Rivals Rankings Week: Storylines To Follow With Top 2025 Offensive Linemen

The new position rankings for the 2025 class are being released and so it’s time to look at storylines at each spot. Today, we continue with offensive linemen.

NEW POSITION RANKINGS: Offensive Tackle | Offensive Guard | Center | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Running Back | All-Purpose Back | Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

MONDAY: Who should be No. 1?

TUESDAY: Five-Star Countdown | Tavien St. Clair moved into five-star status

WEDNESDAY: New Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney goes position-by-position | Biggest risers

THURSDAY: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings breakdown | RB rankings breakdown | WR/TE rankings breakdown | OL rankings breakdown

FRIDAY: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings breakdown | LB rankings breakdown | DB rankings breakdown | ATH rankings breakdown

SATURDAY: New state rankings released | Who is No. 1 in each state?

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While there was movement and new names to know throughout the update, there was little drama about the top-ranked offensive tackle prospect. David Sanders Jr. does have plenty of speculation surrounding his recruitment, however, as the trends may have been shifting toward other programs for the North Carolina native.

Once considered a Georgia lean, many spring visits have thrust several other programs into the mix from Clemson to Tennessee, with Ohio State and Nebraska recently able to get him on campus as well.

There are bigger trips on deck for Sanders, too, beginning this weekend with the program most view with the best shot to win the recruitment: Clemson. The Tigers aren’t easy to beat in the Carolinas and Sanders grew up a fan. Also a personnel fit for Dabo Swinney, Matt Luke and company, the timing of the visit could create distance between the ACC power and the next most likely contender.

Underestimating national powers such as Georgia or Ohio State wouldn’t be wise here, and Tennessee could be the dark horse few are talking about at this stage, so there could still be twists and turns ahead for the nation’s top-ranked uncommitted prospect regardless of position.

Five-stars move the needle and just one was added to the mix in this update – quarterback Tavien St. Clair – so there is a clear top group of recruits to be considered elite at this stage. From a volume, and surely a size standpoint, offensive tackle is the most represented position projection among the five-star ranks. Led by Sanders, there are four tackles among the top 18 prospects in the class, one more than the next closest position (quarterback).

Like Sanders, three of the four five-star tackles are also undeclared at the moment. Only Carter Lowe, who is pledged to in-state Ohio State, has made his college intentions known within the group. Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman’s Douglas Utu and Lewisville (Texas) High School’s Michael Fasusi, each ranked top 10 regardless of position, are poised to make several visits ahead of a potential late summer decision.

Like Sanders at tackle, Solomon Thomas has headlined the guard position from early on in the 2025 cycle, and there wasn’t much push to get Thomas off of that line this time around. The real push with the longtime Florida State commitment, however, has come in his recruitment. Admitting he initially went all-in on Mike Norvell‘s program because of how close he felt to the program after its College Football Playoff snub, other programs have moved in position to challenge the pledge this summer.

The contender garnering the most buzz in potentially flipping Thomas is the Florida Gators. The program has never slowed down its pursuit of the dominant prospect and Billy Napier‘s bunch will get him on campus for an official visit the second weekend of June.

Miami has quietly hung around in this recruitment to a degree, too, while LSU and South Carolina are also in striking distance should a flip go down. As it currently stands, though, it’s Florida State with the last official visit set up for its highest-ranked 2025 verbal commitment.

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Both tackle and guard projections were represented in some of the newest names into the Rivals250, fresh off of dominant efforts on the camp scene and certainly at various Rivals Camp Series events of late. A trio, in particular, worked their way from promising prospects outside the rankings all the way into the bulk of the Rivals250.

Will Black and his towering 6-foot-7 frame shot all the way up into the top 100, now ranked as the nation’s No. 7 offensive tackle. The Notre Dame commitment even vaulted his future teammate in fellow Rivals250 offensive lineman Owen Strebig in the rankings, landing at No. 62 overall.

Jake Cook ran away with Offensive Line MVP honors at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Indianapolis earlier this month and the Louisville commitment now checks in as a top-10 guard projection.

Like Cook, Sanford (Fla.) Seminole offensive lineman Max Buchanan shot up the rankings after showing up bigger – and better – than expected at the Rivals Camp Series in Miami back in April. His run to MVP honors featured dominance against a strong group of defenders, holding off much higher-ranked offensive linemen for the honor despite his then three-star status. Now up to 296 pounds, the undeclared Buchanan has blossomed into a national recruit with Florida State, Clemson, Ole Miss, Penn State, Miami and UCF among those battling to get him on the commitment list.