Way too early Top 25 for 2023

January 24, 2022

Way too early Top 25 for 2023 … “A lot of good players!” That’s what GBN Chief Scout Larry Parker had to say after he had put together a very preliminary Top 25 ranking of players for the 2023 draft for those who want a bit of an idea what’s coming down the tubes in future years. No surprise that QBs Bryce Young of Alabama and Ohio State’s CJ Stroud are currently 1-2. However, while there are a number of really good returning QBs in college football including Will Rogers of Mississippi State, Tanner McKee of Stanford, Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, Sam Hartman of Wake Forest, and Devin Leary of NC State, along with transfers Spencer Rattler, now of South Carolina, and Kedon Slovis, now of Pittsburgh, none made the early top 25. In fact, at least based on this early analysis, the top position at the upcoming draft could be CB, with 5 guys in the top 25, including Georgia redshirt sophomore Kelee Ringo and junior Eli Ricks, who transferred from LSU to Alabama, both of whom factored in the top 10. At the same time, there were three each at WR, OT, DT, and OLB. On the other hand, the one position that jumps out as maybe a little weaker is DE, which had only one player (Isaiah Foskey of Notre Dame at #20). The other thing that kind of jumps out is the concentration of players among the top programs. Indeed, the top 12 players all come from either Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Clemson or Ohio State. Overall, these 5 football factories accounted for 14 of the top 25 early prospects for 2023, with Alabama leading the way with 4, while Ohio State and Clemson have three each.