Ups, downs of August positional rankings
POS: PQB | DQB | RB | APB | FB | WR | TE | OT | OG | OC | DT | WDE | SDE | ILB | OLB | CB | S | ATH | K
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Since our last round of rankings back in May, Rivals.com analysts have crisscrossed to the country to see many of the nation's top prospects compete in camps and combines. With the summer circuit in the rearview mirror and the high school football season upon us, we take a look at notable movements within each position ranking.
INSIDE LOOK: RIVALS.COM POSITION RANKINGS
Pro-style quarterbacks
Notable dropper: Austin Allen, Fayetteville (Ark.} Fayetteville (Down seven spots)
Comments: Changes in the top 10 included a fifth star for Warren (Mich.) De La Salle's Shane Morris and a bump to 6.0 for Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy's Christian Hackenberg. Wayne (N.J.) Wayne Hills Kevin Olsen moved up a couple spots to No. 6, while Colleyville (Texas) Heritage's Cody Thomas fell from No. 6 down to No. 11. Alpharetta (Ga.) and Arizona State commit Joshua Dobbs went from unrated all the way up to No. 21.
Dual-threat quarterbacks
Notable riser: Asiantii Woulard, Winter Park (Fla.) (From No. 13 to No. 2)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: Other than Whitewright (Texas) and Texas commit Tyrone Swoopes losing his fifth star, there wasn't a ton of movement at this position. Besides Woulard's leap all the way to the No. 2 spot, Anthony Jennings of Marietta, Ga.'s move from No. 12 to No. 5 was the most impressive. Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove's Johnathon McCrary's drop from No. 3 to No. 6 also drew a lot of ire from Vanderbilt fans.
All-purpose backs
Notable riser: Taquan Mizzell, Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside (Moved to APB, gainedfifth star)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: The story at this position is the number of players who were re-categorized. Gone is May's No. 1 Tyren Jones and into the No. 2 spot is St. Petersburg (Fla.) Catholic's Ryan Green, who wasn't an all-purpose back before. Also on the move is New Orleans (La.) George Washington Carver back Eugene Brazley, who is now the No. 14 APB after being the No. 42 running back in May's rankings.
Running backs
Notable riser: Kaleb Blanchard, Denham Springs (La.) (Up 11 spots to No. 33)
Notable dropper: D.J. Martin, Bakersfield (Calif.) Stockdale (Down 15 spots)
Comments: After taking the top spot from Oregon commit Thomas Tyner in the last round of rankings, Derrick Green held onto his position as the No. 1 back in the country. Tyner continued his fall, going from No. 2 down to No. 7. Other big moves at the position include West Hills (Calif.) Chamanade's Terrell Newby moving up 14 spots to No. 16 and Chula Vista (Calif.) East Lake's Aaron Baltazar falling from No. 23 to No. 38.
Fullbacks
Notable riser: None
Notable dropper: None
Comments: There were no moves at the fullback position, where Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson and LSU commit Kennard Swanson holds the No. 1 spot.
Wide receivers
Notable riser: Laquon Treadwell, Crete (Ill.) Crete Monee (Moved to No. 1 overall)
Notable dropper: John Diarse, Monroe (La.) Neville (dropped 18 spots)
Comments: Treadwell took over the No. 1 spot, but there were plenty of other high risers after solid summer performances. Philadelphia (Pa.) Roman Catholic's William Fuller moved from No. 55 all the way to No. 28 after standing out during multiple offseason events. District Heights (Mary.) Suitland and Ohio State commitment Taivon Jacobs rocketed up the rankings, going from unranked all the way to the No. 4 spot. Among those who dropped were Matthews (N.C.) Butler wide receiver Uriah LeMay, falling from No. 33 to No. 48, and Long Beach(Calif.) Jordan's John Ross, who fell 24 spots.
