At the end of the day, Arch Manning kept his crown as the No.1 player in the rankings by Rivals.com.
As much as so many of you enjoy throwing tomatoes at Rivals, it never flinched in its appraisal of Manning being the No.1 prospect in the country, when both ESPN and On3 did. It means that Manning will finish the year as the "composite" No.1 player in the country.
All hail, Rivals!
In addition to keeping Manning in the top spot, Rivals also elevated Johntay Cook from the land of the high four stars into the land of the five stars. As it stands, Rivals is the only service that has rated Cook as a 5 star.
Keep that in mind the next time you think Rivals hates Texas or never bumps them up in the rankings after they commit to the Longhorns.
Texas commitment breakdowns
Arch Manning: Stayed at No.1
Anthony Hill: Dropped from No.15 to No.22
Johntay Cook: Climbed from No.30 to No.24
Industry Rankings of All Three Texas 5-stars
Arch Manning
Rivals: No.1 overall nationally
247: No.1 overall nationally
On3: No.3 overall nationally
ESPN: No.5 overall nationally
Anthony Hill
Rivals: No.22 overall nationally, No.3 in Texas
247: No.22 overall nationally, No.4 in Texas
On3: No.59 overall nationally, No.13 in Texas
ESPN: No.16 overall nationally, No.3 in Texas
Johntay Cook
Rivals: No.24 overall nationally, No.5 in Texas
247: No.46 overall nationally, No.5 in Texas
On3: No.57 overall nationally, No.12 in Texas
ESPN: No.26 overall nationally, No.5 in Texas
Other Notes From Today of Interest
* After all of the discussion all year about his 5-star ranking, Austin Westlake offensive lineman T.J. Shanahan lost his 5th star on Monday in the final rankings. It means that he'll make a drop of at least 11 spots in this final rankings update, which is going to be A&M fans on tilt.
* No running backs were awarded with a 5-star ranking. Not Cedric Baxter. Not Rueben Owens. Not Justin Haynes. All three were in the top 32 before today's rankings release. Expect all three to be somewhere in the next 10 spots when the Rivals260 is released tomorrow.
* Arlington Martin defensive back and LSU signee Javien Toviano also lost his fifth star.
* Texas tight end target Duce Robinson fell from No.24 to No.25 in the final rankings.
* Manning finished as the No.1 quarterback, Hill is the No.1 linebacker and Cook is the No.4 wide receiver.
Predictions for Tomorrow
The full Rivals250 will be released tomorrow. Here's a look at my predictions for the rest of the high four star (super blue chips) for the rest of the in-state class and Texas commitments.
* T.J. Shanahan, Maalik Muhammad, Toviano, Cedric Baxter and Rueben Owens will all be slotted in the top 33-42. Those five players were ranked No.22, No.34, No.25, No.32 and No.27, respectively in the previous rankings.
* I also expect edge Colton Vasek (somewhere between 45-60), Derek Williams (somewhere between 50-60) and... wait for it... wide receiver Ryan Niblett (somewhere between 55-70) to all earn high-four star/super blue chip rankings, which would give Texas a total of eight super blue chips in the class at this point.
* Other in-state high four stars will likely be A&M CB signee Bravion Rogers and USC edge signeee Braylon Shelby, Someone else might sneak in, but I'm not sure I'm anticipating it.
* Other Texas commitments that I expect to be ranked in the Rivals250: WR Deandre Moore, LB Tausili Akana, OLB Derion Gullette, OL Jaydon Chatman, Ath Jelani McDonald and maybe LB S'Maje Burrell or DR Sydir Mitchell. Maybe.
Attachments
Last edited:
