The new LSR Top 100 List for the Class of 2013

The last time we updated the 2013 rankings was on my birthday back in May. Since that time, we've had college summer camps, the Rivals 5-star Challenge, The Opening, the Elite 11, the State 7-on-Seven Tournament and a number of other evaluation settings that have allowed us to take an even closer look at the state's top players.

Basically, it's time for an update, and in this update there's more movement (both up and down) on the list than we've seen since the early stages of compiling the 2013 rankings.

Let's start with the tiers in the rankings:

6.1 (5 stars): 1-3
6.0 (high 4) 4-5
5.9 (mid 4) 6-19
5.8 (low 4) 20-36
5.7 (high 3) 37-64
5.6 (mid 3) 65-100

Ok, let's talk about some of the key players.

1. A'Shawn Robinson is my new No.1 in the state, Talent has never been the issue with Robinson, instead all of the negative focus was always centered on his off-field profile (basically a very large, undisciplined kid from an area known to produce college busts was the report) and all he did this summer was take those concerns and put them far back on the back burner behind his strengths, which are numerous. Robinson dominated play at The Opening with his combination of size, athleticism and bad-ass-ness, which was the eye-opener I needed to see that his basement wasn't what I thought it was. The worry at this time last year was that he would lose his motivation after achieving so much attention at an early age and that just hasn't happened.

2. RSJ received serious consideration from the No.1 spot, but I feel like Robinson is more dominant at his college position than SJ currently is at his. Both are incredibly versatile players. Flip a coin.

3. Ultimately, I think Kent Perkins is best physical specimen to come out of the state at the offensive line position in the last few years, but the fact that I view him as more of a right tackle than a left tackle was a slight tie-breaker in the No.1 player debate.

4. Tyrone Swoopes fell out of the five-star group for me this summer, but I still view him as a national top 40-60 type prospect. All of the game-breaking potential is still there, but his roughness around the edges and lack of elite of the elite athletic ability caused a slight drill. There's still no other quarterback from Texas this year I'd rather build my program around for the future.

5. Justin Manning might be getting a free pass from us right now, but we're aware of it. He's been completely out of sight all summer and it arrives after a spring that saw him out with nagging injuries. He's one of the first players I hope to get a peek at early in the season because the staff had some reservations about his position in the rankings. For not, he stays in the top 10, but he dropped from a 6.0 grade to a 5.9.

6. I don't know what to do with Derrick Griffin. Five-star talent and a one-star profile off the field. I can't even say he'll stay eligible this season.

7. Deoundrei Davis made a pretty big move in the rankings, moving from 21 to 8, and a lot of that had to do with him registering as one of a handful of kids that I thought really helped their stock this summer against a backdrop of kids that did not. Physically, he has such a perfect frame to build with and his fluid athleticism is a true plus-component. He's a beautiful piece of clay right now just waiting to be molded.

8. Robbie Rhodes made an even higher climb than Davis (from 28 to 11). Bottom line… his physical skill set is elite and he's a playmaker to boot. Watching him this spring in track was a game-changer for me in the way I viewed his high end upside.

9. Cody Thomas is still at No.12, but his performance at the Elite 11 was a bit of an eye-opener. For now, he mostly gets a free pass, but that was not an event that I expected him to rank in the bottom 20% of the field, even if he had been playing baseball all summer (another red flag!!!!!)

10. Mike Mitchell moved from a 5.8 to a 5.9 in the rankings and climbed 12 spots. He might be a bit of a combine warrior, but what a combine warrior he is.

11. Torrodney Prevot dropped from a 6.0 to a 5.9 and 11 spots on the list. I love his high-end upside, but he's not physically mature enough yet to rank as a top 10 guy in the state. After seeing him in person several times in the last few months as a staff, we were all in agreement.

12. Tavares Garner made the highest climb among all unranked players, jumping into the top 25 and the front of the 5.8 stack of players.

13. Durham Smythe is underrated by the national folks at tight end. Those guys don't grow on trees any more, at least not the good ones, and he has all of the tools needed to become a frontline player at the position at the next level.

14. Eldridge Massington dropped to a 5.7 and No.37 in the rankings, after a disappointing camp circuit in my eyes that ended with him tearing his ACL. He's a four-star natural talent that still has a ways to go in his evolvement at the position, and now he has a red-flag on the medical side of things.

15. Caleb Benenoch debuts as a high three-star, top 40 prospect. Physically, he has all the tools to be much higher ranked. We'd just like to see him apply some of his newfound skill from the last nine months into action on the field.

Overall, the Longhorns have commitments from 4 of the top 5, 7 of the top 10, 10 of the top 25 and 11 of the top 50.

Texas A&M is having a strong year as well, having landed commitments thus far from 1 of the top 10 (if you include Griffin), 4 of the top 25 and 11 of the top 50.

...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial