Weekly rankings notes: Top247 scouting intel plus several debut ratings in multiple classes
Thursday’s 15-player notes package includes scouting feedback on seven standout prospects already in the 2025 Top247 rankings, as well as debut grades for eight players across the 2024 and 2025 recruiting cycles.
High school football playoffs around the country kick off or continue this weekend, and the 247Sports national recruiting and scouting teams have our eyes on plenty of the action. With the next update to the 2025 Top247 rankings looming this month, we have spent added time the past couple of weeks researching and vetting the junior class. Readers will find scouting notes on more than half a dozen Top247 prospects in today’s rundown, including five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood and a handful of high-level offensive linemen.
In addition to the scouting intel, we feature new ratings — in today’s case, all debut grades — for eight prospects in the 2024 and 2025 cycles. That group includes a recent Duke defensive line pledge and a Western Kentucky-bound quarterback, plus a couple of international prospects following Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins’ trip to Germany this past week. Here’s this week’s rankings notes, starting with some thoughts on the aforementioned Underwood from national scouting analyst Cooper Petagna.
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 5-STAR QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD
Belleville (Mich.) five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood possesses great size with a long-armed frame and ample growth potential, especially considering his youth for his cycle with an Aug. 2007 DOB. Underwood displays good athleticism and play-extending ability outside the pocket. He’s aware in the pocket, a good runner who can hit the big play from time to time thanks to RPO functionality and in-space elusiveness. Simply put, Underwood can make any throw on the field. He plays with timing, touch, and anticipation, and keeps eyes downfield when the play breaks down. Very experienced as a starter, Underwood combines excellent production with corresponding wins. He simultaneously owns high-floor competency to play early in college with long-term developmental potential of a higher-round draft candidate. — Cooper Petagna, 247Sports national scouting analyst
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 4-STAR OT MICHAEL FASUSI
Lewisville (Texas) 2025 Top247 four-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi appears to have added some mass this fall, and while he plays a bit heavy-footed at times in the run game, he looks fairly comfortable in pass pro. Fasusi is a relatively smooth mover who has proven hard to beat with strength/power. He stands up bigger defensive linemen and locks them up. Fasuis’s hand placement consistency can improve, but he’s big enough and strong enough to make the most of just about any engagement. He’s perhaps at his best climbing to the second level to engage as his movement patterns are better and he plays with more consistent punch in those reps. — Gabe Brooks, 247Sports national scouting analyst
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 4-STAR OT JOSH PETTY
A Georgia 2A state champion wrestler in the 285-pound weight class, Josh Petty faces lower-level football competition but absolutely terrorizes it. Relatively lean with frame space to add mass, Petty owns full-time two-way snaps with tape that shows he could play either way in college. Petty’s wrestling foundation shows in his body control and hand-to-hand combat strength. Petty can get punchier, but he plays with his hair on fire, finishes blocks, and displays an obvious mean streak. Quicker off the ball on offense than defense, but flashes surprising linear closing speed in pursuit. Petty’s one of the youngest prospects you’ll encounter in the 2025 class with an Aug. 2007 DOB. While he lacks ideal pass-pro context and available verified measurements, his tape and athletic profile are that of a two-way enforcer with ample long-term upside as an O-tackle. — Brooks
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 4-STAR IOL SJ ALOFAITULI
A relatively shorter guard who’s somewhat frame-limited, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star Seuseu Alofaituli plays with excellent mobility and foot quickness reflected in multiple combine testing categories. Alofaituli is a flat-backed knee-bender in pass protection who displays active feet and quick, decisive hands. He gets to his spots on schedule in the run game and can provide a tone-setting presence when asked to pull or climb. More physically gifted O-line prospects exist, but what Alofaituli puts on tape is tough to beat, especially in concert with the verified lateral athleticism. — Brooks
