October Rankings Update: Behind the Scenes of the 2026 Class

There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into each rankings update. Some aspects of the process remain the same for every update, but certain elements are unique to each class and time of year. We updated our rankings for the rising senior class about halfway through their final season on the gridiron.   In this special piece, I'm looking at what went into building the October update, going behind the scenes of the 2026 class rankings. What themes and thoughts are developing, and what is there still to learn as we head down the home stretch for the 2026 class?   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Behind the Scenes of the Midseason Rankings Update: 2026 Class</h2>   We're always player-focused, so I'll never write a piece without including plenty of thoughts on the players themselves.   But there are some themes developing, and some insight I can add to the rankings process and the class as a whole. Here, I've got numbers, stats, and thoughts to accompany our rankings update. I always welcome your thoughts and feedback as well.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Why Update the 2026 Rankings in October?</h3>   We've never done a midseason rankings update, at least while I've been at Prep Redzone North Carolina. So, why this year? Honestly, the easiest answer is because we can. As in, we have the infrastructure, manpower, and time to put together an update.   We try to update rankings 4-5 times a year, but we won't push an update if we haven't done enough to make it worth reading. So, you be the judge. I'll share some numbers below. Tell us if enough has changed to warrant a midseason rankings update.   Our biggest focus in this update was early-season performance. We prioritized moving up players who have excelled on the field. Especially for the senior class, potential and upside are great, but at some point, that has to translate to the field. Several seniors are in the midst of breakout years or massive steps forward, and we tried to reward those where possible.   That doesn't mean we threw out our priors, as we still greatly value camp performances and offseason scouting. But, guys who have shown up on the field have generally moved up our rankings, assuming we didn't already have them higher than expected.   You'll also find that our rankings are generally in line with players' future level of college. That isn't because we blindly look at offer and commitment lists, but simply because better players are usually offered by better teams, especially by October of senior year.   But you'll find plenty of exceptions. Just look at the top 50. We have six uncommitted prospects in the top 50, including a few with no offers.   We bucket players, meaning we rank players in the general area of the rankings that a college would look to find players for their team. Power Four players are typically in the top 60; Group of 5/6 players generally fall in the 50-125 range, depending on the depth of a class. FCS players litter the spots after that, then D-II/D-III and so on.   That's based on our evaluations. There are nine G5/G6 commits in the top 63, seven FCS commits in the top 120, and plenty of uncommitted players hanging out in the top 150, meaning we have higher opinions of those players than many college football teams do.   Players like University of Pennsylvania commit [player_tooltip player_id='1600424' first='Jaylen' last='King'] have dominated against elite competition. There's no reason he shouldn't be getting a ton of Group of Six/Power Four interest right now. Defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1165700' first='Manny' last='Lewis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1600434' first='Terande' last='Spencer'] are committed to G6 schools, but we have them in the top 40.   We're fine with that. We won't stray too often because consensus is consensus for a reason. We hit sometimes, as guys step up and perform early in college before transferring up. Others have stayed at a lower level and dominated. We miss our fair share as well, but we're not here to simply copy college commitment lists.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The Numbers</h3>   Let's dive into some numbers around this rankings update. I've started tracking stats for our rankings, giving some insight into the update. Take a look at some of the key numbers in this update:   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/whelms21/status/1975211667056410893 </div></figure>   We already had over 550 ranked players heading into the season, and a lot of those 67 players have had late-career breakouts. Included in that group of stock-risers are 61 players who rose at least 10 spots in the rankings and 13 who moved up over 100 places.   