Rivals rankings director and national transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman is joined by national recruiting director Adam Gormey, national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman, and Richie O’Leary of HappyValleyInsider.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
FACT OR FICTION: Jordan Young is a heavy lean to NC State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
1. Rivals got Anthony Lucas’ ranking exactly right.
Friedman: FICTION. There were points in the 2022 rankings cycle when Anthony Lucas was heavily debated as a potential five-star during rankings meetings. The Arizona native had the physical traits to be absolutely unstoppable at the college level if he were to continue to improve at a consistent rate.
Instead, Lucas never found his footing at Texas A&M and transferred to USC before the 2023 season. USC’s defense last year did not prove to be effective and Lucas still wasn’t able to make an impact. This season, the third of his college career, Lucas has been much more productive and it should end up his best season yet.
Lucas has another year of eligibility so, if he stays for another season, Lucas has time to improve his NFL Draft stock. With that in mind, it is too early to say the top-60 ranking of Lucas in the 2022 Rivals250 was correct.
Gorney: FICTION. Lucas was under five-star consideration late in the rankings cycle but he finished No. 59 overall, ninth at strongside defensive end and the No. 1 prospect in Arizona. But his production first at Texas A&M and now at USC has not matched up to that lofty ranking, which would project Lucas as a second-round NFL Draft pick.
In seven games at Texas A&M, Lucas had seven tackles. Last season after transferring to USC, the former high four-star had 10 stops. He's been average through three games this season for the Trojans. It's too early to say Lucas has been a disappointment as he could get going in USC's defense but top 60 in his recruiting class seems way too high for the production he's had on the college level.
2. Jared Smith should be in the conversation for a fifth star.
Friedman: FACT. I became a fan of Jared Smith’s style after seeing him at the 2022 Rivals Underclassmen Challenge in Atlanta. From there, the defensive end out of Alabama was slow to show significant physical and technical development during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. This year, however, is a different story.
There was always an urgency and aggressiveness to Smith’s game but he appears to be playing with a different strength than in the past. It’s made his explosive outside rushing techniques more difficult to slow down. Even if his initial rush attempt fails, Smith’s ability to counter back to the inside is working at a much higher rate this season.
Smith has taken a big step forward this year and there is a possibility of moving up to a five-star rating because he does have a five-star ceiling.
Spiegelman: FACT. There might not be another defensive end who has made a bigger statement to open his senior season than Smith. The No. 4 defensive end in the Rivals250 out of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson has been absolutely electric, flying off the line and making splash plays off the edge over the past month and change. Smith has exceptional burst and an explosive first step. He turns the corner with conviction and plays with a high motor. At 6-foot-5 and north of 230 pounds, Smith's length and size allow him to impact plays consistently. Over the past year and change, no prospect in the Southeast has taken a bigger leap forward than Smith, who is not only a stock-up player, but someone who needs to be in the conversation for a fifth star as an impact player at a premium position.
3. Bekkem Kritza should remain a four-star in the next rankings update.
Friedman: FICTION. Bekkem Kritza is a fairly impressive quarterback prospect on the hoof. At 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds, he is always one of the bigger players on any high school field. In the camp setting, Kritza has shown the ability to find his groove in drills and can throw with power.
Kritza’s tools, however, have not turned into consistent success when playing against a live defense, especially against the high-end talent on Miami Central’s schedule. After a tumultuous 2023 season, Kritza entered this season with expectations of getting back on track but instead he was benched.
O’Leary: FICTION. When Bekkem Kritza first emerged as Penn State’s top target at quarterback, personally I had a lot of questions as his mechanics were a bit of a question mark and not to mention, they still had several other big names still on the board such as Malik Washington, Matt Zollers, etc.
Now I know he had some success when playing against lower level competition in Colorado, so I was curious to see how he would perform against high level comp at Miami Central. Just a couple of weeks into his senior season, he was benched by the Miami Central coaching staff. Add that along with his questionable mechanics and I can’t justify him being ranked as a four-star going forward.
Penn State will have some decisions to make going forward, as it went all in on Kritza originally, but going forward there’s some talk it might look for another QB to add to this 2025 class.