Tight ends
Notable riser: Dylan Chmura, Waukesha (Wisc.) West (From unranked to No. 34)
Notable dropper: Standish Dobard, New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr (From No. 8 to No. 12)
Comments: Other than summer standout and Alabama commit O.J. Howard becoming the first five-star tight end since Kyle Rudolph, there weren't a ton of big moves either way. Thomson (Ga.) and Georgia commit Jordan Davis made a huge jump, going from off the radar all the way to the No. 17 spot. Miami commit and Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit star Travis Johnson moved over from wide receiver and debuted at No. 11.
Offensive tackles
Notable riser: Dennis Finley, Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech (From unranked to No. 33)
Notable dropper: Kenny Lacy, Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe (Down four spots to No. 17)
Comments: At a position that saw far more significant gains than significant drops, Los Alamitos' (Calif.) Alex Redmond made a big jump for the second consecutive rankings, this time moving from No. 58 all the way to No. 30. Canadian star David Knevel has teams traveling north of the border to see him in person, and his jump from unranked to No. 46 was among the best at any position. Rancho Santa Margarita's Erik Bunte took the biggest tumble at the position, from No. 31 all the way to No. 62.
Offensive guards
Notable riser: Thomas Oser, North Hollywood (Calif.) Harvard Westlake (From unranked to No. 39)
Notable dropper: Deon Mix, Batesville (Miss.) South Panola (From No. 5 to No. 10)
Comments: Another position that saw more high risers than big fallers. Madison (Fla.) County's Ira Denson climbed from No. 14 to No. 3, while New Iberia (La.) Westgate's Josh Boutte is right on his heels, going from No. 13 to No. 4. Macomb (Ill.) His teammate Nick Severs didn't fair as well, falling form No. 40 to No. 44.
Centers
Notable riser: Tyler Lancaster, Plainfield (Ill.) East (From unranked to No. 6)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: Kileen (Texas) Harker Heights' Darius James not only held onto the No. 1 spot, but also moved from a 5.9 to a 6.0. Carlsbad (Calif.) La Costa Caynon Scott Quessenberry moved to the center position and debuted at No. 5. Alabama commit and Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty's Cole Mazza entered the rankings at No. 10.
Weakside defensive ends
Notable riser: Demetrius Cooper, Chicago (Ill.) Julian (From unranked to No. 24)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: The top four spots at this position remained the same, with newly classified WDE Tampa (Fla.) Hillsborough's Jordan Sherit entering at the No. 5 spot. A good showing at the Nike Baltimore camp helped propel Somerville (N.J.) Immaculata's Tashawn Bower 11 spots from No. 25 to No. 14. Shelby (N.C.) Crest's Dane Rogers went from the fringe of the rankings all the way up to No. 25, a 14-spot rise.
Strongside defensive ends
Notable riser: Jamone Boyd, Kansas City (Mo.) Lee's Summit West (From unranked to No. 13)
Notable dropper: Joe Mathis, Upland (Calif.) (From No. 6 to No. 10)
Comments: With Mathis being the only player to drop more than a couple of spots, the SDE position was all about risers. Houston (Texas) Wheatley's Marcus Loud debuted in the rankings at No. 25, while high school teammates from Euless (Texas) Trinity, Gaius Vaenuku and Sam Tevi entered at No. 34 and 35, respectively.
Defensive tackles
Notable riser: JonRyheem Peoples, Rigby (Idaho) (From unranked to No. 44)
Notable dropper: Scott Pagano, Honolulu (Hawaii) Moanalua (From No. 6 to No. 13)
Comments: Former defensive end Kenny Bigelow was moved in with the defensive tackles and immediately took over the No. 1 spot at the position. Placer (Calif.) star Eddie Vanderdoes was also categorized as a tackle this time around and is now the No. 4 player at the position. Other moves were few and far between, with only Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Carter's Kenneth Clark going from a 5.7 to a 5.8 Rivals Rating and moving up one spot to No. 24.
