Rivals National Recruiting Analyst John Garcia Jr. National ranking directors participate Adam Friedman and National Recruiting Analyst Marshall Levenson and Sam Spiegelman They will tackle three topics and determine whether each statement is fact or fiction.
1. Miami blue chip Hilton Stubbs is on the verge of earning his fifth star.
Friedman: Fact. Hilton. While Stubbs isn’t a five-star prospect by any stretch, he has proven time and time again that he is one of the best defensive backs in this class and has a skill set that will translate well at the next level. His top end speed is a bit of a concern for a prospect who is essentially a first-round draft pick, but his coverage skills in the secondary, wingspan, leaping ability and physical style all give me confidence that he will be a standout player at the next level.
Garcia: That’s true. Few prospects have made their mark at every opportunity over the past year or so like Stubbs, who had a standout junior season at Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin, serving as a well-rounded leader on defense, flashing his range and ball skills on the defensive end while also being aggressive in the lane and in the box to create some noise near the line of scrimmage.
What became clear after the 2023 season was just how comfortable Stubbs is in space, and his man-coverage skills were at or near the top compared to non-cornerback projections during the cycle. Rivals 5 starswhere Miami Commit won the vertical jump challenge, performed well in one-on-ones and even led his team to victory in the 7-on-7 tournament.
2. Clemson is led by four-star linebacker Logan Anderson.
SPIEGELMAN: That’s true. Among the South’s top prospects, no one has had a more productive camp season than Logan Anderson. He has shined in his move from safety to linebacker, testing out and performing well at college campuses across the region this summer. Since May 31, Anderson has received offers from the following teams: GeorgiaClemson, Auburn, Ole Miss and Vanderbiltand others, Rivals 5 stars Event at the end of June.
Anderson is looking to finalize his decision before his senior season, and the two teams with the speedy second-level defender in the mix are Ole Miss and Clemson. Anderson is scheduled to return to Death Valley later this month. I see the Tigers having a good chance of landing Anderson, who fits the Clemson freshman profile.
Garcia: That’s true. At this point, the Tigers are pretty much the public leader for the speedy linebacker, and a return to campus would only further that narrative. Anderson has also long been committed to Ole Miss, and the allure of playing in the SEC wouldn’t be easy for the Alabama native to turn down. If he holds up to his preseason decision timeline, the Tigers seem like a safe bet at this point, but there have already been some delays in his decision-making process, so the door may still be open to the Rebels or other teams.
Anderson was arguably the most highly-anticipated camp prospect in the country, so it’s fitting in some way that he’ll finish the process that shaped his rise in Death Valley.
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3. Four-star quarterback Ty Hawkins wouldn’t have transferred to SMU if the program hadn’t moved to the ACC.
Levenson: That’s true. The move to the ACC was made by Ty Hawkins. SMUHe was interested in the Mustangs for three main reasons: resources, a growing national brand and the program’s newfound competitive edge.
Moving into a Power 4 conference has allowed SMU to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for its program, which has also attracted major donors willing to fund SMU’s NIL that would not have received the same support without the move.
Playing in a power conference and being able to play early on has been a big goal for Hawkins, and he has embraced the fact that all the resources poured into SMU will give him the best opportunity on and off the field, including after college.
Garcia: That’s true. Hawkins has been a Sonny Dykes and TCU And the native of the Lone Star State couldn’t have walked away from the program so easily, which means all sorts of factors were likely at play in this move, and voluntarily leaving a Power 4 “spot” as the face of the upcoming freshman class (and maybe beyond) for a lower-level team was a different take.Suddenly feeling like a big opportunity had opened up, SMU’s move to the ACC wasn’t much of a surprise within the industry — except maybe for the timing.
The Power Four standard is a legitimate milestone for any freshman, and we know how accelerated and fluid it is at the quarterback position, so every data point high on the list played a big role. Of course, a lot comes with ascending to the sport’s top tier, but the superficial recognition boost carries its own weight.
