Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is joined by national recruiting analysts Adam Friedman and John Garcia, Jr., along with Jeremy Birmingham from DottingTheEyes.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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1. After the Elite 11 and Rivals Five-Star, USC commit Julian Lewis should stay No. 1 in the 2025 class.
Gorney’s take: FACT. The conversation has gotten tighter around the No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250 with LSU commit Bryce Underwood and Ohio State pledge Tavien St. Clair entering the picture much more but I still believe Julian Lewis should remain the top-ranked prospect in the class.
There is so much to like about the USC commit who is still being worked on by Auburn, Colorado and others. Every time he needed a big throw at the Rivals Five-Star, Lewis delivered a pinpoint, precision pass. Everything was right on the money at big moments. He was very solid at that event and very solid at the Elite 11 and while he doesn’t deliver the fastball like those other players, let’s not get caught up in looks and let’s remember accuracy and timing are so important in the college game and beyond.
There have been many instances where we could have put the better-looking quarterback ahead of someone else with the Bryce Young year coming to mind. We also didn’t have Kyler Murray high enough. We chose Quinn Ewers’ fastball over Caleb Williams’ stability. Underwood and St. Clair are definitely not bad choices and both will be seriously considered but I still think Lewis should remain at the top.
Friedman’s take: FICTION. This is the biggest question heading into the upcoming rankings meetings and I honestly haven't made up my mind yet. I'm leaning towards Lewis not remaining No. 1 in the Rivals250 but he certainly shouldn't be outside of the top five or 10. Lewis is a tremendously talented passer and one of the more technically refined quarterbacks we've seen in recent years. It's also worth noting he is one of the youngest players in this class, having reclassified from 2026 to 2025 earlier this cycle. Physically, though, Lewis is on the smaller side. He's about the same height as Tua Tagovailoa. Lewis isn't much of a runner and his frame is pretty close to maxed out so you worry about how he'll hold up against bigger, faster, and stronger defenders.
No. 1 in the Rivals250 is supposed to represent a projected No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft so that means it should be a quarterback most years. This year there are at least three quarterbacks who standout as potential No. 1s - Lewis, Bryce Underwood, and Tavien St. Clair. Underwood and St. Clair are around two or three inches taller than Lewis and carry at least 20 more pounds of solid mass, not to mention their elite passing abilities.
The race for No. 1 in the Rivals250 will remain a hotly contested battle all the way until the end of the rankings cycle and, sadly, the correct answer won't emerge until a few years down the line.
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2. After fending off numerous Southeast schools, Ohio State will land five-star OL David Sanders.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This is a very tough call because I’m not sure the decision has been made between Ohio State and Tennessee. There has been a real affinity with the Vols, playing in the SEC and while the distance is negligible, Knoxville is closer to Charlotte by about two hours. But I just cannot see David Sanders Jr. turning down Ohio State, its march to the national championship and the development of other offensive linemen like him in Columbus.
This is a very close call - and I do think it’s a two-team race - but I’m siding with the Buckeyes here based on Sanders’ continued interest and Ohio State’s history of landing top prospects.
Birmingham’s take: FACT. If we went back in time six months it’s nearly impossible to believe that Ohio State would be a real player — let alone a top contender — for five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. but as the country’s top-ranked offensive lineman and his family buckle down and get into decision mode it seems the Buckeyes, along with the Tennessee Volunteers, are leading the pack.
Sanders doesn’t seem to be in love with the recruiting process and has taken his time to make the best, most-informed decision he can and he’s gained a ton of insight into what Ohio State is all about from the budding relationship he’s developed with Paris Johnson Jr.
Ryan Day, Justin Frye and the rest of the Buckeyes coaching staff has left no stone unturned at this point. Will that pay off come August? It’s recruiting in 2024 and nothing seems like a guarantee but absolutely Ohio State is a very real contender and at this point I believe they’re positioned to pull off the huge win.
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3. Miami has held an edge for five-star DJ Pickett. But Oregon leads heading into his decision.
Gorney’s take: FACT. For months, DJ Pickett told us Miami had the edge and the Hurricanes were the team to beat. That could absolutely still happen as the Hurricanes are absolutely phenomenal down the stretch landing their top targets and getting commitments at the end.
But the word is that Oregon feels great about where it stands now in his recruitment and Pickett - who has been pitched receiver and defensive back by the Ducks - has shown a ton of interest in the program lately. LSU seems to be slipping recently and so this one feels like a two-team race between Miami and Oregon. I’ll side with the Ducks.
Garcia’s take: FACT. Oregon getting the last official visit of the critical month of June seems to have tipped the scales toward Oregon's favor. As the weeks since continue to roll on, however, how much of a gap or lead did it really create? The Miami Hurricanes angle of familiarity and family isn't easy to overtake, especially with how well the program has been recruiting overall. In fact, both programs are hitting a recruiting apex in the class of 2025, with Pickett standing as the highest prospect remaining on both boards.
Sources in Coral Gables of course say the Hurricanes won't soon give up, even if the Oregon hat is the one selected come July 17 -- but few expect Pickett to take the recruiting process any further than it has to go. Next week's decision should have true standing power and denying the Duck momentum would be foolish at this stage.
