Ahead of week two of the college football season and the opening weekend of the NFL, we take a look at where some of the players in the spotlight this weekend were ranked as high school recruits and whether or not their ranking was a Hit or a Miss.
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CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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MICHIGAN VS. TEXAS (Saturday)
Banks has improved every year at Texas and now the former top 100 prospect looks like a surefire first-round pick in the NFL Draft. He’s become a cornerstone on the Texas offensive line, which shouldn’t be a huge surprise given what he was able to accomplish at the high school level. He’ll be on a big stage this weekend as Texas heads to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.
Banks was rated as a five-star for a large portion of the 2022 rankings cycle but lost the coveted rating after struggling at the Under Armour All-America game. Despite his performance that week in Orlando, moving Banks from a five-star to a four-star will be a major regret of ours come the 2025 NFL Draft.
Verdict: Miss
COLORADO VS. NEBRASKA (Saturday)
Hunter is the biggest star in the college football world right now and is clearly living up to the hype as a former No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250 and as a former No. 1 transfer prospect. The Georgia native was originally committed to Florida State, his dream school, but flipped to Jackson State on National Signing Day to play for his idol, Deion Sanders. Following the 2022 season, Hunter followed Sanders by transferring to Colorado.
In his time at Colorado, Hunter has captivated the college football world with his unique ability to play receiver and cornerback at an elite level. He’s earned multiple All-American honors and is projected to be one of the first picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Watch Hunter and Colorado this weekend when they travel to play at Nebraska.
Verdict: Hit
GREEN BAY VS. PHILADELPHIA (Friday)
Hurts is off to an amazing start in the NFL. His college career was just as good. He started as a true freshman at Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide win two national championships before transferring to Oklahoma for his final college season. Hurts led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff that season and was then selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hurts and the Eagles have high expectations for the season and they have plenty of firepower on offense to make a deep playoff run. Check out the Eagles on Friday night on Peacock in their highly anticipated season opening matchup against Green Bay in Brazil.
Verdict: Hit
TENNESSEE VS. NC STATE (Saturday)
The world got another glimpse of Iamaleava last weekend and now comes a big matchup with NC State on Saturday in Charlotte. It will be the former five-star’s first major test of his career after backing up Joe Milton last season.
Iamaleava is an outstanding talent who routinely impressed as a high school prospect in various settings. He started in Tennessee’s bowl game last year against Iowa and last weekend against UT-Chattanooga so with just two starts under his belt it’s a little early to issue a legitimate verdict about his ranking.
That being said, what Iamaleava has shown so far gives us confidence in his No. 2 overall ranking in the 2023 Rivals250.
Verdict: Incomplete
MICHIGAN VS. TEXAS (Saturday)
Johnson’s recruitment was mostly drama-free. The Michigan legacy committed to the Wolverines in February of his junior year and remained solidly committed despite a late push from Alabama. Johnson hit the ground running at Michigan, where he played in every game as a freshman, snagged three interceptions, and was named Freshman All-American by PFF. Last year as a sophomore, Johnson lived up to the hype again. He was named an All-American and Defensive MVP of the National Championship Game. The Texas offense will be a big test for him this Saturday but Johnson, the No. 1 cornerback in the 2022 Rivals250, figures to be one of the first defensive players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Verdict: Hit
As a high school prospect, Nacua had an eventful recruitment. He was committed to USC for eight months but flipped to Washington soon after National Signing Day. Nacua only played for Washington for two seasons and caught 16 passes. He then transferred to BYU where he flourished, catching 92 passes and scoring 11 times over the next two seasons. The Los Angeles Rams selected Nacua in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and, to the surprise of many, set the NFL rookie records for receptions, receiving yards, receptions in a game, and yards in a game. Look for Nacua to try to continue his record-setting production on Sunday night on NBC when the Rams travel to Detroit.
Nacua certainly outplayed his NFL Draft grade. Ultimately the high school prospect rankings are judged based on NFL Draft results. Nacua was No. 152 in the 2019 Rivals250, which is a higher ranking than where the Rams selected him.
Verdict: Hit
