2022 Rankings: Stock Risers Pt. 3

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! On Monday, we had our final prospect ranking update as we updated the 2022 Top 150. Now, we start diving into those rankings and identifying some of the biggest movers and new faces within the ranking update. In this post, it’s part two of a three part feature, looking at the prospects who have risen their rankings the most. For all of the prospects in these three features, they had their ranking raised by nearly 20 spots and for several of them, it was much more than that. To check out <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/10/2022-rankings-stock-risers-pt-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Part 1, Click Here</a>. To check out <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/10/2022-rankings-stock-risers-pt-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Part 2, Click Here</a>. For a complete look at the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/oklahoma/rankings/2022-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top 150, Click Here</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="108887" first="Brigham" last="Evans"] - Linebacker - Heritage Hall (Went From #135 To #87) Heritage Hall is once again in the state championship mix this year and they have as good of a shot of bringing home another gold ball this fall. The Chargers are headlined by stars like Texas Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id="48668" first="Gavin" last="Freeman"] and junior breakout star [player_tooltip player_id="155875" first="River" last="Faulkner"]. However, they also have a steady presence on the defense with linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="108887" first="Brigham" last="Evans"]. The senior is yet another stock riser and is one of a few linebackers on this breakdown. Evans jumped up from #135 to #87 in our recent ranking update and his stock continues to be pointing up. With a strong postseason, we won’t be surprised if his stock continues to go up and his ranking is even higher when the final rankings are dropped in January. Evans flies all over the field and has that prototypical size you want from a linebacker. It’s somewhat of a head-scratcher that his recruitment hasn’t picked up but he is teammates with a prospect in [player_tooltip player_id="48668" first="Gavin" last="Freeman"], who’s recruitment was notably slow. I guess the moral here is that more colleges need to make Heritage Hall a priority every single year. They have prospects every single season and Evans will be one of the more underrated linebackers to come out of this class. [player_tooltip player_id="38723" first="Daylan" last="Thompson"] - Running Back - Elk City (Went From #97 To #60) Sometimes we have to raise our hand and admit we got it wrong and we’ll happily do so here. In June, we knew that Elk City running back [player_tooltip player_id="38723" first="Daylan" last="Thompson"] was primed for a breakout season and would be one of the top senior running backs in Oklahoma and yet we still put him as a borderline Top 100 prospect. That ranking was a mistake and we will own that here. Thompson jumped nearly 40 spots in the recent update and is closing in on being a Top 50 prospect overall and is one of the fastest rising running backs in the state’s 2022 class. Oklahoma is absolutely LOADED with talent at the running back position and it’s easy to be overlooked. And yes, Thompson might be easier to overlook because of his height but he shouldn’t be. If you’ve actually seen Thompson in person, you would see that he is absolutely built in the muscle department. It doesn’t matter what his height is when he can absolutely run over you, around you or anywhere he pleases. He’s a big reason why Elk City is in the playoff hunt and will be a dark horse in the 4A playoffs. He’s put up monster numbers all year and we think he’s without a doubt a hidden gem. [player_tooltip player_id="61147" first="JaRay" last="Austin"] - Wide Receiver - Owasso (Went From #148 To #126) Another "short king" prospect has to be Owasso wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="61147" first="JaRay" last="Austin"]. Just like Thompson at Elk City, if you look at Austin and judge him on his size, that’s going to be a mistake that costs you big time. Austin has made it clear that he is a big time playmaker within the Owasso offense over the last three seasons. Despite being one of the shorter prospects on the field at all times, it hasn’t mattered. Even if you have four to six inches on Austin in the height department, it’s not going to matter as he runs right by you time and time again. He’s also proven that he can take a hit and keep on coming. His ability to catch the ball in traffic and hold on to the ball through contact has continued to improve and that’s a big reason why his ranking has gone up with the last ranking update. Just like Thompson at Elk City, the recruitment has been slow for Austin because of questions about the measurables. But if you actually put on the film or better yet, see Austin in person and we have several times over the last few years, you know that the questions about the measurables or erased with his ability on the football field. [player_tooltip player_id="61130" first="Jayson" last="Smith"] - Linebacker - Del City (Went From #66 To #47) With prospects every season, there’s always a group of guys who are overlooked and the recruitment suffers because of it. With some prospects, the answers are simple, either they don’t have the prototypical measurables or they play at a small program or a program that typically doesn’t have many prospects. But, in the case of Del City linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="61130" first="Jayson" last="Smith"], none of those apply and we’re left wondering what college coaches are thinking. Smith jumped from #66 to #47 and is one of the top senior linebackers in the 2022 class. He also doubles as a running back but it’s crystal clear that Smith is a linebacker at the next level. Smith is one of the best linebackers at this point and is a big reason why the Eagles are going into the 6A-2 playoffs as the district champions and one of the top teams in 6A-2. Smith is an absolute wrecking ball of a linebacker and it's mind-boggling that Smith isn't getting more attention from colleges. Hopefully, his tape continues to make the rounds and more schools start paying attention. Because there are prospects that fly under the radar and prospects that fly under the radar and there was no reason for it. Smith falls into that second category. [player_tooltip player_id="101415" first="Ty" last="Pennington"] - Quarterback - Sand Springs (Went From #127 To #98) It’s hard not to be impressed with not only the senior season that Sand Springs quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="101415" first="Ty" last="Pennington"] has had but his overall career. He has been a steady presence for this Sandite program and is leaving it in a much better position for future classes. The Sandites got off to a hot start and then had a murderer’s row of opponents in October as they faced the top three teams in 6A-2 with Bixby, Booker T Washington and Choctaw in three straight weeks. That certainly hurt the Sandites in the win-loss column but Pennington has consistently been one of the top quarterbacks in 6A-2. For us, Pennington came into this season and we knew about him but were unsure of his ceiling as a quarterback prospect at the next level. However, it’s pretty obvious that Pennington belongs in the same discussion with some of the other quarterbacks in this 2022 class. Pennington jumped up into the Top 100 for overall prospects and made a jump over several other QB’s with the latest update. Like a few other of the prospects in this breakdown, we have to consider Pennington a hidden gem at his position. Someone is going to get a very good football player with this Sandite standout.