Texas Spotlight: Five questions ahead of rankings release

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

The Rivals Analyst Team starts the process of updating the Rivals rankings of the 2019 and 2020 classes this week following a busy spring evaluation period that included, among other events, 13 Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas events. Today we look at some of the biggest questions to answer in Texas going into those meetings.

RANKINGS QUESTIONS: Florida | Midwest | Southeast | Mid-Atlantic | West

For the past few rounds of rankings updates, both Theo Wease and Arjei Henderson have been in the top-seven players nationally, and both wide receivers are on their second commitment to Oklahoma. Wease earned a return invite to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas with another dominating camp performance in Dallas, while Henderson has been active on the 7-on-7 front this spring. Both are special talents at the position, but bring different qualities that make them special.

Not helping either is the strong performances of other wide receivers not just from around the country – but just within Texas. Garrett Wilson and Elijah Higgins are two names that come to mind as prospects that have helped themselves with strong spring performances across several events.

Arizona commit Grant Gunnell has been the name at the top of the list at the quarterback position going back to last year, and behind him have been Grant Tisdale and Roschon Johnson. Coming out of the spring, however, the trio of Jacob Clark, Jacob Zeno and Maverick McIvor have all made strong cases as players to be watched heading into the fall.

Zeno and Clark are recent commits to Baylor and Minnesota, respectively, but McIvor is starting to see his recruitment take off as well, with a number of West Coast teams looking to make a move with him. All three turned in positive performances not just in their Rivals Camp Series appearances but at other events so far this offseason as well. Even if none of them make a major jump, all should be positioned to shake up what has been an otherwise stagnant quarterback hierarchy within the state by the end of summer or early in fall.

The 2018 class wasn’t overly inspiring at defensive tackle in the state with just one player in the Rivals250 from the state in Calvin Avery. Heading into the most recent rankings release, no player in the state is currently even ranked a four-star at the position. In Houston, Texas A&M commit Joshua Ellison was strong, and in Dallas, the Mansfield-Legacy duo of Enoch Jackson and Taurean Carter were impressive as well.

There are some other interesting names to keep track of going forward, but not many within the larger metro areas of Houston or Dallas-Fort Worth. Each of the names could make an even bigger step forward in the fall and all have seen their recruitments pick up since the beginning of spring, but going forward, players like Carl Williams, Cooper Laake and Jayden Jernigan could continue to bolster the top of the position.

Truthfully, there isn’t much depth at either inside or outside linebacker group in the state. LSU commit Marcel Brooks has been the top name as a Rivals250 prospect for some time, and David Gbenda has been a spring superstar in terms of seeing his recruitment take off with a bunch of offers, but both have been in a holding pattern in terms of what they’ve been able to show of themselves to this point, and that leaves opportunity for some other players to get in the picture.

Fort Bend-Travis outside linebacker Zach Zimos seems the most likely player to make a significant move after showing both in camps and the 7-on-7 circuit that his move from safety is a big ingredient in his emergence as a top prospect in his new position. Curley Young is also a name to know as a player that could ultimately end up duking things out with Zimos as the next man up after Brooks on the outside.

Five-star Zach Evans will likely remain the only in-state 2020 five-star prospect after this round of updates, but the battle for the spot behind him in the state rankings will be fierce, and it's a safe assumption that at least one or two in the top five will ultimately reveal themselves to be five-star prospects in due time.

At the top of that list is four-star Aledo running back and Oklahoma commit Jase McLellan and Houston-North Forest wide receiver Demond Demas. Both players have long been on the radar of programs that recruit at a high level nationally, and continue to show consistent improvement and physical growth every time they compete. Other players like Courtland Ford and Branard Wright, who play premium positions on either side of the line, and defensive back RJ Mickens, who could play any position in the secondary, are also on the shortlist of players that could be in the hunt.