Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith has been all over the Midwest this season, scouting top high school prospects from the 2025, 2026, 2027 and even 2028 classes. Here are his awards for the top performances he saw in person.
RUMOR MILL: Final visits begin as signing day nears
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100
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MR. BIG PLAY: Bryce Underwood
The moment you see Underwood it's easy to understand why LSU fans were thrilled to land him. He’s physically gifted at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds with room to add muscle to his frame. Underwood is a terrific athlete which he showed off plenty during the game I saw, scoring on a pair of touchdown runs. Every time his team needed a big play, it turned to him and he delivered.
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MR. CONSISTENCY: Elijah Dotson
The Pitt commit was all over the place, racking up 17 tackles during the game I attended. Those tackles didn’t just come from letting guys catch the ball and making the tackle. Dotson did a great job of coming up to help in run support and showed his physicality. He plays bigger than his size and it's easy to see why Michigan pushed hard to flip him.
NO CEILING: Tavien St. Clair
The Ohio State commit had a good season for Bellefontaine High School but didn’t necessarily put up the eye-popping stats that his peers did. Even in a game featuring driving rain, St. Clair showed why he’s our No. 1 prospect in the 2025 Rivals250.
He throws the ball with power and accuracy but can layer throws when needed, too. The future Buckeye will make good use of his ability to throw on the run when he gets to Columbus, too. He’s got all the tools to be a future first-round NFL Draft pick.
BUY STOCK: Baron Marshall
It’s not often when you go to a game featuring multiple upperclassmen headed to play major college football, people ask you about a freshman. But that happened the night I was in Overland Park, Kan., to check out a game this fall. Marshall is a wide receiver prospect that many fan bases will be getting to know.
This fall he’s picked up offers from Auburn, Miami, Nebraska, Missouri and more. As he continues to develop and refine his game, he has a chance to be a national recruit.
SWEET FEET: Andrew Babalola
The night I saw Babalola play brought out some big names in college football. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore was there to see him. So was Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. Stanford had staff on hand to see him, too. Something that stood out about watching Babalola is how athletic he is and how quick his feet are.
His frame is terrific and has a lot of room for him to get bigger without losing that speed on the line. After some time in the Michigan weight room, he’s going to be a monster Big Ten offensive tackle.
BODYGUARD: Jackson Cantwell
There isn’t a much safer bet in the 2026 recruiting class than Cantwell. He’s got the bloodlines as the son of two Olympians. The Missouri native has the size at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds. Cantwell moves like a much smaller player and he enjoys being physical to rack up pancakes.
Whichever program gets him will have the left tackle spot locked down for three years before he’s playing on Sundays.
BULL MARKET: Titan Davis
Davis was the most impressive prospect I saw during my St. Louis swing. That’s saying something because there is so much talent in that city alone. He’s a classic strongside defensive end but at 6-foot-5, 255-pounds he’s on that line where he could help a team at defensive tackle too.
Davis holds up well at the point of attack but also shows an array of pass rush moves that are advanced for his age. There’s a good battle brewing for him between Missouri, Ohio State and many others.
FIVE-STAR POTENTIAL: Trae Taylor
This season the young quarterback has made the rounds visiting Ohio State, Nebraska, South Carolina, LSU, Illinois and others. There is a reason why he’s got many options already on where to play his college football. He’s the real deal.
Taylor already has enough size but will be bigger by the time he hits college. He can make all the throws but there are two things that really stand out to me after seeing him play: his command of the offense and his improv skills. Taylor is a very smart quarterback especially for his age. He’s also a much better athlete than you initially think, which is feedback I’ve heard about him from college coaches, too.
If he keeps progressing, it’ll be hard to deny that fifth star.
STOCK UP: Nasir Rankin
During a big-time rivalry game Rankin was the best prospect on the field the day I saw him. He made a ton of big plays and really set the tone for his team to win the game with a big touchdown early on. Rankin is a big-time playmaker out of the slot. He caught deep balls, intermediate passes and was good on jet sweeps.
There are many college offenses that will pitch him to use him the exact same way in their offenses.
