Rivals Rankings Week: Breaking down the 2025 DL rankings

With the updated 2025 Rivals250 being unveiled Tuesday, it's time to dive into the position rankings. The defensive position rankings are being released today and next up are the defensive linemen:

NEW 2025 POSITION RANKINGS: Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB | Running Back | All-Purpose Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Offensive Tackle | Offensive Guard | Center | Defensive Tackle | Weakside Defensive End | Strongside Defensive End | Inside Linebacker | Outside Linebacker | Cornerback | Safety | Athlete

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be No. 1?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: New Rivals250 released | Gorney goes position-by-position | Biggest movers

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

Thursday: New defensive position rankings

Friday: New state rankings

Saturday: Rankings roundtable

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CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals100

TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer tracker/player ranking (football) | Transfer team ranking (football) | Transfer tracker/player ranking (basketball) | Transfer team ranking (basketball) | Rivals Portal Twitter

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Terry overtook Elijah Griffin for the No. 1 ranking for defensive linemen but the race remains extremely close. The Georgia commit’s elite athletic traits, lean yet powerful build, and intensity on the field are exactly what college coaches are looking for in high school prospects.

Terry shows outstanding quickness at the snap, effortlessly brushes aside would-be blockers, is an aggressive tackler and has the motor to chase down ball carriers. What’s most impressive is how Terry does all of these things on a consistent basis, which isn’t often seen in defensive linemen at the high school level.

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Mariyon Dye: The four-star prospect rose 107 spots to No. 101 in the Rivals250. He has official visits scheduled for Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and Tennessee.

Maxwell Roy: Roy jumped 72 spots in the Rivals250 to No. 123. Watch out for Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Rutgers and Duke in his recruitment.

Javion Hilson: Hilson became the top-ranked prospect at his position when he rose 50 spots in the Rivals250. The Florida State commit now ranks No. 45 overall.

Landon Rink: Missouri, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Penn State, LSU and Miami are all expected to host Rink, who jumped 45 spots to No. 187 in the Rivals250.

LaJesse Harrold: Harrold debuted at No. 246 in the Rivals250. He’s expected to visit Miami, LSU, Texas A&M, Louisville and Georgia in the coming months.

Elijah Griffin: The five-star is considered a Georgia lean but Florida State, South Carolina and Alabama remain serious contenders.

Nathaniel Marshall: The top-ranked strongside defensive end is amid his basketball season but is expected to take a close look at Illinois, Miami, Oregon, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan and Alabama.

1. Clemson: Clemson is the only program to hold commitments from three Rivals250 defensive line prospects so the Tigers get the nod as the top defensive line class. Defensive tackles Amare Adams and Isaiah Campbell lead the way for Clemson. Each rank inside the top 100 of the Rivals250. Adams committed in early December and Campbell, who announced his decision at the end of January, is Clemson’s newest commitment. Defensive end Ari Watford announced his commitment seemingly out of the blue but the Tigers had been the favorite to land him for some time. He chose Clemson over South Carolina, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Penn State.

2. Auburn: With commitments from four four-stars on the defensive line, a case could be made that Auburn has the best defensive line class so far this cycle. Rivals250 defensive tackle Malik Autry got a boost in the updated Rivals250 after a strong start to the camp season, where he has displayed new wrinkles in his game. Antonio Coleman, Auburn’s second Rivals250 commit, is a former Alabama commit who flipped from the in-state rival in December. Four-stars Jourdin Crawford and Kalen Edwards round out Auburn’s current defensive line class.

3. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish claim the top spot in the team recruiting rankings right now and their defensive line class is a big part of the reason why. Leading the way is defensive end Christopher Burgess Jr., who is the highest ranked Notre Dame commit, regardless of position. Rivals250 defensive end Joseph Reiff and four-star defensive tackle Davion Dixon are two of Notre Dame’s earliest 2025 commitments.

4. Texas: Texas only holds commitments from two defensive linemen but both are four-stars and one is in the Rivals250. Lance Jackson is the higher-ranked of the two. The strongside defensive end out of Texarkana is the younger brother of current Arkansas Razorback Landon Jackson. Four-star defensive tackle Brandon Brown out of Florida announced his commitment to the Longhorns in December but he has yet to visit the Austin campus and the position coach he committed to, Bo Davis, is now coaching at LSU.

5. Georgia: With just five commitments in the 2025 recruiting cycle so far, the Bulldogs have yet to make their move with many of their top targets. One who jumped onboard early is five-star Justus Terry. The defensive tackle out of Manchester would be another in a long line of in-state defensive linemen to go on and star for the Bulldogs.