Texas Spotlight: Five players just outside the 2020 Rivals Top 100

The first Rivals Top 100 list for the 2020 class was released late last month, but there are plenty of players that weren’t immediately featured that are certain to be in the Rivals250. Here are five names from Texas to look out for in 2020 of players that are certain to be included when the complete list is released later on this summer.

CLASS OF 2020: West Region players to watch | Southeast | Mid-Atlantic | Midwest | 2020 Rivals Top 100| 2020 Roundtable

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

If one didn’t know anything about the wide receivers at the Houston Rivals Camp Series presented by adidas prior to the start of it, one likely would have guessed Sullivan to be ranked as highly - if not higher than guys like Elijah Higgins, Jalen Curry or camp MVP Garrett Wilson. Sullivan was every bit as impressive as those players, who are all highly ranked talents in their own right, and he has a nice starter-pack of offers heading into his junior season. Sullivan was an interesting name to keep track of since the spring after his freshman season, but now he is starting to really look the part of a player that should be in the Rivals250 - both physically and with his play on the field.

For some time, the name to know on the Helotes-O’Connor offensive line has been 2019 TCU commit Brannon Brown. But after last season, it’s clear that Parr is going to be the man up front for the next few years. As a tackle prospect, he’s still not quite as tall as some of the other players at his position that usually find themselves exceptionally high in the rankings, but it’s hard to argue with how well he moves his feet and how effective his punch and extension are when initiating a block. Parr also has a handful of FBS offers and has started making the rounds on some visits this spring.

Thompson is already one of the more familiar names of a very talented young core of players at Duncanville and has quickly become the focus of several top in-state programs. Early on, he’s been more involved with Baylor, but Texas and Texas A&M aren’t going to give up on him without a fight. Thompson still has a degree of reckless abandon in his game, but his physical potential is already clear to see and he already checks a lot of the boxes as a top playmaking safety out of the secondary. Perhaps most importantly, he’s not shy about sticking his nose in on a play to make a big hit.

As long as Smith will be covered as a recruit - and throughout his expected college career - he’ll likely always be mentioned in the same breath as his father, NFL legend Emmitt Smith. No question, he has big cleats to fill, but at this point he’s a different sort of player than his father was. At the Dallas Rivals Camp Series presented by adidas a few weekends ago, he flashed his chops as a sharp pass-catcher, even though he might not have truly elite-level speed. He’s a well-built offensive weapon that can be moved around in pass sets. Even though he has a big name to live up to, he seems to be off to a promising start.

Quarterbacks have been somewhat hit-or-miss in the past few recruiting classes in Texas, but Seals has been a name that could appears on the verge of breaking out. Since winning the quarterback MVP award that the Dallas Rivals 3 Stripe Camp recently, he’s been making the rounds to several schools. Once his spring football season gets underway at Weatherford, he should be able to turn much of the early interest he’s seen into offers. He’s got a snappy release and is one of the most well-rounded QBs in the state, regardless of class.