The brand new place rankings for the Class of 2026 are out, so it is time to have a look at the storylines at every place. As we speak we begin with defenders.
NEW POSITION RATING: Professional-Type QB | A dual-threat QB
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RATING OF RIVALS OF THE WEEK
sunday: Who needs to be #1?
Monday: 5 Star Countdown | Meet the brand new 5 star
Tuesday: New Rivals250 launched | Place by place | The largest risers
Wednesday: New rating of offensive positions | QB Score Breakdown | Breakdown of the score of RB | WR/TE Score Breakdown | OL Score Breakdown
Thursday: New rating of defensive positions | DL Score Breakdown | LB Score Breakdown | Database score breakdown | ATH Score Breakdown
Friday: New state rating | Who’s #1 in every state
saturday: Spherical desk on the rating of rivals
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LYONS WATCH
Rider Lyons is now the highest quarterback within the 2026 class and is a five-star prospect, so his recruitment shall be carefully watched, particularly with different QBs in his class shortly coming off the board.
USC and Oregon have been two of Lyon’s mainstays in recruiting, and the Trojans may have the higher hand. There is a good likelihood USC may signal five-star Julian Lewis on this draft, adopted by Lyon in 2026 — an exceptional combo for a coach Lincoln Riley and his employees.
However the Geese definitely left an impression on Folsom, Calif., additionally a standout, and the space between the 2 applications is slim. From the coach Dan Lanning offensive coordinator Will SteinOregon’s offense has been loud, and Lyons is an ideal match for that system as effectively.
Then there are the emissions. Ohio State continues to punt, however would not provide. LSU simply provided and Lyon has a whole lot of respect for the offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Others can positively be there too, as Liane is so gifted.
USC is one to observe proper now, although his brother Walker has already signed there and is coming back from his non secular mission. Does the competitors with Lewis for enjoying time have an effect on his choice? Will Lyons take his project (as but undetermined) after which are available and compete for the beginning job in a couple of years?
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SMIGEL HEADING EAST?
Brady Smigiel is the second five-star quarterback within the 2026 Rivals250 and has greater than 30 provides. The Newbury Park, Calif., standout is the son of a former skilled participant, coached by his father, and has all of the instruments to be elite on the subsequent stage and past.
And it appears that evidently for now, two applications have separated themselves from the pack. At Steve Clarkson’s current quarterback retreat, Smigiel talked quite a bit about discovering a program that may present him he is a man they need of their class, and the coaches at Florida State and Michigan State made that clear.
The Seminoles might need had the higher hand. Smigel loves teaching Mike Norvell has introduced the FSU program again to nationwide candidacy, and his monitor document positively stands out. There are many issues to love each on and off the sector, from the teachers to growth to first-round NFL draft choose JJ McCarthy, that Smigel likes in regards to the Wolverines.
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MORE THAN A FIVE STAR WATCH
The development in current NFL drafts is for quarterbacks to go early, with some franchises reaching for guys. Since 2014, there has solely been one occasion the place a number of quarterbacks weren’t taken within the first spherical. It is already a decade of knowledge, and now we have to take that into consideration rigorously when our rating.
Lyons and Smigiel are the one five-stars within the 2026 class thus far, however extra may inevitably be added. Jared Curtis had some good performances out of Georgia this summer season, so he is one to observe. Each time Jaden O’Neal has taken the sector this offseason, he is made a much bigger impression. There are a bunch of quarterbacks within the Southeast with North Carolina’s Faizon Brandon among the many standouts. The Florida quarterbacks have been excellent.
If the Rivals rankings are based mostly on anticipated faculty efficiency and NFL draft place, and NFL groups taking quarterbacks early, then some needs to be 5 stars and little doubt.
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ORDER OF FLORIDA QUARTERBACKS
This shall be a endless debate, probably till the ultimate launch of the rankings for the 2026 class.
Florida is called arguably one of the best state for soccer expertise within the nation, and but quarterback has by no means been a loaded group there. The Class of 2026 bucked that development as Cocoa’s Brady Hart, Notre Dame’s Noah Grubbs and Plantation American Heritage’s Dia Bell made the highest 44.
Even nearer than that, Bell was No. 39 within the nation, Hart was No. 42, and Grubbs was No. 44. There shall be countless debate about who of the three stands out probably the most as a result of the battle between them is so shut.