As the 2017 college football season approaches, the lion's share of the recruiting focus is on the Class of 2018. After all, that is the group that will be making up incoming freshmen classes nationally beginning with National Signing Day in February and, well, there is a full season of football on the way.
However, that won't stop the die-hards from keeping a (very) close eye on the 2019 recruiting class and the 247Sports composite rankings are a great way to do that. The composite produced a big-time shake-up this week, though, as there is a new No. 1 overall recruit for 2019 and it is talented defensive end prospect Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux, who hails from Thousand Oaks (Calif.), is being heavily recruited by the likes of USC, UCLA, LSU, and Texas A&M and that is no surprise given his immense stature as a recruit. Previously, defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher (now No. 2 overall) sat atop the rankings but the 6'5, 279-pound lineman was supplanted in this particular edition.
It should be noted that more movement would be anything but surprising, simply because there is a long time between now and any of these prospects actually signing on the dotted line with National Letters of Intent. Still, Kayvon Thibodeaux is definitely a name to keep an eye on and he is now recognized as the top recruit in the country.