We still really like what we’re seeing from Rabun Gap (Ga.) Nacoochee School’s Justin Hasenhuetl, one of the top interior O-line prospects in the 2025 cycle. Hasenhuetl plays left tackle but projects to the interior as a punishing run-game force with roster versatility. He’s a punchy assailant when pulling around the edge or climbing to the second level. Hasenhuetl plays quick-footed laterally and gets to targets in a hurry. While he can work on body control/balance and ideally would have a higher volume of pass-pro context, we like what we see. — Brooks
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 4-STAR WR QUINCY PORTER
Junior Top247 four-star receiver Quincy Porter is an impressively-assembled offensive weapon with a 6-foot-2+ frame. Projects as more of an X who can win on the outside with his monster catch radius. Porter does a nice job of getting vertical and attacking leverage, but can be a bit clunky with his stride occasionally. Porter flashes encouraging body control with the ability to make mid-air adjustments. Plays hard and fights for yardage after the catch. — AndrewIvins, 247Sports director of scouting
2025 TOP247 SCOUTING: 4-STAR EDGE JAVION HILSON
Cocoa (Fla.) Top247 four-star Javion Hilson looks to have plenty of growth potential and could eventually carry 265 pounds or so. While he can play a bit rigid at times, Hilson covers a ton of ground and builds up plenty of momentum as he works his way into the backfield. Capable of changing directions as needed with a potentially higher ceiling as a run-game stalwart, though the pass-rushing production reflects plenty of potential there as well with 11 sacks in 10 games this fall. Hilson owns the physical traits, testing data, and functional athleticism to provide a high ceiling in the long term. — Ivins
INITIAL RATING: ED SMALL, 2025 WR
Over the past two seasons, Austin (Texas) Anderson 2025 wide receiver Ed Small has totaled 127 receptions for 2,286 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns in just 20 games at the Texas 6A level. The 6-foot, 205-pounder committed to play baseball at the University of Texas in Jan. 2022, but the scouting staff at 247Sports has grown increasingly confident that Small’s future is similarly bright on the gridiron. Small has encouraging verified speed as evidenced by a 6.43-second laser time in the sixty-yard dash and 4×100 relay success in 2022 and 2023. The new high three-star 89-rated wideout is just as likely to win a contested catch with physicality as he is to run past defenders. Opposing defenses now primarily play shaded coverage toward Small’s side of the field, yet the junior remained just as productive during the 2023 season. TCU and Texas State are the only two schools with offers on the table for Small, but we expect that to change in the future as schools start to dig in more to the 2025 cycle. — Standish
INITIAL RATING: ALEX GREEN, 2024 WR
A new high three-star 88 on 247Sports, Hutto (Texas) High School’s Alex Green has assembled one of the nation’s most productive senior seasons. In 10 games, Green has caught 97 passes for 1,976 yards and 19 touchdowns on 20.4 yards per catch — so not only high volume, but high per catch rate fostered by consistent big-play punch. And that’s across multiple seasons. Dating to the beginning of the 2022 campaign, Green’s totaled 140 catches for 2,876 yards and 28 TDs on 20.5 yards per grab across 19 contests. He’s given Texas Tech-bound Top247 four-star QB Will Hammond a vertical threat who can also provide chunk-play run-after-catch athleticism. Green shows position-specific nuance as well, leaking to space when the play breaks down, making catches in traffic, and creating late catch-point space for his QB to target. Green supports his on-field playmaking ability with encouraging testing data and strong track numbers, including junior 100-meter reps of 10.80, 10.98, and 11.00, per MileSplit. Green is one of the top uncommitted sleeper receivers in the country at this point in the 2024 cycle. Northwestern, Ball State, Toledo, and New Mexico State have offered in the past two weeks to join nearly 20 additional D-I offers, including seven FBS schools and several Ivy League programs. — Brooks
INITIAL RATING: EMMANUEL CHOICE, 2025 WR
“Listed 6-4, 190, Emmanuel Choice (new high three-star 87 on 247Sports) is a long-striding field stretcher on the outside who impressed in Lancaster (Texas) High’s recent loss against district foe and Texas 5A powerhouse Longview (Texas). Choice can win contested catches but is still developing his functional strength in those situations. He does well catching away from his body and looks a smooth route runner. Choice, who runs the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles events, seems to be finding more ways to win after the catch as of late compared to earlier in the season. He’s reported offers from Houston, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. — Hudson Standish, 247Sports national scouting analyst
