Rivals Rankings Week: Meet the new five-stars
Rivals Rankings Week for the 2025 class kicked off Monday and five new five-star prospects were unveiled. Take a closer look at each of the players that was elevated to elite status.
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars
Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Gorney’s thoughts | Biggest risers
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings
Thursday: Defensive position rankings
Friday: State rankings
“Gibson has been a force working off the edge of the Warner Robins (Ga.) High defense as a senior. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder is explosive off the line and can win with power and also speed. Gibson plays a physical brand of football, which lends itself to setting the edge and being a violent run defender at times. It’s also opened the door for critical sacks and pressures as a senior.
“It’s been a near-untenable feat to contain Gibson on Friday nights. His burst, size and motor put him among the best at a premium position in this 2025 cycle.” – Sam Spiegelman, national recruiting analyst
“The most important evaluation point for any prep recruit is the senior football season and few have flashed in 2024 like Carroll has. While he pushed inside and started at guard for most of the year at IMG Academy, he did it with punch and purpose, showing so much consistent aggression and sheer ability to move humans against their will.
“Carroll has enough size and length to work four of the five offensive line spots, but whether it’s at right tackle or as the lead guard, the bully ball he plays will resonate early in his collegiate career. The new five-star works with consistent leverage and shows off better footwork than his immense size would suggest in how he can pull and/or work to the second level. He is just as comfortable in pass protection despite playing multiple spots throughout his high school career.
“IMG has churned out high-level linemen over the years and Carroll absolutely has the look and feel of the next five-star to work a quick path toward the field at the next level.” – John Garcia Jr., national recruiting analyst
“Black is a shining example of how a physically gifted prospect who doesn’t play great competition can steadily move up the rankings. At 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds, Black has gotten stronger and increased his agility to a point where he can just overwhelm defensive linemen and does so on a consistent basis.
“Black’s run blocking skills have been his strength and now he’s showing the ability to be more of an athlete in the running game. He’s effectively blocking defenders in space and down the field while springing ball carriers for big gains.
“Pass blocking is where Black will face a fairly steep learning curve at the college level but he has all the physical and technical skills he’ll need to excel. If he can absorb coaching at the college level like he has at the high school level, Black should turn out to be one of the best offensive linemen in college football.” – Adam Friedman, rankings director/national transfer portal analyst
“Lee’s senior season ended in a playoff loss to powerhouse Corona (Calif.) Centennial on Friday night but Lee played phenomenally well in that game. He was incredible all season going both ways and probably should have been a five-star sooner.
“Not only is Lee a dominant high school player but he has tremendous length and athleticism. He’s as smooth as they come whether in his backpedal or running routes or whatever else is needed from his team.
“There aren’t a ton of elite 6-foot-3 or taller cornerbacks in the NFL but we think there are three exceptions to that rule in the five-star realm for this class in Ohio State commits Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord and now Lee.
“The new five-star remains locked in with Alabama and that will be difficult to change but Lee does plan to visit Texas A&M for the Texas showdown later this month.” – Adam Gorney, national recruiting director
“Our team has honestly been on the fence about making this move for a couple updates now. The hold-up was that Marshall didn’t participate in any offseason events making it tough to get an in-person evaluation. After seeing him play a game in person it became an easy call to name him one of the new five-stars.
“What makes Marshall special is that he’s such a versatile prospect. He’s got a basketball background which you can see in how well he moves on the field. It’s also why he’s able to line up out wide and score touchdowns with ease on offense. His athleticism and size allow him to play all along the defensive line. If he really wanted to play a true edge rusher in college, he’d be able to. If he bulked up and played traditional defensive end he would make an impact too.
“Marshall is a special talent and if he puts it all together in college, will be a future NFL Draft pick.” – Greg Smith, national recruiting analyst
