Latest news with #Elee
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NEW RELEASE: Biggest developments in updated Rivals250
The latest Rivals250 for the 2026 class has been released and there were some big changes near the top of the rankings. Rivals national rankings director Adam Friedman looks at the biggest developments that came out of the most recent rankings meeting. Advertisement NEW 2026 RIVALS250: Ranking | Ten prospects who could rise with a big June CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy | Rivals Five-Star roster | Schedule/info THREE NEW FIVE-STARS With this update to the Rivals250, the total number of five-stars now sits at 25 after Lamar Brown, Mark Bowman and Zion Elee join the ranks. If you've been following the rankings debates over the last few months, these moves should not come as a surprise. Advertisement Brown, now No. 13 overall, is a special prospect in the trenches who could play on either side of the line of scrimmage, which is why he has moved from the interior offensive lineman position ranking to the athlete position ranking. His quickness, strength, technique and physical traits give him one of the highest ceilings of any prospect in this class. We've known for a while that the 2026 tight end class is a special group but now there is a new No. 1 at the position. Bowman, who was No. 30 overall in the previous Rivals250, now finds himself among the five-stars at No. 17. Even though he doesn't exactly fill up the stat sheet during the season, Bowman is a well-rounded tight end with high-end blocking abilities and has proven to be an elite receiving tight end throughout the offseason. Elee, a longtime Maryland commit, is one of the most physically gifted prospects in this class, which is the main reason he now has five stars next to his name. Nearly 6-foot-5, 225 pounds with arms that are 35 inches long, the edge defender posted a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash and a broad jump over 11 feet on Thursday at the St. Frances Academy pro day. It is very rare to find a player with those physical dimensions and that type of speed and explosiveness. On top of those eye-popping numbers, Elee has also shown progress developing his hand techniques and has improved his playing strength since the end of last season, which helped propel him up to a five-star and No. 1 in the edge defender position ranking. CHANGE AT THE TOP OF THE TIGHT END RANKING A month ago, we indicated that the tight end ranking would be under the microscope and that changes were likely. Today, those changes were made public with Bowman moving up to No. 1 followed by Kaiden Prothro (No. 36 in the Rivals250) and Kendre' Harrison (No. 38 in the Rivals250). Each of these players are outstanding prospects with the potential to be selected early in the NFL Draft if they continue to develop. Advertisement The shuffling within the top three at the position has more to do with NFL Draft and NFL performance trends than anything else. Harrison is a special blend of size and athleticism and boasts a strong basketball background. Bowman and Prothro both check more boxes when it comes to key movement indicators than Harrison at this point and now they're both ranked ahead of him. NEW NO. 1 SAFETY Five-star Jireh Edwards has jumped ahead of fellow five-star Blaine Bradford to claim the No. 1 safety crown. The standout from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances plays like a heat-seeking missile in the secondary. Edwards has developed a reputation for jarring the ball loose when he makes tackles and can consistently get his hands on the ball. Advertisement He has the speed (posted multiple 4.4-second 40-yard dashes on Thursday) and size (nearly 6-foot-2 with 33-inch arms) that favorably projects to the NFL Draft and in-season production that verifies his high-end abilities. OSENDA ASCENDING Oftentimes there are highly regarded prospects who don't take full advantage of the offseason to work on their craft and physically improve. That description is the opposite of how Gabriel Osenda has attacked these last few months. Osenda participated in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio earlier this year and his performance left a lot to be desired. The 6-foot-8 offensive tackle was carrying a lot of unneeded weight and it significantly impacted his effectiveness on the field. Advertisement Fast forward a couple months and the Tennessee commit now looks like one of the best prospects in this class. Osenda arrived at the Rivals Camp Series in Atlanta in May at 330 pounds, much leaner than four months ago. He was able to bend better, moved his feet quicker and had the technical skills to consistently keep defensive linemen out of the backfield. If Osenda keeps improving at this rate, he could keep rising up the Rivals250.
New York Times
24-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Maryland 5-star commit Zion Elee shuts down recruitment, but Mike Locksley's work isn't done
The December signing period for Class of 2026 prospects is still nine-plus months away. But early congratulations are in order for Maryland coach Mike Locksley and his staff, who on Friday afternoon received great news. Now they have one job: Don't mess this up. Five-star edge rusher Zion Elee, the No. 4 prospect in the Class of 2026, is shutting down his recruitment. The Baltimore native, who plays at powerhouse St. Frances Academy, committed to Maryland in December but as of earlier this month still planned to take official visits to Auburn, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M and South Carolina. But with four simple words posted to his personal X page on Friday afternoon — 'My recruitment is closed' — he effectively canceled those trips and pledged his loyalty to Locksley and the Maryland staff. My recruitment is closed. — Zion Elee (@D1zion26) February 21, 2025 Should Elee sign with the program, he'd be the highest-rated Maryland recruit of the modern era, just ahead of star wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the Class of 2012. The 6-foot-3 1/2, 220-pound edge rusher would go down as the biggest recruiting win of Locksley's career, and his commitment is making quite the statement as Maryland looks to rebound from a 4-8 record in 2024. Advertisement But just because Elee announced he is no longer considering other schools does not mean Maryland's competitors won't still pursue him. Five-star defensive linemen command quite the market in the name, image and likeness era, and there is no doubt boosters at other programs are willing to do whatever it takes to convince him to change his mind. Michigan flipping five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood in the Class of 2025 — after Underwood was committed to LSU for 10 months and famously did not take any other visits — is proof that anything can happen in recruiting. Locksley has to do whatever it takes to ensure that the paperwork Elee signs in December has the Maryland logo on it. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that hanging onto Elee will be the most critical task for Locksley in 2025 before developing him takes center stage starting in 2026. What better opportunity than this for Maryland to prove it can sign — and retain — top prospects? The Terps have attracted their fair share of blue-chip talent under Locksley, who took the job in December 2018 after working under Nick Saban as Alabama's offensive coordinator. The problem has been holding onto that talent. In the 2021 cycle, the Terps signed a top-20 class that included three players ranked among the top 110 in the nation — five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis, four-star edge rusher Chop Robinson and four-star linebacker Branden Jennings. All three were gone after one season in College Park. The top prospect in Maryland's 2022 class, linebacker Jaishawn Barham (No. 119 overall), played just two seasons at Maryland before transferring to Michigan. Four-star edge rusher Rico Walker, the top Maryland recruit in the 2023 cycle, bolted after one season and is at Auburn. And four-star safety Brandon Jacob, the headliner of the Terps' 2024 class, is now at UCF. Advertisement See a trend? The Terps can't afford for Elee to follow suit. In 2024, Maryland tied for No. 128 nationally in sacks and tied for 71st in tackles for loss. Overall, the defense tied for 79th. Elee is the type of recruit who can help the Terrapins up front early and often, and change the trajectory of a program that hasn't won nine games since 2010. Locksley, to his credit, signed a top-25 class in the 2025 cycle, highlighted by three top-125 prospects in quarterback Malik Washington, offensive lineman Jaylen Gilchrist and edge rusher Zahir Mathis. The Terps may be on the rise. But Locksley must hang onto Elee — who has given the staff every indication he is not interested in hearing other programs out. Whatever it takes, they must get this to the finish line.
