Fact or Fiction: The battle for No. 1 QB in 2025 is tightening
Rivals national recruiting director John Garcia Jr. is joined by national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analysts Greg Smith and Marshall Levenson to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Tavien St. Clair is in the mix for No. 1 QB spot in 2025
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1. The battle for the No. 1 QB in the 2025 Rivals250 is tightening.
Jeff McCulloch/Rivals.com
Gorney: FACT. I still have Julian Lewis as the best quarterback in this class but the more we see LSU commit Bryce Underwood and Ohio State pledge Tavien St. Clair, this is looking more like a battle for No. 1. Lewis has been so special and I love that he’s a year younger than most in the 2025 class. He’s trained with elite quarterbacks in the Atlanta area and he has all the tools to be special at USC and beyond. Underwood is a physical specimen with an incredible arm and St. Clair has size, accuracy and all the intangibles of an elite quarterback, but I still side with Lewis as No. 1.
Garcia: FACT. I saw Underwood at a 7-on-7 early last offseason and he was very up-and-down, a far cry from what we just saw over the weekend, when the LSU commitment was the best in show among quarterbacks headed to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida State, TCU and many other Power Four programs. The five-star's camp is quiet about the desire to campaign for the top spot, alluding to "the play" doing the talking. Underwood and Lewis are so different from frame to mechanics, style and more, so getting to split those hairs won't be easy the rest of the cycle. St. Clair offers a counter from a ceiling standpoint and there are a few others who could vault up the list before all is said and done, too.
RELATED: 2025 Pro-style QB rankings | 2025 Dual-threat QB rankings
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2. Tavien St. Clair's 7-on-7 inexperience only makes his intrigue and/or ceiling that much higher.
Birm/Dotting the 'Eyes
Smith: FACT. One of the most intriguing things about Tavien St. Clair is how much projecting there is with his game even though we can see the clear physical tools. Part of the reason there is room to project his game is because we haven’t seen St. Clair in a 7-on-7 setting before last weekend. That’s not his fault since the rule just got reversed to allow Ohio football players to take part in these events.
It’s a credit to St. Clair that he immediately went out to compete at one of the biggest tournaments in the country.
The other part of this equation is that St. Clair plays at a smaller school in Ohio. He’s elected to stay at that school and play with players he grew up with when he’s had many opportunities to leave the school. He stuck around and became a record-setting quarterback for Bellefontaine High School after throwing for 3,083 yards with 37 touchdowns. The Ohio State commit is clearly not a finished product and that makes his ceiling quite high.
Garcia: FICTION. Every layer we peel back on St. Clair makes for a long-term play for Ohio State or anyone else recruiting the Ohio native. The frame and motion are near to the very best already, however. He becomes even more fascinating with the lack of club 7-on-7 exposure, which didn't hurt a five-star as recently as Arch Manning. As Smith said, the small-school angle could ultimately play a larger role, as can his baseball background on what is an ideal QB frame to boot. Seven-on-7 is included, but there are many elements that make St. Clair potentially the elite passer to bet on among the elites in the 2025 class.
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3. Harlem Berry should be moved to all-purpose back in the next update.
Julie Boudwin
Levenson: FACT. For me, an all-purpose back is about being almost as much of a wide receiver as you are running back. Looking at Harlem Berry, I see this is a question of ability versus production. Last season, Berry only had 20 catches, which would not be considered significant production from the backfield, but given that he ran for 2,080 yards and 37 rushing touchdowns, why ask him to do anything different?
But after seeing Berry in recent events, his ability to be a receiving threat is more than clear. And not only did Berry show he can catch the ball, he can do it from running legitimate routes out wide, not just leaking out from the backfield. While he is not needed to be a receiving threat all that often in his current situation, it will be much more of a required skill at the next level, and of course in the NFL.
Because we know he can do it, and do it at a high level, a move to All-Purpose Back would be suitable for projecting his future value to an offense.
Garcia: FACT. This could be overdue. Berry is arguably the fastest back in the class, and when we talk home run ability, it sometimes takes away from the polish and versatility a given prospect can bring to the table. After seeing the LSU commitment all but carry his 7-on-7 team to the title game at OT7, the move should absolutely be made. He didn't even work out of the backfield most of the event, instead lining up as a traditional wideout as Levenson said. He put routes together deliberately and flashed strong hands in traffic at the catch point in the process.
Following the showing, Berry said he came to Orlando with a point to prove strictly as a wide receiver and it didn't take long for onlookers to see it in gaudy fashion.
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