Athlon Sports releases its positional recruiting rankings for the Class of 2013.
National Signing Day 2013 is right around the corner and Athlon Sports is releasing its position-by-position rankings for the Class of 2013 based on the Athlon Consensus 100. Who is left on the board? Who has the best class at one position? Who had positional needs to fill? And, obviously, who are the stars of tomorrow fans can look forward to at every position?
The growth of the spread offense has created a need for more pass-catchers. This means more smallish, quicker slot receivers who can make things happen with the ball in their hands. This means more rangy, vertical threats who can stretch the defense down the field. It means more big, physical red-zone targets. And the 2013 class is loaded with all of the above.
It also appears that catching passes for Johnny Manziel is appealing to high school athletes. The Aggies have the No. 3- (Ricky Seals-Jean), No. 5- (Derrick Griffin) and No. 13-rated (Sebastian Larue) wide receivers in the nation. Seals-Jean, listed at 6-5 and 225 pounds, and Griffin, listed at 6-5 and 215 pounds, gives Kevin Sumlin two of the biggest pass-catchers in the nation. Larue, at 5-11 and 185 pounds, gives the offense another dimension in the slot. Should Manziel stick around for more than one more season, he is assured an elite collection of wideouts.
The Washington Huskies aren't too far behind the Aggies in this class as they landed three of the top 25 wideouts in the nation. Demorea Stringfellow has an elite combination of size and speed and has No. 1 wide receiver written all over him. Darrell Daniels has a similar build and will push for early playing time as well while John Ross brings speed to the slot. Both Washington and Texas A&M recruited complete starting lineups (X, Y and Z) in this class.
The Florida Gators have a chance to challenge these two, however, should they land one of the remaining targets. Demarcus Robinson and Ahmad Fulwood are both ranked in the Top 12 nationally and both bring size and strength to a major position of need for the Gators. Oregon, Texas and Auburn also landed two of the nationally rated wideouts as well.
Otherwise, Ole Miss, Baylor and Louisville landed their newest superstar with Laquon Treadwell, Robbie Rhodes and James Quick respectively. All three are special talents who will immediately change the dynamics of their respective offenses. Bears fans should be daydreaming about Rhodes in Art Briles' pass-happy system.
2013 Positional Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | ATH
| Â | Name | AC100 | Hometown | Ht | Wt | Verbal |
| 1. | Laquon Treadwell | No. 14 | Crete, IL | 6-3 | 195 | Ole Miss |
| 2. | Robert Foster | No. 23 | Monaca, PA | 6-3 | 190 | Alabama |
| 3. | Ricky Seals-Jean | No. 25 | Sealy, TX | 6-5 | 225 | Texas A&M |
| 4. | Robbie Rhodes | No. 28 | Ft. Worth, TX | 6-1 | 190 | Baylor |
| 5. | Derrick Griffin | No. 40 | Rosenberg, TX | 6-5 | 215 | Texas A&M |
| 6. | James Quick | No. 63 | Louisville, KY | 6-0 | 180 | Louisville |
| 7. | Stacy Coley | No. 64 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | 6-1 | 175 | -- |
| 8. | Steven Mitchell | No. 67 | Mission Hills, CA | 5-10 | 180 | USC |
| 9. | Demorea Stringfellow | No. 79 | Moreno Valley, CA | 6-3 | 195 | Washington |
| 10. | Demarcus Robinson | No. 81 | Ft. Valley, GA | 6-2 | 200 | Florida |
| 11. | Marquez North | No. 99 | Charlotte, NC | 6-3 | 215 | Tennessee |
| 12. | Ahmad Fulwood | No. 126 | Jacksonville, FL | 6-4 | 200 | Florida |
| 13. | Sebastian Larue | No. 127 | Santa Monica, CA | 5-11 | 185 | Texas A&M |
| 14. | Stanvon Taylor | No. 160 | Tulsa, OK | 5-11 | 165 | Oklahoma |
| 15. | Tony Stevens | No. 167 | Orlando, FL | 6-4 | 185 | Auburn |
| 16. | Torii Hunter Jr. | No. 168 | Prosper, TX | 6-0 | 175 | Notre Dame |
| 17. | Tyler Boyd | No. 179 | Clairton, PA | 6-1 | 170 | Pitt |
| 18. | Jason Smith | No. 180 | Mobile, AL | 6-1 | 190 | Auburn |
| 19. | Jordan Cunningham | No. 182 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | 6-1 | 175 | -- |
| 20. | John Ross | No. 186 | Long Beach, CA | 5-9 | 165 | Washington |
| 21. | Devon Allen | No. 189 | Phoenix, AZ | 6-1 | 190 | Oregon |
| 22. | Earnest Robinson | No. 190 | Pinson Valley, AL | 6-2 | 200 | Auburn |
| 23. | Jacorey Warrick | No. 197 | Houston, TX | 5-10 | 170 | Texas |
| 24. | Darrell Daniels | No. 200 | Oakley, CA | 6-3 | 210 | Washington |
| 25. | Shelton Gibson | No. 208 | Cleveland Heights, OH | 5-11 | 175 | West Virginia |
| 26. | Darren Carrington | No. 210 | San Diego, CA | 6-3 | 185 | Oregon |
| 27. | Jake Oliver | No. 235 | Dallas, TX | 6-4 | 205 | Texas |
View the complete 2013 Athlon Consensus 100
Recruiting Videos:
AC100 On Campus: Su'a Cravens
AC100 On Campus: Jalen Ramsey
AC100 On Campus: Ethan Pocic
AC100 On Campus: Robbie Rhodes
AC100 On Campus: Jalin Marshall
AC100 On Campus: Jake Raulerson
AC100 On Campus: Cameron Burrows
AC100 On Campus: Dontre Wilson
AC100 On Campus: Taco Charlton
AC100 On Campus: Torii Hunter Jr., Part I
AC100 On Campus: Torii Hunter Jr., Part II
AC100 On Campus: Josh Banderas, Part I
AC100 On Campus: Josh Banderas, Part II
