustments in this ranking were lower, making room for Penn State commit Michal Menet to crack the top five after moving over from the offensive tackle position. Ole Miss commit Chandler Tuitt breaks into the ranking at No. 44 after a ratings bump.
CENTER
NOTABLE RISER: Brett Heggie, Mount Dora, Fla. (Debuts at No. 5)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: This is another five-person ranking that sees very little change in the final update. Heggie, a Florida commit, saw his Rivals Rating increase after a solid showing at the Under Armour game and rounds out the ranking, which is still led by a trio of four-stars in Florida State commit Baveon Johnson, Penn State commit Connor McGovern and Kentucky commit Drake Johnson.
WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE END
NOTABLE RISER: Andre Anthony, New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr (Up 6 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Janarius Robinson, Panama City (Fla.) Bay (Down 4 spots)
COMMENTS: Five-star Terrell Hall remains No. 1 in this ranking, but he is now joined by a second five-star in Florida commit Antonneous Clayton. Brian Burns jumps up two spots after a strong showing at the Army Bowl and now resides inside the top five. Anthony, an LSU commit, as well as Mississippi State commit Drelan Porter are new four-stars who move into the top 20 of this ranking.
STRONGSIDE DEFENSIVE END
NOTABLE RISER: Jeffery Simmons, Macon (Miss.) Noxubee County (Up 2 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Marlon Davidson, Greenville, Ala. (Down 2 spots)
COMMENTS: Simmons takes over the No. 1 spot on this list after earning a bump to five-stars. Davidson, the former No. 1, drops to No. 3 in this ranking, but retains his fifth star. Arkansas commit McTelvin Agim and Michigan State commit Josh King get small nudges up after strong all-star game performances and now sit at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, in this ranking.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
NOTABLE RISER: Benito Jones, Waynesboro (Miss.) Wayne County (Up 6 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Kendell Jones, Killeen (Texas) Shoemaker (Down 16 spots)
COMMENTS: The position adds two new five-stars, but the top four remain the same as Derrick Brown and Houston commit Ed Oliver were already ranked Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Jones’ six-spot jump earns him the fifth spot in this ranking. One of the biggest jumps in this update belongs to Alabama commit Quinnen Williams, who was previously a three-star but now resides high in the Rivals250 and sits at No. 11 in this ranking.
INSIDE LINEBACKER
NOTABLE RISER: Dontavious Jackson, Houston (Texas) Elsik (Up 4 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Lokeni Toailoa, Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Carter (Down 8 spots)
COMMENTS: Clemson commit Tre Lamar earns his fifth star in this update, but actually drops a spot in the ranking down to No. 3 because fellow five-star Mique Juarez moves into the ranking from the outside linebacker position. They both follow Alabama native Ben Davis, who remains No. 1 at the position. Miami commit Shaquille Quarterman is now No. 4 after a bump in his Rivals Rating, with Jackson rounding out the top five.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
NOTABLE RISER: Noah Burks, Carmel, Ind. (Up 16 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Keenan Pili, Provo (Utah) Timpview (Down 21 spots)
COMMENTS: With Juarez now at inside linebacker, Clemson commit Rahshaun Smith takes over at No. 1 after a strong week at the Under Armour game. New five-star Erick Fowler, an LSU commit, takes over the No. 2 spot in a ranking that features seven five-stars. Minnesota commit Carter Coughlin and Washington, D.C., native Aaron Hansford use strong all-star game performances to move into the top 10.
CORNERBACK
NOTABLE RISER: Troy Pride, Greer, S.C. (Up 9 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Jayvaughn Myers, Dade City (Fla.) Pasco (Down 17 spots)
COMMENTS: New five-star Jack Jones moves into the ranking from the Athlete position and takes over the No. 2 spot behind fellow five-star Levonta Taylor. Miami commit Tyler Byrd also moves into the position from Athlete and lands at No. 7 after a jump in his Rivals Rating. New four-stars Pride, a Notre Dame commit, and Washington commit Kentrell Love jump into the top 25.
SAFETY
NOTABLE RISER: Chanse Sylvie, Shreveport (La.) Calvary Academy (Up 14 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Jordan Fuller, Old Tappan, N.J. (Down 13 spots)
COMMENTS: The top four prospects in this ranking after postseason evaluations all saw their stock drop, paving the way for California native Lamar Jackson to take over as the No. 1 prospect in the final update. Georgia native Nigel Warrior also benefits from the top four’s fall and now rounds out the top five in this ranking. Oklahoma commit Sylvie used a strong Army Bowl showing to make the biggest jump.
ATHLETE
NOTABLE RISER: Kiel Pollard, Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County (Up 11 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: Demetric Felton, Temecula (Calif.) Great Oak (Down 1 spot)
COMMENTS: This ranking sees a lot of defections as players’ college positions become more settled. Five-stars Demetris Robertson and Mecole Hardman Jr. remain, however, and hold down the top two spots in the ranking. At No. 3 is one of the few who moved into the position – Georgia native Marquez Callaway, who comes over from wide receiver.
KICKER
NOTABLE RISER: Braden Mann, Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair (Up 3 spots)
NOTABLE DROPPER: None
COMMENTS: Several kickers and punters performed at all-star games over the winter, giving us a chance to compare many of the top players side-by-side. Mann, a Texas A&M commit, was one of the clear standouts and he moves into the No. 2 spot on this list. Ohio State commit Drue Chrisman makes his debut on the list at No. 5 after a strong showing throughout the week at the Army Bowl.