Updated 2023 Top 247

[tneun89 978]

ND Commits

Charles Jagusah (OT): 4-star, #38 overall

Peyton Bowen (S): 4-star, #52 overall

Jeremiyah Love (RB): 4-star, #87 overall

Braylon James (WR): 4-star, #108 overall

Boubacar Traore (DL): 4-star, #133 overall

Micah Bell (CB): 4-star, #145 overall

Drayk Bowen (LB): 4-star, #156 overall

Kenny Minchey (QB): 4-star, #160 overall

Cooper Flanagan (TE): 4-star, #170 overall

Brandyn Hillman (ATH): 4-star, #180 overall

Christian Gray (CB): 4-star, #190 overall

Armel Mukam (DL): 4-star, #191 overall

Sullivan Absher (OT): 4-star, #204 overall

Ben Minich (S): 4-star, #232 overall

Devan Houstan (DL): 4-star, #239 overall

Jaiden Ausberry (LB): 4-star, #243 overall

[tneun89 978]

These rankings are....interesting.

I usually think 247 does a better job than Rivals, but some of these rankings are questionable. I have no idea how any recruiting service can rank Drayk Bowen as anything other than a Top 50 player. That one sticks out. I also think Christian Gray is a solid Top 100 player. Those two rankings really stick out to me, especially compared to Rivals where Bowen is #45 overall and Gray is #78 overall. Jaden Greathouse is another player who Rivals ranks #85 overall, but he's not even in the Top 247. Two other players who got left out who probably should be in are Brenan Vernon (#60 overall on Rivals) and Jayden Limar (#144 overall on Rivals).

That said, there were some pleasant surprises. I think Boubacar Traore is going to be a solid player in time, but #133 overall is pretty high - I think he's a solid Top 250 player. Same with Armel Mukam - 247 has him inside the Top 200, but I think he is a 3-star with upside. Hillman is pretty high at #190 overall, but I think he is a Top 250 player, so not super surprising. Nice to see Minich at #232 overall - many weren't too excited when ND took his committment, but he can really play. And his little brother is really good too. 

Nice to see Minchey at #160 and Flanagan at #170. Definitely agree with those. Braylon James at #108 feels a little low, even though he's lower on Rivals (#149 overall). I think he is going to be a great college WR.

All that said, 247 bases their rankings on NFL potential, which is really hard to determine for 16 and 17 year olds. So maybe that explains Mukam and Hillman in particular.

Interesting to note that ND has 16 Top 247 players, which is the exact same number of Rivals 250 players. But the players and their respective rankings are pretty different.

I'd go with Rivals this year - their rankings (good and bad for ND) make the most sense to me.

[tneun89 978]

Recruits in Both Top 247 and Rivals 250

Peyton Bowen (S)

Drayk Bowen (LB)

Jeremiyah Love (RB)

Christian Gray (CB)

Charles Jagusah (OT)

Micah Bell (CB)

Braylon James (WR)

Jaiden Ausberry (LB)

Kenny Minchey (QB)

Sullivan Absher (OT)

[golson5 176]

38 minutes ago, tneun89 said:

These rankings are....interesting.

I usually think 247 does a better job than Rivals, but some of these rankings are questionable. I have no idea how any recruiting service can rank Drayk Bowen as anything other than a Top 50 player. That one sticks out. I also think Christian Gray is a solid Top 100 player. Those two rankings really stick out to me, especially compared to Rivals where Bowen is #45 overall and Gray is #78 overall. Jaden Greathouse is another player who Rivals ranks #85 overall, but he's not even in the Top 247. Two other players who got left out who probably should be in are Brenan Vernon (#60 overall on Rivals) and Jayden Limar (#144 overall on Rivals).

That said, there were some pleasant surprises. I think Boubacar Traore is going to be a solid player in time, but #133 overall is pretty high - I think he's a solid Top 250 player. Same with Armel Mukam - 247 has him inside the Top 200, but I think he is a 3-star with upside. Hillman is pretty high at #190 overall, but I think he is a Top 250 player, so not super surprising. Nice to see Minich at #232 overall - many weren't too excited when ND took his committment, but he can really play. And his little brother is really good too. 

Nice to see Minchey at #160 and Flanagan at #170. Definitely agree with those. Braylon James at #108 feels a little low, even though he's lower on Rivals (#149 overall). I think he is going to be a great college WR.

All that said, 247 bases their rankings on NFL potential, which is really hard to determine for 16 and 17 year olds. So maybe that explains Mukam and Hillman in particular.

Interesting to note that ND has 16 Top 247 players, which is the exact same number of Rivals 250 players. But the players and their respective rankings are pretty different.

I'd go with Rivals this year - their rankings (good and bad for ND) make the most sense to me.

Peyton should be a 5 star

 

I agree with them on Drayk.  I think he has a lot to prove. If he shows out in all star games he should rise significantly

 

Gray is massively underrated here

 

No clue how Greathouse isnt a top 200 kid.

 

Flores is going to surprise

 

Maybe its me or lack of highlights but Vernon hasnt popped like an elite player some have him ranked

 

Only 10 guys in both.  Want a little more there.  

[NDhoosier 1,229]

I personally think Drayk is underrated. His stock has gradually fallen even though he has had a very good season. His stock fell because he has been committed for so long without any drama to his recruitment.

