Tuesdays with Gorney: New 2025 Rivals250 released

The new 2025 rankings have been released so it’s time for Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney to give his thoughts on each position in this week’s Tuesdays With Gorney.

NEW 2025 POSITION RANKINGS: Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB | Running Back | All-Purpose Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Offensive Tackle | Offensive Guard | Center | Defensive Tackle | Weakside Defensive End | Strongside Defensive End | Inside Linebacker | Outside Linebacker | Cornerback | Safety | Athlete

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be No. 1?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: New Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney's thoughts | Biggest movers

Wednesday: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings spotlight | RB rankings spotlight | WR/TE rankings spotlight | OL rankings spotlight

Thursday: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings spotlight | LB rankings spotlight | DB rankings spotlight | ATH rankings spotlight

Friday: New state rankings released | Breaking down state rankings

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FINAL 2023 TEAM RANKINGS: Comprehensive (overall) ranking | High school/JUCO ranking | Transfer portal ranking

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

TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer portal player ranking | Transfer portal team ranking | Transfer Tracker | Message board

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Bryce Underwood remains the lone five-star quarterback in the 2025 class and while it’s early, there should probably be more considering the history of that position in the NFL Draft. The only discussion remaining is which quarterbacks have the best chance of moving up to that elite status.

The player with the most potential could be Brentwood (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy’s George MacIntyre because of his size and athleticism (he’s also a good basketball player).

Texas commit KJ Lacey and Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy’s Deuce Knight are also ranked very highly right now.

This quarterback class has good depth and talent down the rankings but I’m not sure – yet – that it’s a really high-end group at the top.

Based on NFL draft trends, it’s more difficult than it used to be to have five-star running backs since their positional value just isn’t as important in the first round of the draft but it would be very tough to keep Jordon Davison as a four-star so we bumped him up. It was a mistake to not have Ezekiel Elliott as a five-star especially after he was the fourth overall pick and Davison is a similar player at the same stage.

Others will be in contention for a bump up as well with Metairie (La.) St. Martin’s Episcopal’s Harlem Berry having the best shot but Alvin Henderson is definitely an interesting player, there’s a lot of depth at the running back spot and Anthony Rogers at all-purpose is definitely someone to watch as well because he can do everything.

There is going to be an ongoing debate that might not get settled for some time about who is the No. 1 receiver and it’s basically between Alabama commit Ryan Williams and LSU pledge Dakorien Moore right now. It will also be discussed whether Colorado pledge Winston Watkins remains as a five because he’s incredibly dynamic and talented but gets a little hot and cold at times.

There are many other really talented receivers in this class but I’m not sure we expand beyond three five-stars at this point even with Caleb Cunningham and Alabama commit Jaime Ffrench high on the list. The one to watch could be Oregon commit Dallas Wilson, who could emerge as maybe the best receiver in the state of Florida this recruiting cycle.

Naeshaun Montgomery is another Florida receiver that is super talented and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy’s Donovan Olugbode just gets the job done. Not sure he’s a five-star but Olugbode is really reliable, catches everything and is a great playmaker as well.

The 2024 tight end class is incredibly loaded and there could still be a bunch of shaking out to do when it comes to the rankings there. The 2025 group is good but doesn’t carry the same high-end talent at the same stage. Still, there are a lot of tight ends I like a lot in this group.

Georgia commit Elyiss Williams has awesome length and at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, looks like one of the best players in the class. But former Notre Dame commit Nate Roberts and Bear Tenney, who moved from Arizona to Texas for his junior season, are definitely standouts.

The one to keep watching is Kiotti Armstrong. The Jasper, Texas, recruit already looks like a college football player as he has a great mix of size, speed and strength.

David Sanders might be the best player in the country as the five-star offensive tackle has been dominant early in his junior season and looks completely awesome. The NFL Draft trend is not for offensive tackles to go No. 1 overall but it has happened before and Sanders might be too good to keep off that top line.

