re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

quote:

---

The final ESPN 300 rankings are set: What should you know about the future stars of college football?

---

quote:

---

Wednesday marks the final release of the 247Sports Top247 for the class of 2017. It's a list shaken up extensively by All-American games, all-star appearances and late playoff runs. But it's also a list that accounts for the entire body of work of the 2017 class. For this list we weighed senior film, feedback from college and high school sources, and everything we've gathered from the last two to three years covering these players on the recruiting trail.

Above all else, this list was about getting it right. Below we break down some of the biggest movers and notable debates. Remember, yesterday we unveiled our final 32 five-star players in the class, highlighted by elite prospects Walker Little — the second-highest rated player in Top247 history — and Jaelan Phillips. That list can be found here. What makes Little and Phillips so sensational? That's worth its own article.

Let's get started ...

The 5-star candidates

The trio of LB Willie Gay, WR Tee Higgins and WR Jerry Jeudy were the closest to joining the five-star ranks. All three were five-stars at varying points during our deliberations. Gay moved up to the No. 33 player in the country after an outstanding senior season and all-star circuit. Higgins, a Clemson commit, couldn't do enough to hang on to his fifth star but remains one of the highest upside receivers in this class while Jeudy, an Alabama commit, may be the safest wide receiver in this cycle.

Georgia's offensive line

Georgia picked a good time to need offensive line help, capitalizing on a loaded offensive line class in 2017. Brooklyn (N.Y.) Poly Prep offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson rose from No. 102 in the rankings all the way up to No. 39 overall after his Under Armour showing. Andrew Thomas rose even higher after he was one of the best lineman at the Army Bowl. He's up from No. 115 nationally to No. 37. Both look like candidates to compete for a starting job immediately in Athens.

Linebackers on the move

Nashville (Tenn.) East Nashville linebacker Jacob Phillips just continues to 'wow' us. He was awesome at the Army Bowl and took a huge step forward during his senior season. That combination jumped the 6-foot-3.5, 230-pounder up from No. 234 nationally to No. 46. LSU is trying to flip Phillips from Oklahoma.

Christopher Allen was the other All-American Bowl revelation at linebacker. The Alabama commit flashed throughout the week and was unanimously a top performer. He's up from No. 111 to No. 57 in the rankings and the Baton Rouge native continues to get a heavy push from LSU.

The scrappy DBs

If you're undersized at cornerback, you'd better be fast to get inside the Top100. More importantly than that though, you'd better be willing and able to tackle. In that spirit, Deommodore Lenoir and Justin Broiles each deserved serious bumps up in our rankings. Lenoir was arguably the best DB at the Army Bowl and showed some flash in the return game. He's up from No. 139 to No. 59 in our final release. The same can be said of Justin Broiles in Under Armour. The Oklahoma commit jumps up from No. 131 to No. 60.

Kary Vincent may be small but his speed and playmaking ability merits his move up all the way to No. 82 from No. 175. He was another major standout at Under Armour and looks like a future playmaker in LSU's secondary.

It wasn't just the cornerbacks that got love. Paris Ford, despite a light frame, was an absolute head-hunter at Under Armour. We've loved his film and when he delivered with that kind of energy at the safety position, we rewarded the Pitt commit with a move up to No. 66 nationally from No. 215.

Senior film stud

One of our biggest movers that didn't play in a postseason event was Michigan commit James Hudson. Based on his senior film, you have to call him one of the nation's best big-bodied defensive linemen. The Ohio native has jumped up to No. 109 nationally from No. 237.

Proving us right

247Sports went out on a limb ranking Washington commit Ty Jones as a Top247 member despite the industry seeing him significantly lower in the national pecking order. We doubled down on that opinion by inviting him to the Army Bowl. Jones rewarded us with an outstanding week. The wide receiver continues to climb in the rankings up to No. 83 from No. 188 due to his long wingspan and outstanding ball skills. Despite a recent offer from Ohio State, he's sticking with the Huskies.

We went through the same exercise with Northwestern commit Earnest Brown. Brown's senior film is awesome. He shows powerful hands, a great get-off, and strength on the interior so we ranked him high and invited him to compete at the Army Bowl. He was as good as we hoped he'd be. Don’t be surprised if Brown develops into a force at Northwestern similar to what Jordan Willis has been for Kansas State. He jumps up to No. 95 in the rankings from No. 226.

Out of the shadows

One of the biggest enigmas during this recruiting cycle for us has been California edge defender DJ Johnson. We haven't had a chance to see much of the athletic defensive end in person before the Under Armour Game. He's got strong film and he's going across the country to play at Miami but how would he perform in an elite all-star setting? He was really good and showed all the upside we suspected he had. Johnson moves from No. 145 to No. 69 nationally.

New additions

There were 17 new additions to the Top247 and the two biggest were on the offensive line. Notre Dame commit Joshua Lugg jumped in all the way up at No. 86 while Penn State commit C.J. Thorpe arrived at No. 111. Both were already four-stars before the move into the list.

For Lugg the jump came after what was one of the most consistent weeks of any offensive lineman at the Army Bowl. That performance complements what is one of this class' best offensive line frames and athletic skillsets.

Thorpe's jump came from a similar performance at Under Armour. We loved his senior film and were anxious to see what his All-American Game performance would look like and he matched his film in toughness and physicality. He doesn't have the same kind of prototype frame that Lugg has but Thorpe is one of the nastiest offensive linemen in this class.

The other new faces:

Kentucky DL commit Joshua Paschal to No. 191

Miami DL commit Jonathan Garvin to No. 195

Alabama and LSU DL target Phidarian Mathis to No. 197

Stanford DT commit Dalyn Wade-Perry to No. 199

Alabama RB commit Brian Robinson to No. 224

Stanford and Notre Dame ATH target Connor Wedington to No. 225

Louisville S commit Tresean Smith to No. 226

Florida State QB commit James Blackman to No. 228

Baylor C commit Xavier Newman to No. 229

Cal ATH commit Jordan Genmark-Heath o No. 230

Tennessee WR commit Jordan Murphy to No. 233

Auburn LB commit Kenney Britt to No. 239

Virginia Tech QB commit Hendon Hooker to No. 245

Oklahoma WR commit CeeDee Lamb to No. 246

USC, Notre Dame, Oregon and Vandy DL target Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to No. 247

---

quote:

---

The 2016 Mr. Football winner in Alabama is junior La'Damian Webb of Beauregard!

---

quote:

---

47 rushing TDs and 3,242 rushing yards later, Beauregard junior RB La'Damian Webb is Mr. Football 2016. @TheGardFootball @webb_3ladamian

---