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Stingley finishes as top CB in 247Sports history

LSU’s highest-ranked signee has not only finished as a five-star prospect, but the No. 2 overall prospect in the country.

On Tuesday, the final 247Sports five-stars were revealed, and defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. finished as the No. 2 overall prospect on 247Sports.

"He's a guy we strongly considered at No. 1," said 247Sports national recruiting analyst Barton Simmons. "I don't think there is a safer bet in this class to hit."

Stingley finishes as the highest-ranked cornerback ever on 247Sports.

Stingley remained not only the nation’s highest-ranked cornerback, but also the highest-ranked defensive back in the 2019 class. He enrolled at LSU last month and participated in a handful of the team’s bowl practices ahead of the win over Central Florida, and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and head coach Ed Orgeron both praised Stingley for his showing against college players.

With the final 247Sports five-stars locked in, all eyes will be on Stingley’s shuffle in the final 247Sports Composite rankings. Stingley entered the day ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the country behind Georgia signee Nolan Smith, but Smith checked in at the No. 4 overall spot in the final 247Sports rankings. The 247Sports Composite will be updated this week.

Stingley, a finalist for the 2018-19 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and winner of Louisiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2018, led Dunham to the Louisiana Division-III quarterfinals during his senior campaign, making plays all over the field in all three phases of the game.

As a senior, Stingley had four interceptions - returning one for a touchdown – to go along with 24 receptions for 678 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 192 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He helped Dunham High School to back-to-back district titles for the first time in school history as a junior and senior, and he intercepted 14 passes over the final 20 games of his high school career.

Stingley saw action at safety, cornerback, wide receiver and return specialist in high school, and was also on the receiving end of Academic All-State honors on multiple occasions.

Stingley earned MVP honors on both offense and district for his district as well as being first team all-district on both sides of the ball, and he was selected to participate in the 2019 All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

At 6-0.5 and 188 pounds, Stingley had some of the best verified testing numbers in the 2019 class, recording a 4.30 40-yard dash, a 4.28 shuttle and a 42.00-inch vertical jump.

On a side note, 247 stated that Stingley finished 2nd to Alfano simply due to his position. The rationale was that DL is a bigger premium in the draft and they rank players based on projected draft order.