Inside linebackers
Notable riser: Edward Williams, New Orleans (La.) Warren Easton Senior (From unranked to No. 22)
Notable dropper: Isaac Savaiinaea,, Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou (Dropped 11 spots)
Comments: The top 15 players at this position remained almost identical to May's rankings, but the bottom half of the ILB had some significant moves. Behind an excellent showing at the Chesapeake Bowl camp, Virginia Beach (Va.) Salem and Virginia Tech commit Andrew Motuapuaka jumped 17 spots from No. 33 to No. 17. Another big mover was Memphis (Tenn.) East's Marcus Robinson, who climbed from No. 32 to No. 21, while New Orleans (La.) Warren Easton Senior newcomer Edward Williams debuted at No. 22. One of the biggest drops at the position was Lake Charles (La.) Washington-Marion's Melvin Jones, who went from No. 16 down to No. 24.
Outside linebackers
Notable riser: Jordan Evans, Norman (Okla.) North (Debuted at No. 39)
Notable dropper: Paul Whitmill, Bastrop (Texas) (Dropped five spots but lost his fourth star)
Comments: This position saw three new entries in the top 19 players, including Brooklyn (N.Y.) Thomas Jefferson's Ebenezer Ogundeko (No. 20) and Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep's Stacy Thomas (No. 19). Because of the new entries, quite a few players dropped a spot or two, but there were no real significant drops. Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood's Shaun McGee made the best debut, coming from outside the rankings to the No. 34 spot.
Cornerbacks
Notable dropper: Cameron Burrows Trotwood (Ohio) Trotwood-Madison (Dropped one spot but fell from five-star to four-star)
Comments: With 2013's strongest position likely cornerback, competition for a spot in the rankings is very high. Some of the top players, such as Immokalee (Fla.) star Mackensie Alexander, moved up in the Rivals100 but actually dropped in the positional rankings. A whopping 27 cornerbacks are four-stars or better, and several three-star prospects saw bumps as well. Los Angeles Loyola's Cameron Walker got a nice bump, moving up seven spots to No. 42 thanks to his new 5.7 rating. Also on the move was Charlotte (N.C.) Independence's Jack Tocho, who entered the rankings at No. 54 and Mesquite (Texas) West's Will Earley, who climbed from unranked to No. 51.
Safeties
Notable riser: Quincy Mauger, Marietta (Ga.) Kell (From unranked to No. 25)
Notable dropper: Jonathan Wiggins, Houston (Texas) Alief Taylor (Dropped from No. 43 to unranked)
Comments: A number of players got nice bumps at the safety position, including new entry Cypress (Texas) Woods' Alfred Pullom (debuted at No. 33) and a fellow Texan, Killee's Deric Robertson, who debuted at No. 35. Encino (Calif.) Crespi's Brandon Arnold was moved to a 5.7 from a 5.6, allowing him to move up seven spots to No. 40. Outside of Wiggins, not other safeties made considerable drops.
Athletes
Notable riser: Rashard Fant, Fairburn (Ga.) Our Lady of Mercy (From unranked to No. 17)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: A few defections to other positions and the new classification of Ricky Seals-Jones gave the athlete position a minor shakeup. Seals-Jones is now the No. 1 athlete, with newly classified Celina, Texas' Jake Raulerson (No.4) and Tulsa (Okla.) East Central's Stanvon Taylor (No. 8) joining him in the top 10. Another Tulsa resident, Booker T. Washington's Dominique Alexander, was the highest previously unranked newcomer behind Fant, debuting at No. 33.
Kickers
Notable riser: Michael Geiger, Toledo (Ohio) Ottawa Hills (Unranked to No.1)
Notable dropper: None
Comments: There were nine new kickers to enter the rankings this go around, and they jumped to the top of the list. Geiger was first, followed by Indian Trail (N.C.) Porter Ridge's Matt Wogan and Pratville, Ala.'s Austin MacGinnis.
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