Class of 2025 Rankings Riser

One of the best parts of rankings updates is seeing who saw their talents and hard work paid off the most and led to big jumps up the list since the last update. As most know, our last update published on Monday of Week 1 to start the 2024 season. So what led to these big changes was the big jump in talent and development that was shown during these athletes senior seasons. In today's article we are going to look at both committed and uncommitted athletes that climbed the list. There were some massive jumps that need to be highlighted, so let's dive right into it. Coaches, make sure to get your eyes on the tape of the uncommitted athletes in this group!    The Jump: 14 Spots   This TE Class is the best I have seen while covering WI HS football. We have almost double digit athletes from the group committed to FBS programs. One of those athletes, and the one who has made the biggest jump in this update is [player_tooltip player_id='685845' first='Ben' last='Verges'].   The 6'4" 240 lbs TE is exactly what you look for in a mismatch to target in the passing game. Despite the huge frame, Ben is able to quickly release off the line, eats up cushion, adjusts to the ball while it is in flight, and finds ways to contort himself to be able to bring the ball in. That type of body awareness and control at his age is hard to find. So is his ball skills. Verges is great at high pointing the ball and showing strong hands to hang on through contact. His size, strength, athleticism, and hands are going to give Coastal Carolina a huge advantage at TE as he develops.     The Jump: 15 Spots   Last year we watched Carter play off the edge more than we saw this year. This year we instead got to see the senior play off ball ILB. A position he instantly thrived at. The 6'3" 210 lbs LB has an excellent blend of athleticism and agility to be able to fly around the front seven while avoiding blocks on the way to making tackles. The senior's instincts get to shine from the ILB position. You see him quickly diagnose plays and attack without hesitation. Even when Carter was blocked, the LB shows off the power he has to shed the offensive player to the side and stay on his path to the ball. I can't wait to watch him develop at NDSU and help them defend their National Championship in 2025.     The Jump: 91 Spots   Blake has been a later addition to the rankings. I believe he debuted during the 2024 preseason update. He is rather new to football which has a lot of people intrigued. Including the staff at Idaho. This year, the senior played all along the OL for Middleton and looked the part of an experienced veteran. Blake looked his best when playing on the interior of the OL, especially at center. When watching his tape at center you see an athlete who can quickly set and anchor against nose guards and has the power to maintain the point of the pocket. Blake also has the range to get out in space, up to the second level, or pull and lead. We also see the awareness to find where help is needed when he is uncovered. Blake is developing quickly into a top lineman and has a lot of potential room for growth in front of him.     The Jump: 17 Spots   Liam is currently the highest ranked player committed to a D2 program. Winona State has such a good one on the way in 2025. Excellent length, explosive power off the line, experienced and successful hand fighting technique. Liam is such a gifted pass rusher, and I won't be surprised if he is able to see the field early in obvious passing downs. The senior isn't just a finesse edge defender, though. He has proven he can hold his ground against the run game. Liam can take on blocks and win with leverage, forcing the ball back inside to his help from the defenses pursuit. The tools are there, and Liam has put in a lot of work on them already. Pumped to watch him develop further and play at the collegiate level.     The Jump: 11 Spots   This year we started seeing Mitchell play more LB positions than just off the edge. Proving that versatility was a big part in his climb up the rankings further. Mitchell has an excellent frame that has the sideline to sideline range and the agility to pick through the front seven while always attacking downhill. Mitchell also has packed plenty of strength onto his 230 lbs frame, allowing him to make quick work of OL when they get their hands on him. The cherry on top of this versatile athlete is that you can put him in position to rush the passer in those obvious down and distances and trust that he will be able to get pressure. Love to see that he will be playing FCS football.     The Jump: 62 Spots   An OL who has put together a strong senior season and also made a big jump since the preseason is Menasha's Jordan Scanners. The 6'4" 280 lbs senior is still on the open market, and needs to have eyes on him. The big fella is a nimble athlete at OT. You see that he is able to quickly position himself to cut off his man from the ball. Plus get in position to where he can gain the leverage advantage. Jordan also does a great job of using his length to get those strong hands on his opponent to control where they run. In the run game, Jordan clamps those strong hands onto his man and shows off the power in his lower body as he seems to run the DL off the ball and bury them into the dirt 5 yards off the line. Size, length, strength, and agility all come together in this intriguing 6'4" 280 lbs frame. Get your eyes on this kid. He is a legitimate steal.     The Jump: 114 Spots   One of the biggest rankings rises we saw in this update was the versatile, two way athlete, [player_tooltip player_id='1209395' first='Logan' last='Zahour'] out of Cedarburg. On offense, Logan plays WR/TE and at 6'4" 195 lbs the senior gives DBs a big problem in coverage. Logan has a big catch radius and the body control and ball tracking to find the ball in flight and find a way to get in position to make the catch. After the catch the big receiver is one of the most physical runners who also has a strong stiff arm. On defense we see Zahour at safety. I'm a big fan of his defensive tape because you see how instinctive he is as he quickly diagnoses plays and always is able to be in the right place at the right time to make a play. Plus he has the speed to not only roam the field, but also create highlight reel returns on special teams. This is one of the top available skill players available. Check him out.     The Jump: 35 Spots   One of my favorite DL from this Class that we have watched develop for years is [player_tooltip player_id='685893' first='Khadin' last='Williamson'] of Rufus King. The senior dominates in the trenches with his explosive first step and the way he is able to quickly create power with that first step quickness. Khadin is a one gap type of DL who is going to put a lot of stress on IOL as they try to cut him off before he shoots through the gap. The senior is a disruptive athlete that is able to pile up the stats and even effect plays when he doesn't get to the ball. Can't wait to see where he is going to commit. A team is going to get an exciting DL piece.     The Jump: 61 Spots   Another big time jump was made by WR [player_tooltip player_id='480440' first='Will' last='Packard']. I was able to watch Will live this season and was impressed by his 6'1" 200 lbs frame. He is a well filled out athlete that is able to use that size to box out at the catch point and punish DBs that try to bring him down after the catch. That run after the catch ability allows Will to create big plays in the short passing game. I love the way that the senior uses his size to his advantage to create space by boxing out DBs in the short passing game. Once you start to play more tight on him is when Will will get behind your DB for the deep shot too. Definitely give this kid a look. He is a difference maker out wide.     The Jump: 182 Spots   The biggest jump in the entire article comes to us from State Champion [player_tooltip player_id='383714' first='Sam' last='Schraufnagel']. We saw the senior line up at LB and also DL this season. I love the relentless attack that you see from Sam in the trenches. While he has more of an LB size/frame the senior wins with hand use, quickness, and a physicality needed to disengage and defeat blocks. Sam is quick to attack downhill and has the body control to make the sudden lateral cuts to avoid a blocker or to position himself so he only has to defeat half a man on his way into the backfield. The senior's motor seems to be running at 100 mph every snap. A team needs to swoop in and get this steal.

One of the best parts of rankings updates is seeing who saw their talents and hard work paid off the most and led to big jumps up the list since the last update. As most know, our last update published on Monday of Week 1 to start the 2024 season. So what led to these big changes was the big jump in talent and development that was shown during these athletes senior seasons. In today's article we are going to look at both committed and uncommitted athletes that climbed the list. There were some massive jumps that need to be highlighted, so let's dive right into it. Coaches, make sure to get your eyes on the tape of the uncommitted athletes in this group!