Three Predictions: JaReylan McCoy, five-star WRs, Elijah Griffin
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has three big predictions on the wide receiver rankings, Georgia signee Elijah Griffin and new LSU commit JaReylan McCoy.
1. NEW LSU COMMIT JAREYLAN MCCOY WILL ENTER FIVE-STAR DISCUSSION.
McCoy was at the Rivals Five-Star over the summer but didn’t do a whole lot because of a nagging shoulder injury. That was disappointing because the 2026 four-star defensive end looked like a million bucks and we really wanted to see what he was capable of against some of the best offensive tackles nationally.
We had to wait a little longer through his junior season but the Tupelo, Miss., standout was awesome at the Under Armour All-America Game. McCoy is all of 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, he moves and bends incredibly well off the edge and he was super productive all week in practice and during the game.
There were some Julius Peppers comparisons thrown around which might be a little premature and before we crown him with a five-star rankings, we do want to see McCoy in more settings putting up these types of performances but he has all the physical traits – and now the performance – to be in that five-star talk.
2. THERE WILL BE MORE THAN TWO FIVE-STAR RECEIVERS IN THE 2025 RIVALS250.
With one rankings cycle left, the only two five-star receivers are Oregon’s Dakorien Moore and Texas’ Jaime Ffrench. But that is historically one or two low based on Rivals rankings and NFL Draft trends over the last decade or so.
Plus, it’s a pretty strong receiver class with Ole Miss’ Caleb Cunningham, Texas A&M’s Jerome Myles and Florida’s Vernell Brown being the leading candidates to become the next five-star receiver in this class.
The all-star events will be the final say on five-star rankings, and all rankings for that matter, but we might not see a lot of these guys during those events. Cunningham is a freak show athlete who dodged all the big events nationally but still has elite playmaking ability. Myles is a physical freak who dominated Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and has looked great on the 7-on-7 circuit. And then Brown is an undersized dynamo who is a threat every time he touches the ball.
If I had to guess, we’d add one five-star receiver as we work toward 32 (to mirror the first round of the NFL Draft). But it could be more than that as well.
3. ELIJAH GRIFFIN WILL FINISH IN THE TOP-THREE IN THE RIVALS250.
The top of the Rivals250 is filled with offensive players in quarterbacks Tavien St. Clair, Bryce Underwood, Keelon Russell and Julian Lewis, wide receiver Dakorien Moore and offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. but after Elijah Griffin’s performance at the Under Armour Game, it’s going to be hard not to move him up.
The Savannah (Ga.) Savannah Christian five-star defensive tackle has not done many national events over his high school career so it’s been difficult to judge exactly where he should be placed but after seeing him in high school games and then especially at the Under Armour Game against the best of the best, Griffin dominated and really made a statement.
There are a lot of elite quarterbacks in this class but Griffin should be in the top three as clearly the top defensive player in the class now.
