Quinn Ewers, talented defenders lead 2022 On300

On3 has released the initial football prospect rankings for the 2022 recruiting cycle. The On300 will be updated on a regular schedule over the course of the year. 

Our goal is to assess a prospect’s long-term potential in college football, as manifested by the NFL Draft. We’ve rated 20 prospects as five-stars and will finish with 32 five-stars every cycle. 

The junior season for the 2022 cycle was disjointed for many prospects. Some states had delayed starts to the season, some played an abbreviated spring schedule and some didn’t play at all. As a result, we have a fairly uneven junior season sample for a good chunk of the 2022 prospects. Luckily, there were significant offseason and camp opportunities to buoy our evaluations.

This release sets the table for the all-important senior season and all-star circuit. Let’s dive in to some prominent storylines.

2021 On300
2022 On300
2023 Five-stars

Quinn Ewers’ decision looms large

By the time you’re reading this, we may have already had a change at the top spot. Southlake (Texas) Southlake Carroll quarterback Quinn Ewers holds the No. 1 ranking but is reportedly leaning towards skipping his senior season and enrolling early at Ohio State. Ewers holds the top spot for now, though. He’s proven that ranking over multiple seasons against top competition in Texas. His accuracy and ability to place the ball into tight windows against a live pass rush are among the best we’ve seen at the high school level. 

Who’s up next?

EDGE Marvin Jones Jr. follows Quinn Ewers at No. 2. He’s the son of former Florida State All-American and top-five pick Marvin “Shade Tree ” Jones.

The 6-foot-4, 245 pound Jones blossomed into the top pass-rushing prospect in high school football in his junior season at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage. Jones, who is uncommitted, is younger for the class and has added considerable mass over the past year. He’s a dynamic rusher off the edge. We love his first step quickness and ability to dip and bend. His hands are quite advanced at this stage despite limited time at the position. There are a number of plays where opposing offensive linemen are unable to get a hand on him at all. The motor and closing speed appear to be outstanding as well. 

Unique two-way prospect

The No.3 spot is held down by Florida State commit Travis Hunter. Ranked as an athlete, Hunter is as unique of a prospect as we’ve seen in several years. He is a legitimate star on both sides of the ball, as a receiver and cornerback. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder has dominated every setting he’s been exposed to thus far. During the fall he was in our eyes the most impactful non-quarterback in all of high school football.

Hunter led his Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill squad to the Class 7A state title game. He finished the year with 137 receptions for 1,746 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense. He also chipped in eight interceptions at corner. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear Hunter’s ball skills are truly elite. He effortlessly tracks and high-points the ball in contested situations. Outstanding grabs are the norm. Hunter has made some top cornerbacks look silly both on Friday nights and the 7-on-7 circuit. We can’t recall a prospect with this level of advanced skills on both sides in recent memory. 

Top DL’s round out top 5

Uncommitted defensive linemen Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and Walter Nolen round out the top five after Quinn Ewers, Marvin Jones Jr. and Travis Hunter. Brownlow-Dindy is one of the more athletic, twitchy trenchmen in recent cycles. He is a springy athlete with length that supersedes his 6-foot-3, 280-pound frame. Additionally, Brownlow-Dindy is highly productive. He finished his junior season at Lakeland (Fla.) with 29.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. 

Nolen has dominated the camp circuit. Most recently, he dominated several of the nation’s top offensive linemen at Under Armour’s Future50 camp. At 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds, Nolen is an imposing figure, capable of winning with speed or a devastating bull rush. To see the Powell (Tenn.) High product line up at defensive end and beat offensive tackles to the edge exemplifies his unique skills.

Parsing the quarterbacks

Seven quarterbacks dot the remaining of the top 100 following Quinn Ewers. Penn State commit Drew Allar (No. 29) and Clemson commit Cade Klubnik (No. 34) are inside the top 50. Allar has shown unique arm talent both on video as a junior and in person at the Elite 11 Finals. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Medina (Ohio) High product has a dexterous arm capable of driving the ball to all levels. Klubnik had a big junior season at Austin (Texas) Westlake. Klubnik was among the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks. He accounted for over 4,000 total yards and 50 touchdowns against just three interceptions while leading Westlake to a state title. 

Three SEC West pledges round out the top 75 with Texas A&M commit Conner Weigman (No. 54), LSU commit Walker Howard (No. 61) and Alabama commit Ty Simpson (No. 67). Weigman of Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland is a creative playmaker who has been productive against top competition in the Houston area. He also doubles as one of the state’s best baseball prospects. Howard had a monster junior season at Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More. The LSU legacy threw for 42 touchdowns en route to a state title. Simpson of Martin (Tenn.) Westview thrives on making off-schedule, second reaction plays. He’s had some magical individual efforts with a backyard style over the past few seasons.

It remains to be seen who from this group will contend for the top spot. We’ve seen many of these quarterbacks in person but the most crucial evaluation points remain. Historically, the senior season is key in evaluating quarterbacks. 2021 USC signee Jaxson Dart entered last fall as a relative unknown. He turned in one of the best senior seasons we’ve tracked and finished at No. 5 in our On300 for that cycle. There’s a lot of meat left on the bone in tracking this quarterback group.

Commit leaderboard

Much of college football’s elite comprise the programs with the most commitments within the On300.  

Going into Saturday, Ohio State led the way with 14 current commitments. However, that number dipped to 13 with corner Jaheim Singletary opening up his recruitment on Sunday evening. Up next, we have Quinn Ewers’ pending decision. Alabama is currently tied with the Buckeyes at 13. The Crimson Tide added Alpharetta (Ga.) King’s Ridge Christian School offensive lineman Dayne Shor (No. 267) on Saturday. 

Brian Kelly may be on his way to assembling his best class in South Bend. The Irish currently have 12 commitments in the On300. Clemson touts another strong class with 11 On300 members, seven who are in the top 100. The Tigers landed Hays (Kan.) High athlete Jaren Kanak (No. 78) on Friday. 

Georgia, LSU, Penn State and Texas A&M each have nine pledges within the On300. Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas are tied for 10th with eight apiece.