Rivals’ release Monday of its newest ranking of the Top 250 football prospects in the class of 2021 generated quite a reaction from North Carolina fans.
Many questioned the process and why certain current UNC commits weren’t rated higher compared to competing recruiting network 247Sports’ rankings. Some fans noted Rivals has some prospects rated higher than 247Sports.
An example: Many fans wanted to know why UNC commit Keeshawn Silver was not among the 250 and also still rated as a 3-star prospect while 247Sports has him rated much higher. Some also asked about Power Echols and Ra Ra Dillworth, both of whom some fans expected would rise in the rankings, citing recent articles written by Rivals’ regional and national analysts suggesting upgrades were coming.
Much of the dissent was directed at THI, which as part of the Rivals network posted the newest rankings on our front page as we always do when new rankings are released. We also explained that a significant element of Rivals’ process is in-person evaluation, and with nearly all of the spring RCS camps cancelled because of the shutdown, Rivals was limited in the number of prospects it could see in person this spring. In addition, Rivals’ on-site evaluation opportunities include The Opening, team camps and 7-on-7 tournaments. As a result, some prospects that may have jumped had Rivals been able to evaluate them stayed put.
And it should be noted that some of the articles people referenced stated that some players could get an upgrade once Rivals would see them in person again. That hasn’t happened, obviously.
Given the reaction by some fans focusing mainly on Silver and suggesting there’s regularly a considerable discrepancy in Rivals’ ranking of UNC commitments than other services, we at THI decided to dig into this to find out what the numbers actually are. Below is a complete list of what we uncovered.
Our research only includes UNC players that have committed since Mack Brown was hired.
Note: Rivals does not rank players nationally past its Rivals250 and typically only includes 3-star prospects and up in state rankings with the exception of some smaller states. So, with 247Sports going much deeper in individual national rankings and state rankings, there are cases in which 247Sports ranked a player in his state that Rivals did not rank.
Here’s the breakdown:
Many questioned the process and why certain current UNC commits weren’t rated higher compared to competing recruiting network 247Sports’ rankings. Some fans noted Rivals has some prospects rated higher than 247Sports.
An example: Many fans wanted to know why UNC commit Keeshawn Silver was not among the 250 and also still rated as a 3-star prospect while 247Sports has him rated much higher. Some also asked about Power Echols and Ra Ra Dillworth, both of whom some fans expected would rise in the rankings, citing recent articles written by Rivals’ regional and national analysts suggesting upgrades were coming.
Much of the dissent was directed at THI, which as part of the Rivals network posted the newest rankings on our front page as we always do when new rankings are released. We also explained that a significant element of Rivals’ process is in-person evaluation, and with nearly all of the spring RCS camps cancelled because of the shutdown, Rivals was limited in the number of prospects it could see in person this spring. In addition, Rivals’ on-site evaluation opportunities include The Opening, team camps and 7-on-7 tournaments. As a result, some prospects that may have jumped had Rivals been able to evaluate them stayed put.
And it should be noted that some of the articles people referenced stated that some players could get an upgrade once Rivals would see them in person again. That hasn’t happened, obviously.
Given the reaction by some fans focusing mainly on Silver and suggesting there’s regularly a considerable discrepancy in Rivals’ ranking of UNC commitments than other services, we at THI decided to dig into this to find out what the numbers actually are. Below is a complete list of what we uncovered.
Our research only includes UNC players that have committed since Mack Brown was hired.
Note: Rivals does not rank players nationally past its Rivals250 and typically only includes 3-star prospects and up in state rankings with the exception of some smaller states. So, with 247Sports going much deeper in individual national rankings and state rankings, there are cases in which 247Sports ranked a player in his state that Rivals did not rank.
Here’s the breakdown:
