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Over a dozen Ohio State commits keep their place in the Rivals250

Harrison Jr. climbed nearly 40 spots in the latest update, and is back in the Rivals100.
Harrison Jr. climbed nearly 40 spots in the latest update, and is back in the Rivals100. (Rivals.com)

On Monday, Rivals kicked off its Rankings Week by revealing a group of 26 five-star prospects, with some new faces making the list.

BuckeyeGrove had you covered yesterday as we went over the rankings for a pair of Ohio State commits, as well as where a trio of targets stand in the latest update.

Just a few minutes ago, Rivals released its list for which recruits are in the new Rivals250. Along with five-stars Donovan Jackson and Jack Sawyer being on this list, a dozen other future Buckeyes have been labeled as top-250 players in the country.

Read the article below to see where each Ohio State pledge checks in in the updated Rivals250, with a couple of them seeing their stock rise on Tuesday.

Prospects in the Rivals100

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Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison capped off a perfect 6-0 season by defeating Central York 62-13 to secure St. Joseph's Prep's third consecutive state championship.

McCord, who had a brilliant year, was spectacular once again in that Saturday matchup as he had four touchdown passes on 75 percent completion percentage for 337 yards. This was yet another game in which McCord had more than three touchdowns through the air, with the Pennsylvania-based signal caller having thrown a half-dozen TDs a couple of games ago.

Unfortunately, despite the impressive statistics he put up this year, McCord dropped six spots in our latest update. He'll have one final crack at earning five-star status in our final rankings update for the 2021 cycle, which should occur in February.

As for Harrison Jr., he rose 36 spots overall and now checks in at No. 84 in the country. This comes after he previously dropped from a fringe five-star recruit to outside of the Rivals100, but his play this year demonstrated why he deserved a bump in his ranking.

Harrison Jr. did not put together games with a lot of receptions, but he was a deep threat who consistently hit paydirt. In his final contest of the season, the 6-foot-4, 203-pounder hauled in a couple of touchdowns and tallied 73 total receiving yards.

Finding statistics on Johnson's performances this season has been nearly impossible, and he has yet to upload any new film on his Hudl account.

Even so, Johnson dropped just nine spots in our latest update as he now holds the No. 44 ranking on Rivals. None of the 43 prospects ahead of him are cornerbacks, so Johnson remains the top-ranked player at his position.

This one was not too much of a surprise as several players, such as Clayton Smith, Kingsley Suamataia, and Shemar Turner, made incredible leaps in the rankings. Sometimes it's more about other prospects taking that next step in their games, which leads to people like Johnson dropping a few spots.

Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson each fell 10 spots in the new Rivals250 that was unveiled today.

I continue to believe that Henderson is a guy deserving of being a top-40 player in the country, at the very least. He's an explosive running back who can blow past defenders at any given moment, make nasty cuts to shake his opponents out of their cleats and is also reliable in his offense's passing attack.

Seeing him in person, I also took notice of his footwork and agility, with his ladder drill standing out the most to me because of the way he chops his feet.

Due to high school football not being played in North Carolina and Virginia, however, both Henderson and Pryor were unable to showcase their skill sets for a senior season. Unless Rivals gets a chance to evaluate them in person before they enroll at Ohio State, it is more likely than not that they'll stay close to their current rankings.

A pair of in-state prospects who kept their place in the Rivals100 were Ben Christman and Michael Hall. They each dropped a dozen spots, with Christman checking in at No. 88 overall and Hall being labeled as the No. 89 senior in the nation.

These were a couple of players, unlike Henderson and Pryor, who did have a chance to compete in their final seasons of high school. Christman and company lost in the second round of the playoffs, while Hall and his teammates at Streetsboro lost in the semifinals.

Christman and Hall each had a chance to rise in the rankings, specifically Hall. In seven games this season, the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder collected 41 total tackles, with 12 of those being for loss. He also recorded a pair of sacks this fall.

Once again, as is the case with Henderson and Pryor, it is unlikely that a significant change in their rankings will be made in the final update.

Other future Buckeyes in the Rivals250

The second Ohio State commit to make a jump in the rankings was Peach State product Jordan Hancock. Hancock elevated himself from No. 117 to No. 108 overall, and will have a shot at cracking the Rivals100 before it's all said and done.

Hancock admittedly had a tough outing when Chad Simmons and I watched him in person just over a month ago. The Suwanee, Georgia, defensive back struggled against five-star junior Travis Hunter, and gave up a couple of touchdowns when guarding him.

There were several positive takeaways I saw from this game, however, which was just his second contest of the year after initially opting out of the season. Simmons detailed what he saw from Hancock back in late October, with this explaining why the coveted DB did not drop at all in this latest update.

"On the night, he had a tough time staying with Hunter down the field, but he stayed locked in, he stayed focused, and maintained that drive to compete," Simmons wrote. "He is how you want corners to look physically in today’s game, and his stock will not be affected by this performance. Hunter is one of the most electric athletes in the country, and Hancock is just getting back on the field, so yes, he struggled, but Rivals still feels he is one of the top cornerbacks in the 2021 class."

After being just on the outside of the Rivals100, Jayden Ballard and Reid Carrico fell significantly in the new Rivals update. Carrico dropped 24 spots to No. 126 in the country, while Ballard fell 36 places to No. 141 overall.

With Ballard, it was unfortunate as his offense seemed to primarily revolve around running the ball. He had three one-catch games in the playoffs, with one of those contests including his team throwing the ball just 13 times.

Ballard did erupt, however, for three touchdowns in the OHSAA Division II Region 7 championship game. It was not enough to elevate himself in the rankings, and Ballard is now no longer on the edge of making the Rivals100.

As for Carrico, he spent a lot of time and energy carrying his team on offense. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder had multiple games where he eclipsed the century mark, and was the bell cow for an Ironton team that advanced to the OHSAA Division IV State Final Four.

I was expecting one of these prospects to land in the top-100, but we'll wait until February to see if that will transpire or not.

No surprises here as Andre Turrentine and Denzel Burke kept themselves close to their previous ranking.

Burke is at No. 146 in the nation, which is just a five-spot drop, and Turrentine is labeled as the No. 190 overall player on Rivals as he fell just seven spots.

I imagine Burke will be staying close to this ranking as his senior season unfortunately ended earlier than expected due to a shoulder injury.

Turrentine could see his stock rise, however, as he recently released a high school career highlight reel on his Hudl page less than a couple of weeks ago. It probably won't lead to him drastically skyrocketing in the final update, but he could elevate himself a few spots.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.

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