There were also some minor changes at the top. This late in the cycle we won't have drastic movement. It's unlikely that we see a guy jump into the top 10 from out of nowhere this late in the cycle and even more rare that someone tumbles down the rankings from the top due to a lack of elite play, but we did make a few changes. Reidsville tight end [player_tooltip player_id='953008' first='Kendre' last='Harrison'] jumps into the top spot from the No. 3 spot after a huge start to the year, while [player_tooltip player_id='648670' first='Keysaun' last='Eleazer'] moves from 14th to tenth.   Kings Mountain WR/TE [player_tooltip player_id='1600212' first='William' last='Vaughn'], Hough Ath./LB [player_tooltip player_id='974827' first='LJ' last='Porter'], and West Charlotte WR [player_tooltip player_id='1299433' first='Donte' last='Nicholson'] were the other big movers in the top 50.   In this final section, I'll list several accolades and the players who told the story of this update.   If you have other questions or want me to further break down some of the numbers, just reach out on Twitter (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>).   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">From Unranked to Top-350</h2>   Of those 67 new players, several went straight from off the radar to the top half of the rankings. For once, it's mostly late breakouts, rather than players who we missed last time.   [player_tooltip player_id='1909807' first='Jolani' last='Legette'], WR, Palisades   [player_tooltip player_id='1656365' first='Tayden' last='McPhatter'], Ath. Garner   [player_tooltip player_id='1880228' first='Honor' last='Paxton'], DB, Middle Creek   [player_tooltip player_id='1669834' first='Donovan' last='Hicks'], OL, Cleveland   [player_tooltip player_id='1871493' first='Kane' last='Jenrette'], RB, North Brunswick   [player_tooltip player_id='1868481' first='Evan' last='Burroughs'], WR, Watauga   [player_tooltip player_id='1895128' first='Kaden' last='Davis'], QB, Freedom   [player_tooltip player_id='1909733' first='Jay'Lin' last='Johnson'], WR, Salisbury   [player_tooltip player_id='1894441' first='Thian' last='Stevenson'], LB/DB, West Iredell   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Biggest Movers</h2>   While we will write new evaluations this week on every player who moves up even one spot in the rankings, I want to give special recognition to our biggest movers. These stock-risers each moved up at least 100 spots in the rankings:   [player_tooltip player_id='1692403' first='Carter' last='Gillis'], QB, South Mecklenburg (+257)   [player_tooltip player_id='1732522' first='Demarion' last='Davidson'], OL, West Iredell (+212)   [player_tooltip player_id='1751625' first='Hank' last='Thrasher'], LB, Myers Park (+191)   [player_tooltip player_id='1734507' first='Jarryn' last='Payne'], WR/Ath., Washington (+187)   [player_tooltip player_id='1600396' first='Kenyan' last='Stewart'], DL, Butler (+179)   [player_tooltip player_id='1619052' first='Nolan' last='Jefferson'], OL/DL, Palisades (+168)   [player_tooltip player_id='1604514' first='JJ' last='Gulat'], RB, Dixon (+148)   [player_tooltip player_id='1602777' first='Josh' last='Terry'], OL, Statesville (+146)   [player_tooltip player_id='1671870' first='Mozes' last='Morris'], RB, West Forsyth (+121)   [player_tooltip player_id='1737717' first='Marcus' last='Monroe'], TE, North Raleigh Christian (+110)   [player_tooltip player_id='1581460' first='Jay' last='Murray'], TE, West Carteret (+110)   [player_tooltip player_id='1671869' first='Travis' last='Hill Jr.'], RB, Independence (+107)   [player_tooltip player_id='1277000' first='Damonte' last='James'], RB, Central Cabarrus (+106)   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Biggest Watchlist-to-Ranked Jumps</h2>   Finally, I love highlighting watchlist-to-ranked movement. To me, it's the best example of everyone winning. Many of our watchlist players get placed there as we wait for them to breakout. The guys who move from watchlist to well within the rankings often do that based on an outstanding camp performance or leave us otherwise impressed after an in-person or deep dive film evaluation. Here's a list of players who jumped from the watchlist into the top 500:   [player_tooltip player_id='1671093' first='Reginald' last='Bush III'], Lumberton   [player_tooltip player_id='1600376' first='Rico' last='Jones'], OL, Chambers   [player_tooltip player_id='1369343' first='Garrett' last='Nowlan'], RB, Charlotte Catholic   [player_tooltip player_id='1650579' first='Anthony' last='Jimenez'], RB, American Leadership Academy   There's plenty to come from Matt Morrow, Joshua Graham, and I on the 2026 rankings over the next week. Stay locked in with Prep Redzone for more insights, evaluations, and rankings updates. Want to share Prep Redzone with a friend? 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There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into each rankings update. Some aspects of the process remain the same for every update, but certain elements are unique to each class and time of year. We updated our rankings for the rising senior class about halfway through their final season on the gridiron.