Understanding the PRZ Rankings. The Who’s, When’s, and Why’s

At Prep Redzone Pennsylvania and over at Prep Redzone New England, we pride ourselves in achieving our number one goal. That goal is to provide exposure to those in need. The ways we achieve that goal can vary. Sometimes it’s through attending games and events, other times it’s through social media. Our main avenues to provide prospects with exposure are through our evaluation/scouting-styled articles, helping colleges get a jump on who to recruit via expert analysis via a football lens. The other is through our Rankings.

What are Prep Redzone Rankings? What is the main purpose?

Prep Redzone Rankings are a class-based prospect ranking system that highlights the best players from each state, top to bottom. Its main purpose is to help provide names to Collegiate programs that are building their recruiting boards. Coaches at the next level are on a constant hunt for names, that being Power Five programs all the way down to DIII. We help guys at the next level in many ways, none more than providing names for them to scout. These rankings can be filtered via position or class, ensuring you can be seen by coaches who are looking for a certain type of prospect. The more eyes on your name, the better.

What does it mean to be “Ranked”? What’s the criteria?

We all come from different scouting levels/backgrounds. Personally, my criteria reflect Prep Redzone’s core values. If a prospect has the potential to play college football at some level or another, he should be represented on the site. When I rank, I want NAIA/D3 prospects represented, they deserve a little limelight as we know. The higher you place, the higher level of football I believe you can play. State criteria varies amongst different scouts.

Some criterias I’ve heard scouts proclaim: Rankable if…

Why do some Ranked numbers vary State to State?

Ranking philosophies are different across each state. Prep Redzone wants to represent all prospects while being the voice for the under-recruited prospects across the USA, the bottom 99%. It’s vital that we go above and beyond to find kids and add them to our database where we see fit, so long as they meet the criteria. 

I’m in the category of, the more names the better. When ranking, we (PA & NE) average about 600-700 seniors, 400-500 juniors, 200-350 sophomores, and anywhere from 30-150 freshman. A ton of factors go into this, PA & NE are large, my criteria is somewhat lenient, my knowledge, Twitter presence is extensive, this all leads to a stacked player base / rankings. Not every state can be high volume. WV & DE won’t be as heavy with prospects as PA or NE. 

Some states like to give top 100s all around, for each class. Makes sense for smaller states, also provides exclusivity among prospects (feels better to be amongst a smaller group of chosen prospects). Tends to miss the diamonds in the rough.

Some scouts like to stick to the script, hardly deviating from their criteria of a ranked prospect. This leads to a more fluid prospect count, especially amongst lower classmen. Some classes may vary in number. A good blend of both philosophies above.

How often are these Rankings updated? When are they usually released?

This varies between states, yet there is a consensus. Rankings are to be updated 2-3 times a year. We take pride in covering you year-round, scouts like myself are on constant watch from January through December. Combine/Camp testing in May can sway your rank equally as a great performance on Friday night can. We want to provide colleges with the full spectrum of a prospect’s capabilities, that can’t be done unless we are watching you year-round. That being said, I like to update rankings during these periods.

How do Freshman Rankings work?

A question we get often. How can we rank kids who haven’t even put pads on at the high school level?

When putting together a freshman class, it must be noted that every rank, from first to last, is preliminary. What does that mean? Every rank is subject to change, this applies to seniors as well, yet no greater than when applying this notion to freshmen. In today’s day in age, there are 7th and 8th-grade prospects that are legitimately being added to collegiate recruiting boards, primarily by Power Five programs who want to get a jump on a prospect’s recruitment. We need to reflect that. Scouts like myself are also in constant contact with high school coaches across the state. I get wind of a potential starting freshman, this needs to be reflected. I scour 7v7 events and camps across the Northeast, I occasionally find Freshmen who tear through combines with upperclassmen involved. This needs to be reflected.

Freshman ranks can be flipped upside down within months. We release a preliminary class so that colleges can get a gist for the prospects they should keep their eye on. This list grows from 100-150, all the way down to 600-700 by the time a prospect reaches their senior year. Top prospects often do not bloom until they are upper classmen, some aren’t even given a chance. I aim to solidify your rank before your junior season begins.

What does WL mean?

“WL” means you are on our Watchlist. It’s a placeholder to tell you that you are on radar and ready to be ranked come next update. I add prospects to the Watchlist frequently.

How do I become “Ranked”?

There is absolutely nothing you have to do to become ranked on our site. It’s my job as a scout to scour the state and find potential prospects to be added. If I attend your game and like what I see, I might be inclined to add you to our ranks. If I attend a 7v7 or camp and you’re killing the event, I might be inclined to get you on our ranks. If you perform well for even a couple weeks in your Fall season, I might be inclined to get you represented. Remember, if I see you and think you can help a collegiate football program, I want you represented. I also do my own research, we can never speak or even be in the same room for me to rank you. It’s all about visibility.

However, there are ways to elevate yourself to be seen by college coaches as well as scouts like myself.

My main way of finding talent is the same as many collegiate coaching staffs, that being through Hudl and Twitter. The more active you are through these channels, the more likely I am of seeing your name and talents. Same goes for coaches at the next level. Activity will equal visibility.

You can even take matters into your own hands on our site. Here is a step-by-step way to create a profile on our site, ensuring that I see you when update time comes around.

This doesn’t guarantee a ranking in the future, or coverage, yet this guarantees I know about you. 

Why did my Rank drop/move?

It needs to be understood that classes as a whole will grow with each update. Freshman classes will usually begin with 30-50 ranked prospects. This number will eventually blossom to a whopping 600-700 by a prospect’s senior year. If you’re a sophomore and killing the game, I may like you as a top-10 wideout at that time. Things change. You might continue on the same trajectory and fall in our ranks. Why? Solely because we found new names that we like slightly more than you. Now you might be a top 20 wideout despite your trajectory maintaining throughout your career. This is frustrating but is the name of the game, especially in the recruiting world. Expanding classes is the number one reason for your rank “dropping”, it isn’t because I dislike your game all of a sudden. This is why it means even more when you can maintain a high rank throughout the years.

Why am I ranked a certain position?

Generally speaking, we designate a position for you based on where we think you can play at the next level. This isn’t always the case because projecting where you might play can be difficult for some of you.

The “ATH” designation could mean two things. Either you are capable of playing a myriad of positions at the next level, or you play multiple positions at the HS level. You can have this changed to your liking if you DM me.

Who decides what?

As the lead scout and Director, I have the majority of say when it comes to where you are placed. That being said, I meet with regional scouts before each update to gather new names, as well as to bounce different viewpoints around. If I were ranking 1500 kids by myself, it wouldn’t be good. Lead scouts need to meet with regional scouts to gain a consensus.

How do you differentiate between prospects?

This method, especially state’s with a high volume philosophy, will more than likely leave you with 200+ kids all with the same D2 grade, and 200+ kids all with the same D3 grade. How do you differentiate who goes where? 

Believe it or not, I spend hours on top of hours watching your tapes. I love to do so, it’s hardly a chore, especially considering how this could help many of you down the line. I am in constant talk with college coaches. These are some of the factors that help me decide which prospect of the same grade should be placed amongst each other. 

This list is NOT in priority order. Nothing beats your tape.

I am in constant contact with recruiting personnel at every level of football. I have come to understand what a DII player looks like, same goes for FBS or DIII prospects. I’ve learned by directly working with many of the coaches you want to play for. It’s my job to reflect your game the correct way. No ranking is perfect yet I strive to achieve that every time.