Top ACC commits in the initial Rivals300 rankings

While the SEC and Big Ten get the majority of the shine when it comes to recruiting rankings, the ACC is holding its own with some top commitments in the Class of 2026.

The league not only boasts the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the Rivals300 rankings — Miami pledge Jackson Cantwell — but also features an additional three players ranked in the top 50 nationally. And unsurprisingly, it’s Miami, Clemson and Florida State leading the way in that regard. The breakdown by school of commitments in the rankings is as follows:

11 – Miami
10 – Clemson, Florida State
3 – SMU, North Carolina
2 – Syracuse, Stanford, Wake Forest
1 – Boston College, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech

And below are the top 10 prospects committed to ACC schools in the new Rivals300:

OT Jackson Cantwell – Miami

School: Nixa (Mo.)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 1
Scout’s Take: “Jackson Cantwell is a big-framed offensive tackle with eye-popping athleticism and functional strength as a high school underclassman. Measured at over 6-foot-7, 205 pounds prior to his sophomore season. Has solid length with 33.5-inch arms and big hands. Owns a phenomenal athletic profile as one of the top shot put throwers in the country for his age group. Posted a personal best throw of over 64 feet as a freshman. Also posted strong testing numbers in the college camp setting. Transfers those gifts over to the football field where he shows strong coordination and function strength. Moves well laterally and plays with a good anchor. Initially began his career as a tight end and has grown into an offensive tackle. Has deep athletic bloodlines with both parents being Olympic track and field athletes as throwers. Younger for the cycle with a May birthday.”

WR Naeem Burroughs – Clemson

School: Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 31
Scout’s Take: “Naeem Burroughs has continued to show why he’s an outlier for us at the wide receiver position. Watching him move and cut in his route running while flashing his body control and balance at the catch point and at the top of his routes was a treat to watch at the Rivals 5-Star event. He’s a truly gifted athlete consistently hitting the 10.6 mark in the 100m and sub-22.00 in the 200m during his junior track and field season. Combine that with his natural ball tracking downfield and his natural hands and you have a three-level pass catcher who can score from anywhere on the field.” — Cody Bellaire, National Scout

CB Lawrence Timmons – Florida State

School: Pine-Richland (Pa.)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 39
Scout’s Take: “Lawrence “Jay” Timmons has been a menace on the camp circuit this spring and summer. His ability to mirror and blanket receivers is almost second nature to him. The instincts and recovery speed to stay in-phase with receivers throughout the route is impressive, but it’s his ability to play through the hands and make plays on the football that makes him one of the more complete packages at the position. Timmons has some of the best pure cover skills of any cornerback in the country.” — Cody Bellaire, National Scout

CB Chauncey Kennon – Florida State

School: Booker (Fla.)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 42
Notable Quote: “It’s a dream school. I always wanted to be at Florida State,” Kennon told Warchant ahead of his June OV to Tallahassee. “As y’all know, my sister goes to Florida State, my family grew up liking Florida State, so it’s just always been a dream school.”

S Kentavion Anderson – Clemson

School: Dorman (Roebuck, SC)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 74
Notable Quote: “That visit was huge,” Anderson told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “It was huge for me and my family. The time we had with the coaches, the talks we had together and the feeling we had on that visit changed my recruitment. Clemson was in my top three before that visit, but when I left, I knew Clemson was my top school.”

DL Earnest Rankins – Florida State

School: Cedar Grove (Decatur, GA)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 79
Notable Quote: “If there’s one thing I can say about FSU football that stood out and continues to stick out is, the fight the program that was once a winning program has to rebuild,” he told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “It’s a story to be told. The staff is a brotherhood just as well as the player core also made them a great pick for me.”

DL Keshawn Stancil – Clemson

School: Clayton (Clayton, NC)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 83
Notable Quote: “Just the relationship Coach Swinney and Coach Eason built with my mom,” Stancil told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong of his commitment. “Coach Swinney has a certain type of mentality when it comes to attacking academics and football,” Stancil said. “He’s just so passionate about it.”

IOL Drew Evers – SMU

School: Flower Mound (Flower Mound, TX)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 103
Notable Quote: “I’ve been at SMU quite a bit since they are in my backyard, I would say probably the beginning of my recruitment, at least eight times,” Evers told Rivals’ Billy Embody. “SMU just had everything I was looking for. I realized everything I was looking for was right in my own backyard. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. All the other schools were great. The way I describe it to my parents is there’s no ‘why not?’ in any of the other schools. There was really no ‘why nots’ at all for any of these schools. It was just everything I was looking for was right in my own backyard. So I decided to go to SMU.”

WR Calvin Russell – Syracuse

School: Northwestern (Opa Locka, FL)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 106
Notable Quote: “Coach Fran, he’s a great leader,” Russell told Rivals’ Marcus Benjamin of why he committed to the ‘Cuse. “He does everything the right way. He’s changing the culture. He’s changing everyone’s mentality. He does everything he has to do. The conversations I had with Coach Fran, I trust him, I know he’s going to do right by me and my family.”

CB Traeviss Stevenson – Georgia Tech

School: Brooks County (Quitman, GA)
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 129
Notable Quote: ”I made my decision a couple of days ago I chose Georgia Tech because it is the best place for me and for the education,” Stevenson told Rivals’ Chad Simmons in April. “The coaching staff, the culture and how they practice are other things I love about Georgia Tech. I didn’t commit to Georgia Tech over any other schools because they were the school always in my heart.”