Rivals Five-Star: Five biggest surprises from marquee event

Yahoo

7 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS - Dozens of the best prospects in the country competed at the Rivals Five-Star this week at the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
With some of the best talent on hand, there was no shortage of big plays and surprises along the way. Here are the 12 biggest surprises from the 2025 Rivals Five-Star.
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MORE FROM INDY: Highlights and analysis | Teams that should be pleased | Gorney Awards | Biggest surprises
RECRUITING INTEL: Mid-South | Florida | West | Southeast | Midwest
RIVALS FIVE-STAR MEDIA DAY: All the news, notes and interviews | The All-Lobby Team | How solid are the commitments? | Roster
RIVALS FIVE-STAR INTERVIEWS: Jaden O'Neal | Trae Taylor | Chase Calicut | Samu Moala | Jake Kreul | Felix Ojo | Peyton Houston | CJ Sadler | Richard Wesley | JaReylan McCoy | Carter Scruggs | Nolan Wilson | Carson Sneed | Derrek Cooper | Devin Carter | Jayden Wade | Joel Wyatt | Kaden Henderson | Nick Abrams
KHARY WILDER AND THE DEFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION
The defensive line put on a show in Indianapolis -- lead by Khary Wilder, who was a top performer at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles -- and was even better at the Rivals Five-Star. Wilder fired off the ball and was brilliant rushing inside and out at a high tempo.
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There were also compelling cases to be made for other defensive linemen who were also playing at a different tier. Top-35 prospect Deuce Geralds was explosive and bendy and immensely powerful as an interior pass-rusher. Texas-bound five-star edge defender Richie Wesley was an absolute bully off the line -- putting together some of the most dominant reps of the camp. Four-star Nolan Wilson was impressive working both inside and out; so was four-star edge defender Landon Barnes, who continues to fill out his frame and is position-versatile. Four-star edge defender KJ Ford had arguably the rep of the day as he bull-dozed an opposing offensive tackleT. Ford was also dynamic off the line; he's super bendy and has violent hands.
TEDDY JARRARD STEALS THE SHOW
Some of the nation's best quarterbacks were on hand for the Rivals Five-Star and four-star Teddy Jarrard set himself apart with a strong day inside of the Colts' practice facility.
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Jarrard won the Accuracy Contest and followed suit by leading his team to the 7-on-7 championship game, including going unbeaten in pool play. The 2027 passer processes at a rapid pace and can distribute accordingly. He caught rhythm on Tuesday and let his play do the talking. Notre Dame recently offered Jarrard and Ohio State, Michigan and Missouri are also in the mix.
NOTRE DAME COMMIT JOEY O'BRIEN IS A TWO-WAY PLAYMAKER
Four-star safety Joey O'Brien is going to be inside the state of Indiana way more frequently in a few months -- and he's adjusted well to scenery so far. O'Brien was one of the top performers of the day at defensive back and was equally as formidable playing wide receiver.
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The Notre Dame verbal out of Philadelphia was excellent in coverage -- at cornerback and safety -- with outstanding length and coverage skills, range and instincts in the secondary. He can line up at all three positions back deep and is fantastic on the other side of the ball as well. He's showed up in a big way at several national events already this off-season, including again this week.
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JOEL WYATT IS A UNICORN
Four-star athlete Joel Wyatt is down to Tennessee and Vanderbilt -- and he will choose from those two in-state programs on July 6. Wyatt is getting courted by the Volunteers to play a hybrid role on defense -- including time at linebacker -- and by the Commodores at safety.
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Wyatt was in the conversation as the Defensive Back MVP as a lockdown cornerback at the Rivals Five-Star -- with an interception during the 7-on-7 portion and outstanding reps all around. Wyatt also has excellent tape playing not only on defense, but at wide receiver -- and at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds -- has that in his bag of tricks, too.
ERIC MCFARLAND, JAYDEN WADE ARE AHEAD OF THE CURVE
It's always a bit of a surprise when underclassmen step up in these settings. That wasn't the case for 2028 prospects Eric McFarland and Jayden Wade -- both out of IMG.
McFarland was a top performer at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles, OT7 and then captured first in the Fastest Man competition -- a field littered with some of the nation's fastest prospects like Florida-bound running back Carsyn Baker, Florida State-bound receiver Devin Carter and LSU-bound receiver Jabari Mack, among others. He also was among the top pass-catchers in a stacked field of receivers in Indy.
The same off-season storyline applies to Wade as well. Like his 2028 counterpart, Wade has been among the top quarterbacks in multiple camp and 7-on-7 settings this off-season -- and that theme continued this week. He was excellent again during the 7-on-7 portion of Tuesday's event -- and is a name that'll be buzzing before too long.