The other five-star right now is Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman’s Douglas Utu and I love that pick because he simply does not lose to defensive linemen. He’s a powerful and sturdy brick wall who controls the line of scrimmage.

But others could push higher up the list as well. Georgia commit Micah Debose continues to reshape his body and he looked great this summer. Texas offensive linemen Michael Fasusi and Lamont Rogers are dominant and Fasusi might be the most athletic lineman in the class other than Sanders. There are a bunch of massive offensive tackles such as Brayden Jacobs, Nicolai Brooks and others who could get a bump based on projection.

On the interior, Solomon Thomas still leads the way at offensive guard but Las Vegas Bishop Gorman teammates SJ Alofaituli and Alai Kalaniuvalu are tough, strong and just don’t get beaten by defensive tackles. San Francisco (Calif.) Riordan’s Peter Langi is one to watch because big offers keep coming in.

Savannah (Ga.) Christian’s Elijah Griffin remains the No. 1 prospect in the country but there will be plenty of top players pushing for that top spot and we’re not totally sure if Griffin can stay on the edge in college or if his size will move him inside. Either way, Griffin is dominant and quick for how big he is but there will be questions if he’s absolutely, without a doubt, the top player in the class.

Miami (Fla.) Central’s Armondo Blount could be one of those five-stars that pushes for that top spot and then Edwardsville, Ill., four-star defensive end Iose Epenesa is fast and furious coming off the edge but hasn’t attended many national events yet.

At weakside defensive end, there could be room for a lot of change. Troy (Ala.) Henderson’s Zion Grady leads the group right now but Zahir Mathis from Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter has incredible length and size and could push for that top spot as well. Others I’m watching through their junior seasons that could move to No. 1: Jared Smith, Javion Hilson and others.

There are no five-star defensive tackles but Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove’s Andrew Maddox is outstanding on film and Georgia commit Justus Terry from Manchester, Ga., absolutely looks the part. Christopher Isaiah Campbell from Durham (N.C.) Southern Durham has that freaky athleticism where he could keep climbing up the charts.

The outside linebacker spot is far more loaded in the 2025 group as Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy’s Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Ellaville (Ga.) Schley County’s Zayden Walker both have five-star potential. I also really like Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei’s Nasir Wyatt and San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic’s Madden Faraimo as both are elite as pass rushers and in space. Omaha (Neb.) Westside’s Christian Jones was excellent this summer and really impressed as well.

At inside linebacker, there could be a lot of room for changes moving forward. Riley Pettijohn leads the way now but Noah Mikhail has impressive size and movement ability and others will be watched as well. That could be a position group that sees a lot of shakeup in the coming months.

There is one five-star here in Houston (Texas) North Shore’s Devin Sanchez and it’s going to be tough to knock him off that top spot because he’s so long, athletic and talented. There are a bunch of high-level four-stars but also a ton of room for movement since we’re still figuring out which ones should be slotted where. I’d love to see more of Birmingham (Ala.) Parker’s Na’eem Offord in person because he might end up second-best.

This safety class is loaded. DJ Pickett leads the way and he’s so long and athletic that at least one school has talked to him about playing receiver as well. Maybe Jonah Williams moves to linebacker at some point but he’s one of the best-looking kids in the class as well. Even after moving up, Martels Carter, Jr. might be really underrated at No. 10 at the position.

A lot of these prospects over time will move to their respective positions – whether it’s receiver or defensive back or what have you – but Cameron Sparks leads the way now and on tape he reminds me a lot of JuJu Smith-Schuster. I love his size and playmaking ability and both are really versatile so he could stay toward the top of that list.

There was not a lot of movement here as things shake out through their junior seasons but one player who might be vastly underrated is Jordan Young from Monroe, N.C., who continues to land big offers. Right now he’s the No. 11 athlete in the country but a big season could move him up quickly.