Five 2025 prospects who made the biggest rankings leaps

Still so early in the development and recruiting processes for the 2025 class, the major themes of Prep Redzone Louisiana's latest rankings update were emergence and expansion.   The list grew from a top 50 to a top 100 as more players hit growth spurts, strides, playing time, training and other opportunities — meaning far more "debuts" than "stock-risers."   But a handful of previously ranked young prospects did make some noticeable leaps of more than just a spot or two, even with all the additional competition for positions.   Here are the five guys who made those climbs — from the Bayou, to the Big Easy, through the River Parishes, to the Capital City, and all the way north to just a few miles shy of the Arkansas border.   [player_tooltip player_id='145357' first='Lennis' last='Finister Jr.'] | 6-0, 170 DB | Archbishop Rummel   As mentioned in the countdown to the latest 2025 rankings update, Finister was among the initial names on Prep Redzone Louisiana's early watch lists for the class and has continued to grow and develop into expectations of the next standout defensive back out of New Orleans. He is starting to check all the boxes with his height, length, strength and physicality, fluid hips, quick feet, closing and recovery speed, instincts, patience and ball skills. Finister joins the top 10 with a move from No. 15 to No. 7 in the latest update and is firmly in the conversation among the top few defensive backs in the class.   [player_tooltip player_id='426964' first='Phillip' last='Wright III'] | 6-0, 160 WR | Destrehan   The Destrehan speedster was already a top-20 prospect in last summer's update at No. 17, but moved up another few spots to No. 13 this spring with some top-10 consideration. Wright has good size, already pushing 6-feet with good length, in a class that looks heavy at smaller predominantly slot prospects — and looks as though he could still grow another inch or more and carry some additional muscle well. The aforementioned track speed, including a 10.66-second 100-meter and 21.65-second 200-meter early this week, is elite. And as he continues to learn how to best channel that speed in and out of breaks and through windows in the defense — a priority he stated for this offseason — he has the potential to become outright lethal route-runner and one of the best overall prospects in this class.   [player_tooltip player_id='145335' first='Riley' last='Verdin'] | 5-10, 155 DB | H.L. Bourgeois   Verdin made the biggest leap of any prospect in the 2025 class in the latest Prep Redzone Louisiana rankings update from No. 48 to No. 22. The H.L. Bourgeois athlete is one of a couple Braves defenders in the top 25 in the class on that new list and, with continued development, has the potential to be one of the top prospects to watch amid a wave of good talent coming through the Bayou Parishes. Verdin is on the smaller side, but quick, fluid and still growing both physically and in his confident and aggressive play. Early on this spring on the 7-on-7 circuit, he has shown a great mentality in rising to the challenges of covering top receivers from across the country, largely holding his own and quickly shaking back from and learning from his miscues and he continues to improve his craft.   [player_tooltip player_id='291157' first='Jayden' last='Gloston'] | 5-11, 170 DB | University Lab   The Cubs' up-and-coming defensive back became one of Texas Tech's latest early-identified Louisiana talents just a few weeks ago when the Raiders extended his first college offer. Gloston is now the next standout U-High defensive back on the recruiting radar following a long lineage that has teammates Marcus Dawson Jr. and Tony Burns taking the lead for the 2024 cycle. He is already starting to look the part physically, now pushing closer to 6-feet with good wingspan and bulked up 20-25 pounds from his previous listed weight, while listing a 4.49-second 40-yard dash. Glosten made a nice jump from No. 43 last summer to No. 31 this spring and looks poised for a breakout 2023 overall between spring football, the camp circuit and his junior campaign in the fall.   [player_tooltip player_id='291088' first='J.T.' last='Layton'] | 6-3, 200 TE | Oak Grove   Recruiting rankings can be a bit more of an uphill battle for tight ends in the modern game — or at least look a bit different from 10 years ago — from standpoints of relative positional value and the amount of opportunities or fits. But Oak Grove's standout sophomore is starting to look like one of Louisiana's top tight end prospects in recent years — a conversation led by Power Five signees Shield Taylor (Alexandria, Stanford), Danny Lewis (Westgate, Alabama) and Will Randle (Isidore Newman, Texas) and current Power Five target Hubert Caliste Jr. (St. Augustine). Layton possesses good size and every bit the physicality and grit expected in the trenches for his old-school Tigers' program and, on his sophomore film, looks to run and move well enough to excel in a range of offensive schemes. He makes a nice leap from No. 44 last summer to No. 32 (so far) and appears likely to join the Power Five recruiting conversation sooner than later.

Still so early in the development and recruiting processes for the 2025 class, the major themes of Prep Redzone Louisiana's latest rankings update were emergence and expansion.