Rivals300: Counting down the top 15 prospects in the initial 2028 rankings
· Yahoo Sports
The 2028 class is breaking onto the national scene, and Rivals has released its first full Rivals300 rankings for the cycle.
Previously a watchlist of 100 prospects was put out last May, highlighting some early names to watch ahead of their sophomore seasons. But hundreds of prospects have emerged since then, with many of them playing their first season the varsity level this fall. That leads to the initial rankings update for this class, which will culminate in December 2027 with National Signing Day.
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Early in the cycle, three players have earned five-star ratings, a number that will steadily increase to 32 by the end to match the first round of the NFL Draft. As we kick off rankings release day, Rivals is counting down the top 15 prospects in the class with insights from the scouting and rankings team:
1. WR Jett Harrison
School: St. Joseph’s Prep School (Pa.)
Scout’s Take: “Jett Harrison headlines what is an exceptional top of the wide receiver class early on in the 2028 cycle. He is a technically advanced, hyper-polished receiver with an elite combination of ball skills and route running ability. We saw him make a number of ridiculous contested catches as a sophomore, in addition to showing the ability to create separation at every level of the field. He had a breakout sophomore season with around 15 receiving touchdowns, including a four-touchdown outing against national power, St. Francis Academy. Obviously, everyone knows about his NFL pedigree with his father being a Hall of Famer and his brother being a top five pick. At this point in the process, Jett is tracking ahead of where his brother was entering the junior season.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
2. EDGE Jalanie George
School: Desert Edge (Goodyear, AZ)
Scout’s Take: “George is arguably the most complete player in the 2028 cycle, regardless of position. With prototypical size and movement skills for the edge position, George has tremendous burst off the line of scrimmage combined with violent hands at the point of attack. He’s a confident pass rusher and is a stout defender against the run. He possesses the rare combination of early career plug-and-play ability and high upside.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
3. WR Brysen Wright
School: Mandarin (Jacksonville, FL)
Scout’s Take: “Brysen Wright is a name that recruiting fans have known for some time in this 2028 cycle. He is a walking mismatch, is a dominant contested catch receiver, and has a massive catch radius. He is a physically developed wide receiver prospect at around 6’4 and over 210 pounds. We saw continued progress from his game as a sophomore, where he had a very good season as a two-way player at Jacksonville Mandarin. We also really liked his playmaking ability as a safety, coming down with five interceptions in addition to what he did on offense.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
4. CB A’Mir Sears
School: Columbus (Pembroke Pines, FL)
Scout’s Take: “Sears is one of the most gifted man cover defenders in quite some time at the corner position. His ability to mirror pass catchers and attack the ball at its highest point makes him a walking blanket in coverage. He has inside and outside versatility with tremendous hip fluidity and instincts. Sears is one of the polished cover corners in the country.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
