Tuesdays with Gorney: New 2025 Rivals250 released

The new Rivals250 has now been released and Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney shares his thoughts on each position in this week’s Tuesdays With Gorney.

RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be No. 1?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Gorney’s thoughts | Biggest risers

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings

Thursday: Defensive position rankings

Friday: State rankings

Saturday: Rivals Rankings Roundtable

Even with only a few months left in the 2025 class and one rankings release remaining, there is still an ongoing debate about the order of the quarterbacks at the top.

Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair still leads the way followed by LSU pledge Bryce Underwood but there will be a discussion about how all this shakes out. St. Clair is incredibly talented and as solid as they come but Underwood has physical traits and a dynamic ability that is so incredibly rare at the position.

And then there is Alabama commit Keelon Russell, who has thrown 45 touchdowns and no interceptions this season and reminds us of a better Jayden Daniels at the same stage. Also, uncommitted Julian Lewis has been phenomenal for years.

There will be tons of debate through this final rankings release after the all-star games and there will also be some talks about whether Auburn pledge Deuce Knight should be more involved in the five-star discussion.

New USC pledge Husan Longstreet has been excellent as well – including in a big playoff win over Mission Viejo, Calif., last week – and so with his arm strength and accuracy, a move up is not out of the question. Cal commit Jaron Sagapolutele, who is working to be flipped by Oregon and Georgia, might not be high enough, either.

We’ve drastically reduced the number of five-star running backs based on NFL Draft trends but we still think there are talented players at that position in this class who could have big impacts in college.

The lone five-star now is LSU commit Harlem Berry, who is much more of an all-purpose back. He could be used all over the field as long as the offensive coaches are inventive with how they use Berry’s skill set.

There is a big question about whether to make Auburn commit Alvin Henderson a five-star. His stats are insane but that could be a reflection of both his ability and weak competition. There is a little Bijan Robinson in his game and he’s hugely productive so it’s one more debate, especially since he has been so impressive on this stage.

Georgia commit Ousmane Kromah and the LSU pledges JT Lindsey and James Simon might still be a touch low.

There could still be a tremendous amount of movement even with only one more rankings release to go in the 2025 class when it comes to the receivers. However, it’s almost a guarantee that Oregon commit Dakorien Moore, who recently visited LSU, remains in the top spot. The Duncanville, Texas, standout has proven over and over that he’s unquestionably the best receiver in this class.

After that, it could be wide open. Texas commit Jaime Ffrench is the other five-star but we should probably have more than two as Ole Miss pledge Caleb Cunningham, USC commit Jerome Myles and Florida commit Vernell Brown would be the three most likely to be moved up even more.

Georgia commits CJ Wiley and Talyn Taylor are also under very serious consideration especially since they’ve both been really impressive through their senior seasons.

It’s nowhere near as loaded a wide receiver group as it was in 2024, when Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams, Cam Coleman and others were in the mix. Still, only two five-stars this cycle does seem a little low.

We are having a strange juxtaposition in the tight end rankings: At the same time that we believe this is a very strong tight end group, there is still no five-star even though historical draft trends point to usually having at least one in the first round each year.

Georgia commit Elyiss Williams leads the way and while he’s incredibly talented we don’t simply want to fall in love with the best-looking tight end as the No. 1 in the class. Because Tennessee commit DaSaahn Brame, Kansas State commit Linkon Cure, Oregon pledge Vander Ploog and others are definitely elite prospects.

There are eight tight ends in the Rivals250 but only three in the top 52 and no five-stars. That could change by the end of this rankings cycle. It should.

Tennessee commit David Sanders Jr. and Oklahoma pledge Michael Fasusi remain five-stars and then we added two others in Alabama pledge Michael Carroll (who’s being pursued heavily by Colorado) and Notre Dame commit Will Black. It was the right move. Not only did we need to add five-stars but this is a loaded offensive tackle group at the top so bumping those players up was good.

It might not be over. Michigan commit Andrew Babalola is my top offensive tackle to consider for five-star but Alabama pledge Jackson Lloyd and others – depending on the all-star showings – will definitely be in the running as well. All-star game practices for linemen are crucial to size them all up against each other.

Oregon commit Douglas Utu moved to offensive guard in our rankings and he takes the top spot followed by Florida State commit Solomon Thomas, who visited Florida over the weekend. Utu’s Las Vegas Bishop Gorman teammate Alai Kalaniuvalu, who flipped from the Ducks to BYU recently, is exceptional as well and Michigan commit Avery Gach might be too low.

Miami commit SJ Alofaituli, also at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, isn’t the biggest but he’s the best center in this class.

I was overruled in putting Georgia defensive tackle commit Elijah Griffin as the top defensive player in the 2025 class as I still believe Jahkeem Stewart, who has LSU, Oregon, USC and Ohio State as his top four, is a unique talent and could be the next Chris Jones. But both players are very high in the rankings as Griffin is also dominant and should have a really bright future in Athens.

At weakside defensive end, Javion Hilson, with a top four of Texas, Texas A&M, Syracuse and Pitt, leads the way but Auburn pledge Jared Smith who has Ole Miss and South Carolina trying to flip him, could be battling for a five-star ranking after a superb senior season. I still feel Alabama pledge Justin Hill might be a little too low.

At strongside, Stewart is a unique talent and has been for years. His seek-and-destroy mentality will take him far and his focus on greatness is to the max. Georgia commit Isaiah Gibson has such freakish measurables that he has a legit argument to move even higher as well. Texas commit Lance Jackson moved up but maybe not enough as he’ll be in the five-star discussion as well.

After Griffin and Georgia lean Justus Terry at defensive tackle and maybe a few more names there seems to be a significant drop-off there. It’s not the most loaded group I’ve ever seen on the interior but the top is very, very talented.

Ohio State is getting a star in five-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn, who looks like a million bucks and plays that way as well. He leads the group at inside linebacker and while there are many other talented prospects behind him, Pettijohn is locked in on that top spot. After that, there could be an argument for about five or six guys to hold that second spot.

The debate over whether Jonah Williams is a linebacker or safety is the right one to have and we’ve sided with him moving down to linebacker. I’m aware of all the history and where he plays in high school, but with his height and weight the only comp at the NFL level is Kyle Hamilton. These bigger safeties just don’t exist much anymore and all of them end up moving down into the box one way or another. I could certainly see why there is an argument for safety but if we wanted to keep him at the five-star level and if we’re projecting to college and the NFL then we felt a move to linebacker was warranted. It’s certainly no knock on his ability.

We hope to see more from Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng to keep his fifth star as he was injured a lot this year after having some tweaks this summer. To be elite you have to be on the field and the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout has missed a lot of time.

Other linebackers also have our eye including Georgia commit Zayden Walker and Notre Dame lean Madden Faraimo, who has been great this season and is one of the best-looking linebackers in this class.

There is a larger discussion that we’re debating and working through when it comes to the top of our cornerback rankings. The reality is that we fall in love with these long, rangy corners on the high school level but they almost never become first-round NFL Draft picks.

There are only eight cornerbacks at 6-foot-3 or taller in the NFL. The average height for a corner is just about 6-foot. Only one 6-foot-3 corner was drafted at all in April and he was taken in the fifth round.

This is no knock on Devin Sanchez, Na’eem Offord or new five-star Dijon Lee Jr. but the concern is that their size at the highest level of the NFL is actually a detriment and not a bonus if they plan to stay at corner.

The other side of that coin is that Sanchez, Offord and Lee have been extraordinary talents that are incredibly smooth and gifted, and could be the next wave of taller cornerbacks to take college football and the NFL by storm. We just won’t know until all of them hit the field and prove themselves.

At safety, Oregon commit Trey McNutt, who’s being pressed by Texas A&M, and Miami pledge Hylton Stubbs lead the way. Clemson commit Tae Harris definitely deserves a look at five-star as well based on on-field performance. His testing numbers should intrigue a lot of NFL decision-makers at the combine, as well.

LSU commit DJ Pickett remains the lone five-star athlete as Miami and Florida try to flip him and he’s the reason why we have this category. Sure, Pickett will probably play defensive back in college but he’s also an impactful wide receiver and with his ranginess and length, his future school could use him all over the field.

San Antonio (Texas) Alamo Heights standout Michael Terry, who has Texas up top but still has Nebraska right there, could be used all over the field as well. Derick Smith has slid under the recruiting radar somewhat since he’s so quiet and doesn’t do many events but he could be a major contributor early at Auburn.