“Choice stood out immediately in warm-ups prior to Lancaster’s regular season-ending home win vs. Lufkin (Texas). The Tigers struggled to put together a strong passing game, but Choice’s only catch of the night was a nine-yard touchdown reception as he went up over two defenders to haul it in. Choice has a great frame for an X receiver who can move the chains on the outside and be a red-zone threat. His leaping ability was on display during the touchdown catch, and he showed strong hands to haul it in.” — Mike Roach, 247Sports national recruiting analyst
INITIAL RATING: ALEXANDER SHIELDNIGHT, 2025 EDGE
Wagoner (Okla.) 2025 standout Alexander Shieldnight is a highly productive defensive standout with an encouraging athletic profile that includes basketball and track. Verified in the 6-foot-2, 220-pound range, Shieldnight, who debuts as a strong three-star 86-rated prospect on 247Sports, is a high-motor front-line defender who plays with a hand on the ground, but likely projects to a two-point edge role, or perhaps even a traditional off-ball Mike linebacker, depending on scheme. Shieldnight, who also provides pass-catching reps at receiver for Wagoner, shows promising closing athleticism, as well as flashes of impressive close-quarters power in his block-shedding and tackling abilities. Shieldnight tweeted this week that he plans ot announce his commitment Friday. He’s reported offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and a handful of other schools. — Brooks
INITIAL RATING: JAYLEN CARL, 2024 DL – DUKE COMMIT
In the 6-foot-4, 250-pound neighborhood with impressive length, recent Duke pledge Jaylen Carl possesses physical upside that will likely allow him to add significant mass in a college weight training program. The High Point (N.C.) Southwest Guilford standout moves well for a big-framed defensive lineman and has produced in a big way this season with 81 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and five sacks in nine contests. While Carl — a new strong three-star 86 on 247Sports — plays a lot of edge reps for his high school squad, we expect him to move to primarily an inside role in the long term. Don’t be surprised if he packs on mass in college and gets to the 290-plus range. — Brooks
INITIAL RATING: TUCKER PARKS, 2024 QB – WESTERN KENTUCKY COMMIT
Western Kentucky consistently develops great quarterbacks and the next man up for the Hilltoppers might be 2024 commit Tucker Parks from Texas 6A top 25 program Klein Collins located in the greater Houston area. Parks has an unverified 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame and is equally capable of carving up defenses through the air or on the ground. The WKU commit possesses the arm talent to make throws to all three levels and is a physical runner who can move the sticks on designed QB run plays when needed. After throwing eight interceptions as a sophomore first-year starter, Parks has shown significant improvement in taking care of the ball with only six interceptions as a junior and senior combined, good for one INT every 48.5 passing attempts. Parks debuts as a strong three-star with a grade of 85. — Standish
INITIAL RATING: KEON ROHE, 2024 OT – FAU COMMIT
247Sports got a chance to see a number of international prospects last weekend in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Road2D1 combine, which was put on by PPI Recruits. One of the top performers from the five-hour workout was German-based offensive tackle Keon Rohe, who gave a verbal commitment to FAU back during the summer months. Rohe is a large human who’s a verified 6-foot-6, 285 pounds. He moved very well during positional drills and won almost all of his reps during 1-on-1s as he used an efficient kick step to protect the corner. Rohe will likely need plenty of seasoning before he’s ready to go on Saturdays, but he has multi-year starter upside and looks like the type of prospect who could make an impact at the Group of Five level, which is in turn why he now holds a three-star grade of an 85 from 247Sports. The former basketball and handball player is set to join Tom Herman’s program as an early enrollee in January. — Andrew Ivins, 247Sports director of scouting
INITIAL RATING: TIMI OKE, 2024 CB
The NFL Academy in London is starting to churn out more and more FBS signees and cornerback Timi Oke looks like the next one that could find a home at a Power Five program after he took an official visit to Northwestern two weeks ago. Oke, who is of Nigerian descent and grew up playing soccer, owns a strong testing profile and set the NFL Academy record in the 40-yard dash back in August, clocking a 4.40-second effort on the lasers. There isn’t a ton of footage available on Oke, but he moves well out on the perimeter in the clips we could find and isn’t afraid to use his hands. Like most international prospects, he’s likely going to need time to get adjusted to the complexity and demands of American football, but the athletic markers are hard to overlook, which is why he debuts in the 247Sports rankings with a three-star grade of an 84. He also reports offers from UConn and multiple FCS schools. — Ivins
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