By Gabe Brooks
247Sports
Monday marked the first broadscale update to the 2023 Top247 rankings since early in the spring. While several Top247 Tune-Up features pinpointed targeted tweaks between mid-April and early July, Monday's update served as a comprehensive re-stacking following one of the busiest off-seasons we can remember.
Below is a quick rundown of a few of the bigger themes in this rankings release.
Class of 2023 Top247 RankingsArch Manning stays at No. 1
The biggest question for this update was what we'd do at No. 1 overall, a spot
Arch Manning of
Newman (New Orleans) has held since the end of the 2021 high school football season. Manning retains that position, though the competition really heated up this summer, especially as Manning sat out the national camps.
Writes my colleague Cooper Petagna in a more in-depth breakdown of the battle for the top spot:
"With most critics centering on the level of competition the nation's No. 1 player faces at Louisiana's 2A / Division III level, Manning's opposition has not impacted our long-term projection of the New Orleans native.
"After evaluating Manning in-person in May, I still favor Manning to the field as I believe he possesses the combination of the most potential and the highest floor of any signal caller in the class. He's shown uncanny pocket awareness throughout his prep career and consistent ability to make plays on the move. Projecting Manning's success three to four years ahead is why he maintains poll position this go-around."
Manning is committed to Texas.
Eleven new five-stars
The number of 98-rated five-star prospects jumped from four to 15. Five of those 15 five-star prospects are quarterbacks, with two of the new five-stars being signal callers. Yes, position value relative to the NFL Draft contributes to that, but this 2023 cycle is very good at the top of the quarterback board.
Two offensive tackles, two edge defenders, and two receivers also join the five-star neighborhood entering the 2022 season. For a full rundown of the 11 new five-star prospects, check out this feature that lists them in alphabetical order.
Dante Moore's ascension
Dante Moore of
King (Detroit) is now at No. 2 nationally with a very strong case for Arch Manning's No. 1 spot, something that was discussed at length numerous times leading up to Monday's release.
Manning and Moore are Nos. 1 and 3 among the 14 Top247 quarterbacks in career pass attempts, providing extensive live game context. Manning is first in career completions, Moore second. Moore is No. 1 of the 14 QBs in passing yards, Manning is No. 2. And Moore and Manning reside at 1-2 in career TD passes. Moore is committed to Oregon.
While Manning and Moore sit atop the QB board and overall board, three more five-star quarterbacks find themselves in the top 15 of the new Top247:
Nicholaus Iamaleava (3),
Malachi Nelson (5) and
Jackson Arnold (15).
Jaden Rashada (17) is right there as well, while
Christopher Vizzina (38) continues his rise. Iamaleavea is a Tennessee commit, Nelson is a USC commit, Arnold is an Oklahoma commit, Rashada is a Miami commit and Vizzini is committed to Clemson.
Notable risers
Receiver
Jurrion Dickey (14) moved up from the top 60 into the top 15 and five-star territory. A three-sport athlete who hoops and owns a long jump approaching 24 feet, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Dickey has been one of the nation's most dominant players in games, camps, and 7-on-7 events over the last year. His monster junior year in 2021 featured nearly 80 catches for 1,300-plus yards and 19 touchdowns, and his verified sub-4.6 speed joins excellent marks in several combine testing categories. Dickey is committed to Oregon.
Offensive tackle
Charlie Jagusah (25) jumped into the top 25 as the No. 3 OT behind five-star Kadyn Proctor (6) and Samson Okunlola (16), the highest-ranked four-star prospect in this update. Jagusah is a bully on the field with two-way reps, high school wrestling experience and a background of soccer and basketball before starting football in junior high.
Edge
Damon Wilson (39) has repeatedly impressed multiple 247Sports staffers throughout the course of the offseason. He leaps into the top 40 as one of the nation's elite pass-rushing prospects. The same can be said for
Adepoju Adebawore (48), now in the top 50 himself following multiple outstanding performances on the camp circuit.
Defensive lineman
Da’Shawn Womack (55), offensive tackle
Lucas Simmons (60), defensive lineman Jordan Hall (61) and offensive tackle Zalance Heard (154) all rose from outside the top 140 to inside the top 65 as potential NFL Draft second-round projections.
Additional noteworthy risers into the top 100 include the following: offensive tackle
Cayden Green (70), athlete
Malachi Coleman (76), athlete Jeremiyah Love (87), tight end Jaden Platt (88), quarterback
Austin Novosad (89) and quarterback
Avery Johnson (97).
Texas pledge Arch Manning remains the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023 according to 247Sports.
Photo: Parker Waters
