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West Spotlight: Toughest final 2019 ranking decisions

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

Kayvon Thibodeaux
Kayvon Thibodeaux
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RELATED: Toughest ranking decisions in Midwest | Southeast | Florida | Mid-Atlantic

The majority of 2019 prospects at the FBS level have already signed their letters of intent, but football continued to be played after last month's postseason update of the Rivals250 and Rivals100. Next week, the final 2019 class rankings will be released, and several big questions in the West region are set to be answered.

WHO’S NO. 1 IN CALIFORNIA?

Five-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux had been the top-ranked prospect in the state of California for months, but five-star athlete Bru McCoy jumped him in the latest round of rankings after a stellar senior season at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. It looked like that’s how it would play out in the final rankings as well.

But then Thibodeaux had an outstanding performance all week at the Under Armour All-America Game and he has re-entered the picture for the top spot. With his size, length and athleticism, not many players like Thibodeaux come around all that often and he has special qualities that are unique at the high school level.

McCoy had a solid week at the All-American Bowl as well and his resume is as good as anybody’s in the state in terms of dominating at big moments and making big plays. It was definitely a tough call to determine whether Thibodeaux or McCoy was the top player in the state as those two were a step ahead of others.

TOUGH CALLS ON INJURIES

There were four players in particular who made the final rankings release difficult since they missed their senior seasons or all-star games with injuries, so seeing them compete against other top players from around the country was impossible. Some could have moved up and some could have moved down, but it would have been beneficial to see them on the field.

Four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford missed half of his senior season with a knee injury and was out at the All-American Bowl, so he couldn’t compete with some of the best receivers in the class to see where he fit in the rankings. Four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o had a boot on his foot at the All-American Bowl. He’s a tad undersized, but is known to be a big hitter and he makes a lot of tackles, so seeing him against the nation’s best would have been great.

The real disappointing one was four-star running back Zach Charbonnet, who had a dynamite senior season but missed the Under Armour game. He was at least under some consideration to move up even higher in the rankings because he’s a tough, physical runner, but he wasn’t in Orlando.

DID WE GET ARIZONA RIGHT?

The top of the Arizona state rankings is pretty much a no-brainer because five-star quarterback Spencer Rattler should fit seamlessly in Oklahoma’s offense and he has the potential to be the next star quarterback in Norman following in the footsteps of Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield.

Having Texas signee Jake Smith second in the state rankings also works since the Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep standout had 1,070 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns along with 741 rushing yards and 15 scores in his senior season. He should have a lot of opportunities to contribute in Texas’ offense.

After those two, there is a lot of debate. Four-star tight end Brayden Liebrock is an athletic specimen; four-star defensive back Noa Pola-Gates had a solid week at the All-American Bowl; four-star defensive end Ty Robinson was unstoppable at times in San Antonio; people on the ground love Cal signee Brett Johnson.

It is a loaded year in Arizona and there is a lot of high-end talent coming out of that state who could make an argument to be a top-five player.

THOUGHTS ON FOUR-STAR BUMPS

Every recruiting cycle there are prospects that should have been moved higher in the rankings based on their college performance and every year analysts regret not pulling the trigger on some recruits during the last rankings meeting.

In the West, there are a bunch of quarterbacks who fit that bill with Oklahoma State’s Brendan Costello, NC State’s Ty Evans, Washington State’s Gunner Cruz, Cal’s Spencer Brasch and UCF’s Dillon Gabriel leading the way this time.

Quarterback isn’t the only position where three-star prospects could end up outplaying their ranking. Running back Taron Madison (Oregon State), defensive back Titus Toler (Wisconsin), tight end Bradley Archer (Stanford), defensive tackle Noa Ngalu (Washington), defensive end Isaac Townsend (Oregon) and athlete John Ward (UCLA) are some others to keep an eye on.

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