West Spotlight: Biggest fall rankings questions

Whether there is a football season this fall and what that looks like continues to be debated and discussed at high school athletic associations across the country. If a season does take place, it will be the first time seeing a majority of the top college prospects since the end of last season. Here are five big questions we are hoping to answer in the West this fall.

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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2022: Top 100

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There are going to be ongoing conversations about who is the best player in the 2021 class, and Korey Foreman could make a big statement during his senior season. The five-star defensive end did not work out at Rivals Camp in Los Angeles before the coronavirus shutdown. He dealt with double- and triple-teams throughout his junior season but in one-on-one settings he’s nearly unstoppable - just ask every elite offensive lineman from The Opening last summer.

With hardly any events this offseason, Foreman has been weightlifting a lot and has increased his power. If he has a senior season, he might be able to dominate even with two or three linemen sent his way. D.J. Uiagalelei’s father, Dave, told a story recently about how every time Uiagalelei came to the line of scrimmage against Foreman last season he made sure he knew where he was - and got the ball out quickly before the five-star DE could get to him.

Tuimoloau is one of the most interesting prospects in this class because he’s so highly ranked, but he doesn’t do many events and has rarely faced national competition. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive end who could also move inside over time is a phenomenal athlete, though, one who could legitimately play college basketball as well and he fits pretty much every metric of what defensive linemen look like in the NFL.

Tuimoloau has been dominant at times coming off the edge and making plays all over the field. A monster senior season could be ahead, especially since he has been off the radar for months with the coronavirus ban. Ohio State leads in his recruitment, but Washington and others are right there as well since he hasn’t taken many trips yet.

It is an unheard of occurrence during the Rivals era dating back to 2002 that there would be three five-star prospects from the state of Washington (Tuimoloau, WR Emeka Egbuka and QB Sam Huard) and only one from California (Foreman) but that’s the case at the moment. The Pacific Northwest is dominating this recruiting cycle in talent, but California could have a couple more five-stars to consider.

Since the off-season was canceled, senior seasons are going to be huge in that regard and some names top the list of prospects to watch. USC quarterback commit Jake Garcia looked as sharp as ever at the Rivals Camp in Los Angeles and high-end receivers Troy Franklin (Oregon) and Beaux Collins (Clemson) could also seriously be in the running.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on this question, but right now Franklin holds the slight edge over Collins, with others making a statement as well. Franklin was excellent at the Las Vegas Pylon and his bouncy athleticism and playmaking ability is pretty special. Maybe no receiver in the country looks better than Collins, however, and Clemson has done an excellent job developing receivers, especially in recent years.

But Oregon pledge Kyron Ware-Hudson probably has had the best off-season. He’s physically impressive while also being a playmaker on the outside who makes tough catches look easy. This debate is not over and might only be settled during the season.

Domani Jackson is the top 2022 player and the only five-star in the West region so far, and that is almost irrefutable at this point. He is chiseled, strong as ever, a cornerback who can be super-physical at the line but then also run and cover. He has the makings of a really special player, and Clemson, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and everybody else are coming after him.

But there are plenty of other five-star candidates for the 2022 class in the region. That list starts with four-star receivers Tetairoa McMillan and C.J. Williams, but RB Raleek Brown is as dynamic as they come, QB Maalik Murphy is as good-looking as they come and sleeper picks like LB Cyrus Moss or RB Gavin Sawchuk could make things interesting.