Three Things To Know About the Class of 2027

We just released a major rankings update for the class of 2027, and we'll have a full two weeks to break down the players who tell the story of the class. We'll also have some time to write some pieces that we don't normally have room to touch. Here, I'm giving fans three things to know about the 2027 class, zooming out to look at the class as a whole.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2027 Rankings Update: Three Things To Know</h2>   The class of 2027 is in the spotlight, and fans may not be familiar with the class as a whole. One of the best ways to interact with an unfamiliar class is by finding trends and comparing them to past classes. There's plenty to know about the class of 2027, but here are the first three things I think of when it comes to the class as a whole.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1) The Top-End of the Class is Elite</h3>   We'll probably move players around over the next year as players take turns with momentum in our rankings. Compared to past classes, the class of 2027 has more truly elite prospects than any we can remember. In some classes, we're looking for a player or two worthy of the top position. For the 2027 class, we'd feel comfortable putting half a dozen players at the top.   Our planned top 5 for this rankings update, as of Monday morning, was [player_tooltip player_id='1607779' first='Jaxon' last='Dollar'], [player_tooltip player_id='1678635' first='Jalaythan' last='Mayfield'], [player_tooltip player_id='320308' first='Xavier' last='Hasan'], [player_tooltip player_id='1553113' first='Rashad' last='Streets'], and [player_tooltip player_id='651173' first='Quinton' last='Cypher'], and we wouldn't criticize anyone for having any of those players as the top player. Around lunch on Monday, former Catawba Ridge (SC) defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1422524' first='Josh' last='Dobson'] announced his transfer to Hough.   That set off a flurry of text exchanges between our scouts. Some national outlets have Dobson as a Top 25 national prospect. Ultimately, we settled on Dobson at No. 3, and we thought long and hard about putting him either below Hasan or above Mayfield. The athleticism of the top of this class is off the charts, and Dollar was safe at No. 1, thanks to an impressive basketball season.   Beyond the truly elite Power Four-Plus (A term I just came up with), there's plenty of Power Four talent, all the way down to the mid-50s. Garner's [player_tooltip player_id='1397877' first='AJ' last='Randle'] is on fire on the recruiting trail right now, and he's moved up from the mid-70s to 49.   For reference, the 2026 class (one of the deeper classes we've seen) only had around 50 Power Four commits. There's still plenty of time for this class to fly past that.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2) It's Not a Deep Class... Yet. Here's Why</h3>   While the elite FBS talent is oozing in this class, it's not the deepest class in terms of borderline Division I talent. In my opinion, there's an easy explanation, and it's not that this class has substantially fewer Division I talents.   The 2026 class was one of the deepest we've ever seen. We had players in the 400s earning high-D2 and even Division I offers. In fact, there were so many talented 2026 players that we'd occasionally discover a player only after he earned an offer.   That meant two things relevant to the 2027 class.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Teams in 2025 were as senior-laden, on average, as we've ever seen. Hundreds of teams will lose over 50% of their offensive yardage or total tackles in 2026, opening the door for undiscovered class of 2027 (and 2028-2030) talent to take center stage.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Since most of the 2026 class played early, we had an idea of what the top of the class would look like. Only three players from outside the top 100 at this time last year moved into the top 50 of the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/rankings/2026-rankings/">final 2026 rankings</a> we released a few weeks ago. I'd expect the opposite this year.</li> </ul>   If you asked me for a prediction of what our final 2027 rankings will look like a year from now, I'd expect the 25-100 range of the rankings to look very different. It's highly likely that at least a few lesser-known players, either already in the back end of our rankings or currently undiscovered, make late pushes into the top 100.   As an example of this, in 2025, there were 70 seniors who both reached 1,000 rushing yards and averaged over 100 a game on the ground. Only 36 juniors did that. The year before, 58 seniors and 42 juniors accomplished that feat. I'd be shocked if we don't have at least a half dozen running back breakouts later than what tends to happen.   Players break out when talent and opportunity intersect. Several 2027 players came out of nowhere this year, especially at the wide receiver position.   Like Brevard's [player_tooltip player_id='1953538' first='Tristan' last='Thompson-Wynn'], who went from three catches as a sophomore to second in the state in receiving after Brevard lost three seniors from the year before. [player_tooltip player_id='2104567' first='Kessler' last='Petrarca'] has a similar story, as Southern Lee lost several leading receivers from last year's team and found Petrarca to be the "easy button" on offense this season.   Expect guys to fly into the rankings when their opportunities match their talent. It's already happened with several top-100 players. It's already happened with guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1328747' first='Lex' last='Sevilla'], [player_tooltip player_id='1596853' first='Ryder' last='McClure'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1953561' first='Devin' last='Cotton'], who went from either junior varsity or a very limited role as sophomores to state leaders as juniors.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3) Camp Season Will Be Crucial</h3>   While not set in stone, we have a good idea of the top 10-15 players. We've already mentioned that a few breakout players will fly into the top 100 in the fall with impressive production on improved opportunities.   The last group I'll talk about is the camp stars. We love getting guys in camp, and if someone stands out in that setting, it usually sets the trajectory for our future rankings. While we rarely jump someone hundreds of spots after a strong camp performance, players frequently put themselves on our radar in that setting.   Last year, three of our biggest movers in the 2026 class were Prep Redzone Showcase stars. Top 150 2027 players like [player_tooltip player_id='668611' first='Drew' last='Easter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1106602' first='Judah' last='Harris'] impressed us before they ever took a varsity snap. Similarly, quarterbacks like [player_tooltip player_id='1041542' first='Ty' last='Sigler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1321021' first='Tyler' last='Druzbik'] impressed us in camp settings before ultimately winning their starting jobs.   Don't expect anyone to end up Top 5 because of a great workout without pads, but our spring evaluation process is huge in the life of a recruiting class and, ultimately, our class rankings.   This is the time of year when we have the most time to dive into film, reevaluate prospects, and change our minds about players. Send your film on Twitter/X (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>), so I can evaluate you. 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We just released a major rankings update for the class of 2027, and we'll have a full two weeks to break down the players who tell the story of the class. We'll also have some time to write some pieces that we don't normally have room to touch. Here, I'm giving fans three things to know about the 2027 class, zooming out to look at the class as a whole.