Three-Point Stance: Five-star defenders, Luke Nickel, five to watch

The New Year brings transition in the college football recruiting industry. Not only does it signal the end of the season and ensuing coaching changes, but prep seasons and all-star settings come to a close as well, putting a bow on the evaluation side of the cycle ahead of final rankings going public.

Then the page turns to the next cycle, in this case the class of 2025, so we'll look at each side of the coin on this final day of January.

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CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals100

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Rivals published its final rankings for the 2024 class last week, and there's always a back-and-forth in opinion, often brought to our attention on social media when one fan base is "disrespected" by a ranking or rating.

Georgia defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, Notre Dame linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Florida linebacker Myles Graham are among the prospects that are five-stars exclusively on Rivals. Their college and eventual pro prospects will help to settle just how right or wrong we were with the trio, but each has a common trait making it easier to explain the reasoning our evaluators are so much higher on the group -- third-down value. It's an easier sell up front, sure, but second-level players are showcasing it more than ever.

Linebackers at the top of any ranking must bring a modern trait to the table beyond prep dominance and chase-and-tackle numbers, with a third-down role often separating the best from the rest. Viliamu-Asa can get after the passer and hold his own in coverage when asked to. He did so against some of the best national competition at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco over the years, with seven sacks and two interceptions to his name as an upperclassman.

Graham is one of the top running back/linebacker combo players in the class, but on third downs he can occupy a lot of space as a cover player or against the quarterback, something we saw in real time at the Under Armour All-America Game.

Jonah-Ajonye does so with a strong combination of speed and power, able to showcase his pass-rush game from the inside or beyond.

Jumping to the class of 2025, many of the nation's best got after it at the Battle 7-on-7 event over the weekend. Many turned heads in a highly-competitive setting, but it was Luke Nickel who took his team to the title playing for Cam Newton's program. The Miami commitment is not considered to be among the top-end of the 2025 quarterbacks at this stage but Rivals exclusively rates him as a blue-chip recruit at this time and the last six months have potentially proven that even we're behind in this evaluation.

Nickel has done nothing but win since August. He led Milton (Ga.) High School to the state championship in the state of Georgia's highest classification before winning the tournament on Sunday. In that junior campaign, he threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 39 touchdowns against five interceptions, while completing 66 percent of his attempts along the way. He added a half-dozen rushing scores in the run, showing enough movement skills as required by the modern asks at the position.

On the latter point, Nickel continues to display modern traits the more we get eyes on him. He has that combination of risk-taking third-level juice that fans can rally behind, yet he protects the football. He can push to move the chains with his legs, but can also work laterally to buy his targets more time to create separation. These were on display over the weekend, in addition to some strong off-platform work with different arm angles relative to beating pressure.

Throw in clear confidence, an upright delivery and a strong build at 6-foot-2, more than 200 pounds, and Miami's early evaluation of Nickel looks like one of the best in the cycle having taken him before this run materialized.

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From the Rivals Camp Series to several other marquee events, our staff will get eyes on plenty of prospects for the first time in the coming weeks and months. Here are five more in the Southern footprint, all unrated coming into 2024, we'd like to measure up as their recruiting options grow in the New Year.

Length and technique can help a defensive back's offer list blow up and that's what happened with Paret following his junior season. The Miami native can also cover a lot of ground and play the ball at the catch point with a competitive edge, the type of play-making college coaches expect to see when scouting in South Florida.

Oregon, Nebraska, UCF and others have jumped in on Paret in recent weeks.

The big pass-catcher could project as a jumbo X or even a split-out tight end when all is said and done. He's now at powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami, Auburn and many others have jumped in with scholarship offers in the last week alone. He can work the boundary with great body control and/or go up and get it at 6-foot-3-plus.

The big safety has been racking up offers as college coaches get eyes on his 6-foot-2 frame, including from Texas A&M, Maryland, Pitt and others. He runs well and finishes with pop while working downhill, though he also has some cornerback experience. Carter is physical at the line of scrimmage and has a nose for the football, potentially projecting as a hybrid at the next level.

The pass rusher from central Florida has a lot of reported college interest and found his home down I-4 with a commitment to USF recently. Hines has a great frame at 6-foot-5 with strong pass rush samples on the outside as well as on the interior. Working against better competition in the offseason could push this to become a steal for the Bulls down the line.

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A lengthy cornerback with a head-turning athletic profile, Purcell also has production to his name in hauling in seven interceptions as a junior. But as he gets sized up by college coaches this winter, his state title-winning 6-foot-8 high jump mark comes up in conversation aplenty on its own.

There are multiple blue-chip defenders on the Enterprise High School defense, led by four-star Zion Grady, but Purcell is making his own path anyway.