Drayk single-handedly leads his team to victory by dominating on both sides of the ball. I have never seen a team rely so much on one player and get to the state championship two times in a row (Won last year, lost this year where he was hurt for part of the game). Drayk is an absolute beast.

Vernon may be the most underappreciated commit in the class, even among ND fans. The kid is an elite DLineman that was deemed a worthy partner to Keeley when they committed back to back.

Edited December 14, 2022 by NDhoosier

[jbrown_9999 1,020]

Just now, NDhoosier said:

I personally think Drayk is underrated. His stock has gradually fallen even though he has had a very good season. His stock fell because he has been committed for so long without any drama to his recruitment.

Drayk single-handedly leads his team to victory by dominating on both sides of the ball. I have never seen a team rely so much on one player and get to the state championship two times in a row (Won last year, lost this year where he was hurt for part of the game). Drayk is an absolute beast.

Drayk also plays baseball and probably missed most if not all all-star camps. 

I agree that being so solid of a commitment to Notre Dame will cause a recruit to drop since uncommitted or uncertain recruits rated higher will drive more clicks

[NDhoosier 1,229]

5 minutes ago, jbrown_9999 said:

Drayk also plays baseball and probably missed most if not all all-star camps. 

I agree that being so solid of a commitment to Notre Dame will cause a recruit to drop since uncommitted or uncertain recruits rated higher will drive more clicks

Well, regardless of how people want to spin it, these recruiting sites need to generate clicks. The rankings are a major cause of traffic flow to the website and they are influenced by articles such as: "5* Safety may be looking to decommit from the Irish!!!!" instead of "5* Linebacker remains solid to Irish, here's why."

[golson5 176]

46 minutes ago, NDhoosier said:

I personally think Drayk is underrated. His stock has gradually fallen even though he has had a very good season. His stock fell because he has been committed for so long without any drama to his recruitment.

Drayk single-handedly leads his team to victory by dominating on both sides of the ball. I have never seen a team rely so much on one player and get to the state championship two times in a row (Won last year, lost this year where he was hurt for part of the game). Drayk is an absolute beast.

Vernon may be the most underappreciated commit in the class, even among ND fans. The kid is an elite DLineman that was deemed a worthy partner to Keeley when they committed back to back.

Drayks competition is pretty bad.  Evaluating is more about how do you translate to the next level, your athletic traits, moreso than your high school stats.  Drayk is a beast, but how well does he change direction, go side to side. He looks athletic in a straight line for sure.  

 

He did compete at Alabamas camp and thats where he wanted to go, and they did not offer him after the camp. So we'll see how he does.

 

What were Vernons stats this year? How many sacks?  I hear about a lot of other kids every saturday after their games but never much from him.   Once I wanted to hear Vernon absolutely dominated, had 3 sacks and was unblockable. Maybe I missed it looking at the sites, but I didnt see or hear that very often

 

I think they're both good prospects. Just not top 100 guys.  Hope Im wrong

[Synoptico 334]

10 hours ago, golson5 said:

Drayks competition is pretty bad.  Evaluating is more about how do you translate to the next level, your athletic traits, moreso than your high school stats.  Drayk is a beast, but how well does he change direction, go side to side. He looks athletic in a straight line for sure.  

 

He did compete at Alabamas camp and thats where he wanted to go, and they did not offer him after the camp. So we'll see how he does.

 

What were Vernons stats this year? How many sacks?  I hear about a lot of other kids every saturday after their games but never much from him.   Once I wanted to hear Vernon absolutely dominated, had 3 sacks and was unblockable. Maybe I missed it looking at the sites, but I didnt see or hear that very often

 

I think they're both good prospects. Just not top 100 guys.  Hope Im wrong

ala Kizer

[Big23Head 2,262]

I agree with D. Bowen's current ranking. I'm not convinced he has the quickness or suddenness. His film does not jump out like Prince Kollie's from athleticism. To me it looks like Bowen does it on size and because everyone else is simply not as good. The All American Bowl will be interesting and a much clearer picture. If he does what he does against that competition then booyah.

Hillman is a big projection but one I can get behind, although I would not rank him that high. Athleticism is there and film jumps out. I can see a JOK type of rise here.

Mukam is a massive projection. I love the hockey background, size, and motor, but nothing jumps out significantly on film to me anyway. I think he could be very good but that ranking good would be years away.

Vernon does not play the recruiting game. I don't believe he released his senior film and he attended very few camps. He can show everyone what's up at the All American Bowl. His first few games this year he was at least double teamed and mostly triple teamed. One game he was quadruple teamed multiple times. That probably does not make for the most electric film either.

I think Gray and Ausberry could prove their rankings too low. Time will tell.

One guy I got more intrigued by late in the year was Zinter. His brother was ranked higher (not high level though) and turned out quite nicely. Preston showed some nice athleticism and made some fantastic plays late in the year. He could fall into the tweener category or turn out to be a gem.

Greathouse is one I don't get. Sure he is the bigger bodied player that is not elite in any athletic category but he produces and there is something to be said about that. He produced massively at the highest level of Texas football. Also, his punt returns say he has more wiggle and speed than given credit for I think.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Big23Head