With Signing Day less than 48 hours away, the Top247 for the class of 2025 has gotten a slight adjustment before a majority of the nation’s top recruits finalize decisions about their future.
After giving the rankings a complete overhaul a little over six weeks ago, Monday’s update doesn’t feature a ton of widespread movement. That will come after the post-season all-star events in January. But there are some notable changes with state playoff runs and the tail end of senior seasons factoring into how we view the trajectory of certain prospects.
Highlighting the new-look Top247 is a changing of arms at the top of the board along with a dozen newcomers. A total of 31 recruits also earned a fourth star. And to be clear, we’re not done making moves. Not with the All-American Bowl, Under Armour All-America Game, Polynesian Bowl, Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game and Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas all right around the corner.
Alabama QB commit Keelon Russell moves to No. 2 overall
There was plenty of debate over the past few days about how to stack the quarterbacks, which has been the case throughout much of the cycle.
Back in the spring months, we identified Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair as the biggest challenger to Michigan commit Bryce Underwood for the No. 1 ranking in the Top247. Then it was Alabama commit Keelon Russell who threw himself into the conversation after an impressive outing at the Elite 11 Finals.
Underwood remains No. 1 after a thorough study of the senior seasons, but St. Clair and Russell have flipped spots. In our eyes, Russell has had as good of a 12th grade campaign as anyone in America while directing Duncanville High to a perfect 12-0 record.
An elite playmaker for the position, Russell has completed 71.5 percent of his passes this year for 3,652 yards with 52 touchdowns to go against just two interceptions. This past weekend in the third round of the Texas 6A Division 1 playoffs, the dynamic mover put on an absolute clinic against The Woodlands as he evaded pressure and altered his launch points while throwing for 440 yards and six scores.
Russell, who reminds us of former Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, now holds a grade of “99” to match both Underwood and St. Clair. Never before in the history of 247Sports have quarterbacks finished 1-2-3 in the rankings, which paints a stark picture of how we view the trio. All three have a chance to be true difference-makers on both Saturdays and Sundays.
Postseason events should provide 5-star clarity
While we might love the top three signal callers, the next month and a half should hopefully answer plenty of questions about the rest of the 32-player, five-star field. No changes were made to that group on Monday, but there are a handful of prospects that we’re expected to see in a postseason best-on-best setting pushing for five-star status.
- Georgia wide receiver commit Talyn Taylor is up to No. 49 in the rankings. After missing a bulk of his junior season due to injury, he helped power Geneva to the Illinois 6A title game as he caught 84 passes for 1,617 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding two more scores via the return game. He will participate in the All-American Bowl.
- Florida cornerback commit Ben Hanks rose to No. 53 overall. He just became Miami-Dade’s single-season leader in interceptions after picking off his 13th pass of the year for Booker T. Washington in the regional finals of Florida’s 2A playoffs. He will participate in the All-American Bowl.
- Defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell (No. 33), Georgia defensive line commit Darren Ikinnagbon (No. 35) and LSU cornerback commit Kade Phillips (No. 37) will be in San Antonio, while the Under Armour All-America Game is set to feature LSU running back commit Harlem Berry (No. 36), Texas edge rusher commit Lance Jackson (No. 38) and Florida wide receiver commit Vernell Brown (No. 39) amongst others.
- Miami commit Hayden Lowe (No. 44) and Georgia commit Chase Linton (No. 45) are two other late-bloomers with no shortage of fans in the scouting department.
Introducing the dozen newcomers
Breakthrough senior seasons are a strong indicator of future success and something we continue to value after watching Minnesota safety Koi Perich, Notre Dame defensive lineman Bryce Young and Tennessee safety Boo Carter all make an impact as true freshmen.
The highest-ranked debutant is Texas A&M defensive line commit Chace Sims, who checks in at No. 130 in the rankings. Right behind him is Ole Miss cornerback commit Maison Dunn (No. 144) and Washington safety commit Rylon Dillard-Allen (No. 145).
Sims is a quick-twitched penetrator with a red-hot motor that has lived in opponents backfield’s this fall for Richmond Randle in Texas. Dunn is a 6-foot-2 corner that will mix together physicality, fluidity and technique while maintaining phase on the perimeter for Tupelo High in Mississippi. Dillard-Allen is a rangy ballhawk with active eyes that picked off seven passes and broke up 10 more this year for Phoenix Mountain Pointe in Arizona.
Oregon running back commit Dierre Hill (No. 221) and Notre Dame running back commit Nolan James (No. 223) are two ball carriers with the arrow clearly pointing up. Hill accounted for a record 518 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns this past weekend as Althoff Catholic captured an Illinois 1A title while James powered Depaul Catholic to a New Jersey Non-Public B championship with a season-high 244 rushing yards.
Other new faces in the Top247 include: Utah athlete commit JJ Buchanan (No. 177), Penn State defensive line commit Yvan Kemajou (No. 188), uncommitted linebacker McKay Madsen (No. 197), Oklahoma State linebacker commit Carl’veon Young (No. 219), NC State offensive tackle commit Ta’Khyian Whitset (No. 222), Tennessee linebacker commit Christian Gass (No. 224) and Utah linebacker commit Cyrus Polu (No. 225 overall).
247Sports Gabe Brooks, Hudson Standish, Greg Biggins, Cooper Petagna and Clint Brewster contributed to this report.