5. OT Antijuan Wilkes Jr.
School: Cass Technical (Detroit, MI)
Scout’s Take: “Wilkes is a high upside offensive tackle prospect. He has a projectable frame at around 6’5, 265 pounds with elite length touting arms that measure 35-plus inches. Wilkes moves very well at his size. He is a twitchy, reactive athlete and shows encouraging anchor and play strength.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
6. WR Braylon Clark
School: Charlotte Country Day (Charlotte, NC)
Scout’s Take: “Clark is a name that you should not discount when talking about the potential wide receiver No. 1 in the 2028 cycle. He is perhaps the top athlete of the group. He has a very strong combination of size and speed, around 6’3 and 180-plus pounds, can really stretch the field, but also has a large catch radius with the ability to come down with the football and jump ball situations. He has the budding skill set of a mismatch on the outside.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
7. EDGE Asher Ghioto
School: The Bolles School (Jacksonville, FL)
Scout’s Take: “Ghioto is one of the twitcher, more explosive edge defenders in this cycle and has the testing to back it up. At nearly 240 pounds, Ghioto has run a sub-4.7 40-yard dash and has jumped over 9 feet in the broad jump during the spring camp circuit. These athletic traits and tenacity pop off the screen and it has made him an extremely productive edge defender.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
8. DL Tyzon Swann
School: Henry E. Lackey (Indian Head, MD)
Scout’s Take: “Dynamic and versatile interior defender with impressive burst and vertical disruption. Has the ability to knife between blockers and terrorize the offensive gameplan. Two-sport athlete who’s an all-county basketball player. His ability to affect the game across multiple techniques along the defensive front makes him a menace for opposing offensive coordinators.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
9. CB Amiir Woodward
School: Bergen Catholic (Toms River, NJ)
Scout’s Take: “Woodward is a premier athlete for the corner position posting blistering times in track and field as a sophomore. His personal bests of 10.95 in the 100m and a ridiculous 21.51 in the 200m make him one of the most gifted athletes for the position in the country. Combine that with his instincts and ability to stay in-phase with virtually any pass catcher as a 5-foot-11, 165 pound defender and you have a high-floor corner prospect.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
10. EDGE Cassell Cruickshank
School: E E Smith (Fayetteville, NC)
Scout’s Take: “Cassell Cruickshank is a long and lean athletic edge rusher with immense get-off and burst off the line of scrimmage. Listed at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Cruickshank has excellent body control given his stature and age. His ability to bend and turn the corner without losing speed allows him to close the space between him and ball carriers in a flash. Plus, he has the body control and fluidity to comfortably play in space. He shows great hand usage and willingness to take on blocks and set the edge against the run. Cruickshank is only going to continue getting bigger and stronger and will grow into a more complete edge defender throughout his career.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
11. OT Austin Attalah
School: Cajon (San Bernardino, CA)
Scout’s Take: “Natala is a big framed, very explosive offensive tackle prospect. When we were going through the offensive tackle group, we felt like his film stacked up among the best that we watched just at this early stage. He is a twitchy mover, has outstanding reactive quickness, and looks to have the frame to continue filling out and packing on good weight.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
12. CB Nasir Richardson
School: Malcolm X Shabazz (Newark, NJ)
Scout’s Take: “Nasir Richardson is a talented twitchy two-way player for Newark (N.J.) Shabazz high school that excels at receiver and corner. He has a long and lean 6-foot frame with room to fill out and develop. Richardson scored five touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball and collected four interceptions as a defensive back during his sophomore season. He has the long speed to run with most receivers paired with phenomenal short area quickness and fluidity. Even for a longer defender, he has the hips and mirror ability to lock down underneath and intermediate routes. Richardson is also one of the younger prospects in the 2028 recruiting cycle.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
13. SAF Gaige Weddle
School: Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, CA)
Scout’s Take: “Weddle is one of the most prolific athletes in the cycle and he puts all of his talents on display on Friday nights. As a two-way weapon for Rancho Bernardo (Ca.) high school, Weddle plays quarterback and defensive back for his program and is one of the stronger processors in the class. His ability to diagnose and scan the field is evident on both sides of the ball and allows him to play faster than most everyone on the field. He’s a playmaker and one of the most gifted prospects in the country.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout
14. WR Jaylen Addai
School: Shadow Creek (Pearland, TX)
Scout’s Take: “Addai is an explosive, well-rounded receiver prospect. He is a fluid, functional mover, has the ability to get open at all levels of the field, turned in a very productive sophomore season while playing top competition in the Houston area, and of course is one of several prospects in the top 15 who have NFL bloodlines with his father being a long-time NFL running back.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings
15. QB Christopher Vargas
School: St. John’s Preparatory School (Lawrence, MA)
Scout’s Take: “Vargas sits in pole position among the quarterback group. He is an advanced arm talent with the ability to drive the ball to all levels of the field. He has a loose, fluid, live arm. He has primarily been used as more of a dropback passer at this stage, but had a productive sophomore season building on his freshman season. He led his team to a state title berth in the state of Massachusetts. It’s still very early in the development process for so many of these quarterback prospects, but Vargas is setting the pace as we enter the offseason and, most importantly, move towards the junior season.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings