Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers comes in at No. 1 in the new 2022 rankings

With last week marking the expected second-to-last rankings update on Rivals, our attention has now shifted to the 2022 cycle.

Starting today, Rivals rolled out an expanded list of 18 five-star prospects, with several new faces making an appearance.

Of course, a number of top Ohio State targets have earned five-star status, with a pair of commits even landing in the top-10 overall. One future Buckeye even had the honor of being labeled as the top-ranked junior in the country.

Quinn Ewers has missed several games this season due to injury, but that did not prevent him from rising in the 2022 Rivals Rankings. In fact, the Lone Star State signal caller now assumes the No. 1 overall spot after the latest update.

In four games this season, Ewers has thrown for 1,221 yards on 67.3 percent completion percentage and has also rushed for 84 yards. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder has tossed for 15 touchdowns to just two picks, and has hit paydirt twice on the ground.

Ewers excels in almost any situation he's in; whether it's the pocket collapsing and he needs to run to pick up yardage, or he escapes to one side and needs to fire a dart on the move, or deep throws that require touch, he can do it all on the field.

This is what South Central recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman had to say recently about Ewers' skill set.

"Ewers has a massive arm with a smooth, natural delivery and accuracy to place the ball anywhere on the field," Spiegelman wrote. He has fantastic timing with his passes and has a knack for evading pressure both inside the pocket and as he ventures outside of it. Ewers is increasingly mobile, which is where his background on the baseball diamond shows, and even more importantly than that, he maintains poise throughout games."

His position may fluctuate a little from now until the final update, but I expect Ewers to stay in the top-five when it's all said and done.

The other Ohio State commit to be labeled as a five-star prospect in the latest update is Kettering, Ohio, product CJ Hicks. Hicks did fall a few spots as he went from No. 4 to No. 10 in the nation.

Hicks is someone who can do pretty much anything on the football field, both offensively and defensively. He's a hard-hitting linebacker who can run sideline-to-sideline and make plays with his speed. Hicks is also capable of standing up on the d-line and sacking the quarterback as opposing offensive tackles have a difficult time keeping up with his quickness off the edge.

Even on offense, Hicks is a dynamic running back, with one of his runs this year having led to Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson giving him a shoutout on Twitter. Hicks can even contribute in the special teams, so there's no phase of the game where he can't make an impact.

Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt got to see Hicks showcase his skill set back in October, and dished out his biggest takeaways from the night.

"Defense is where he made his biggest impact, including a big sack late in the game," Helmholdt said. "And that really is indicative of what makes CJ Hicks so impressive... is just that explosive athleticism that is rare for the linebacker position and is certainly coveted by college coaches."

Murphy continues to hold on to five-star status despite having fell four spots in our latest update. He is the 18th and final five-star in the 2022 cycle at this juncture following today's rankings reveal.

As one of the top junior prospects in the country, Murphy is a sought-after player by a number of top-tier programs, including Ohio State. The Buckeyes continue to hold 100 percent of the FutureCast predictions that have been submitted on his Rivals profile page.

Even with Hicks, Dasan McCullough and Gabe Powers in the fold, Murphy remains a priority target for Al Washington and company. Murphy recently told us that he has "great communication" with Washington and head coach Ryan Day, and they speak on a weekly basis.

As for other schools in the mix, Alabama, Penn State, Miami and others are also catching Murphy's attention.

In my opinion, however, those programs have a lot of work to do to catch up to Ohio State. Familiarity with both the coaching staff and his future teammates, namely Hicks, is why I still have the Buckeyes on top in his recruitment.

Domani Jackson and Denver Harris kept their spots at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, following the latest Rivals rankings update.

With Jackson, his recruitment figures to be a wild ride as several schools have been speculated to be in the lead for him. A handful of predictions have been submitted in favor of Ohio State, but one for Michigan was sent in following Jackson's visit to Ann Arbor last month.

All the while, USC is still a serious contender for his services, and some believe the Trojans to be the true favorite for Jackson.

It's hard to say exactly where Jackson will definitively be going at the next level as he is going to enjoy the recruiting process and evaluate all of his options. He has a top six of Arizona State, Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC, but I'm not expecting Jackson to decide anytime soon.

Will Johnson, who came in at No. 11 in the new rankings, is rumored to be a package deal with Jackson, and Ohio State will be one of the favorites to land them if that comes to fruition.

As for Harris, he is not too vocal about his recruitment, and it doesn't appear as if an announcement is on the horizon. LSU seems to be the frontrunner right now by a slight margin, but the Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers are very much in contention.

I expect recent OSU commits Caleb Burton and Quinn Ewers, who are also Texas natives, to be in Harris' ear about making the move to Columbus, so we'll see if that ends up making a difference.

Another five-star defensive back I wanted to highlight in this piece is Jaheim Singletary, who is the No. 8 overall junior in the country.

Last week, Singletary unveiled a top four that featured Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State. This was an impressive feat for the Buckeyes to be a part of this group as they offered him just over a month ago.

Even though I still have the Gators coming out on top here, I'm putting the Buckeyes at No. 2 on Singletary's list. His relationship with the staff is solid, the tradition the program has of producing DBs into the NFL is appealing to him and the amount of players Ohio State has recruited from Jacksonville has caught his attention.

UF has the edge here just because of familiarity and how close he is to the school. If Singletary and his mother end up taking a visit to Columbus between now and his decision date on Jan. 2, however, this one could get interesting.

Another relatively recent five-star offer for the Buckeyes is Walter Nolen. Nolen was previously the top-ranked prospect in the 2022 class, but now is labeled as the fourth-ranked junior on Rivals.

The offer arrived back in October, but Nolen has been in touch with Ohio State's staff for a majority of the year. According to his head coach, Marlon Walls, the school's history of developing defensive linemen and turning them into high draft picks is something Nolen is very impressed with.

A lot of powerhouse programs have offered Nolen, however, so he's going to have a wealth of options to pick from. Some of the schools in contention for him are Alabama, Clemson, LSU and the in-state Tennessee Volunteers.

Nolen previously noted that the two programs catching his attention the most were Ohio State and LSU. Fortunately, for the Buckeyes, the Tigers have had a rough 2020 campaign, which could put Ohio State ahead of Ed Orgeron's program.

Texas-based defensive lineman Keithian Alexander came in at one spot behind Nolen, and it would be a massive haul if Larry Johnson and the staff can get both on board. I'll also mention Travis Shaw, the No. 9 prospect on Rivals, as Ohio State is pushing hard for the North Carolina-based d-lineman.

If I had to pick two schools at the top of the pecking order for Rice at this time, I would say it's Notre Dame and Ohio State.

These programs have done an excellent job of building up a relationship with him and his family, and their success this season has factored into his strong interest in these schools.

Looking specifically at the Buckeyes, however, we know for certain that his mom would be on board if he decided to make the move to Columbus.

When I spoke with Mary Rice about why she is a fan of Ohio State, she told me that they are "TOP NOTCH" both on and off the field. She also told me that their reputation is "impeccable."

With a good bond with the coaching staff already developed, trust from Rice himself that he can be developed at the school and his mom's seal of approval, Ohio State has to like where they stand with the Virginia-based offensive lineman.

Other o-linemen targets that were a part of today's five-star reveals were Julian Armella and Kam Dewberry. In my opinion, the Buckeyes are probably in a better spot with Dewberry, who has referred to Ohio State multiple times as his dream school.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.