Between now and Monday, Feb. 10 — when we'll reveal our overall FCS team and individual recruiting rankings — we're going to begin to release some of our early thoughts about each class here, conference by conference and position by position. Today we release our feelings about the Missouri Valley Football Conference and where things stand for those schools, with the understanding that a lot can change between now and when they can begin signing (Wednesday, Feb. 5). So hold onto your hats and check this out.
Also … remember, this is a ranking of HIGH SCHOOL commitments … this is only one way our FCS rankings differentiate us from 247Sports and Rivals etc. Also … we don't pay any attention to the star rating, this ranking is based solely on how each athlete is coveted, who wanted him … and how many wanted him. That's it. Film evaluation is something I will leave up to the coaches, as they have their jobs on the line with that. I figure if their jobs are on the line, they're probably doing a pretty good job of figuring out who they want to offer a spot on their teams. And they are certainly better than I am at making that determination.
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Quick rankings explanation:
- Only high school recruits are taken into account. Transfers are separate and will be evaluated much later this spring.
- The system is based on school offers, NOT 247Sports or Rivals. Every level of D-1 (P5, G5, FCS) has a particular tiered point total.
- When it comes to team rankings, it's the value of all of its Dec. signees and current commitments' point totals combined. Every kid counts.
- I respect PWOs — preferred walk-ons. They get credit too. The FCS is the perfect level for walk-ons. They matter to these schools.
- The final national rankings for Top 50 teams and Top 300 individuals will publish Monday, Feb. 10[divider]
All FCS Conference & Position Recruiting Rankings
TOP MVFC TEAMS (as of Jan. 28)
(This top list is based on teams that have already secured at least five recruits – full conference breakdown comes later)
| RK | TEAM |
| 1 | South Dakota |
| 2 | NDSU |
| 3 | Illinois St. |
| 4 | SDSU |
| 5 | Missouri St. |
| 6 | Youngstown |
| 7 | Northern Iowa |
| 8 | Southern Illinois |
| 9 | Indiana St. |
| 10 | North Dakota |
| 11 | West. Illinois |
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TOP MVFC RECRUITS (as of Jan. 28)
(NOTE: PWO means preferred walk-on offer; Only high school commits/recruits are considered here – transfers come later)
| RK | FCS TEAM | POS | PROSPECT | HOMETOWN | STATE | OTHER D-1 OPTIONS |
| 1 | SOUTH DAKOTA | LB | Vincent Starling | Palm Beach, FL | FL | USF decommit – 8 P5s, 18 FBS |
| 2 | YOUNGSTOWN ST. | QB | Demeatric Crenshaw | Pickerington, OH | OH | BC, Ga. Tech, Indiana, Ky., Louisville, 4 G5 |
| 3 | ILLINOIS STATE | OL | Ben May | Carrollton, GA | GA | Liberty decommit – 10 FBS, 10 FCS |
| 4 | NORTHERN IOWA | RB | Jaylin Richardson | Kansas City, KS | KS | Kansas, 8 G5, 8 FCS |
| 5 | NDSU | TE | Joe Stoffel | River Falls, WI | WI | 11 FBS offers, 4 FCS |
| 6 | MISSOURI STATE | DL | Armon Wallace | St. Louis, MO | MO | Kentucky, Syracuse, 6 FBS, 11 total |
| 7 | SDSU | DL | Brandon Lane | Lees Summit, MO | MO | 7 FBS, 5 MVFC, 7 FCS |
| 8 | NDSU | DB | Cole Wisniewski | Sparta, WI | WI | 4 FBS, 13 FCS offers |
| 9 | NDSU | DL | Seth Anderson | Moorhead, MN | MN | Kansas, 5 FBS, 4 MVFC |
| 10 | ILLINOIS STATE | WR | TreShawn Watson | Antioch, IL | IL | 5 FBS, 8 FCS |
| 11 | YOUNGSTOWN ST. | DL | Tariq Williamson | Akron, OH | OH | 7 FBS, 2 FCS |
| 12 | SOUTHERN ILLINOIS | TE | John Volmert | St. Louis, MO | MO | 4 FBS, 8 FCS offers |
| 13 | SOUTH DAKOTA | DB | Latrez Shelton | St. Louis, MO | MO | 4 FBS, 8 FCS offers |
| 14 | SDSU | RB | Kenyetta Williams | Joliet, IL | IL | 4 FBS, 4 FCS |
| 15 | SOUTH DAKOTA | WR | Jailen Holman | West Palm Beach, FL | FL | 4 FBS, 4 FCS |
| 16 | ILLINOIS STATE | DB | L. Deontae-McCoy | Flossmoor, IL | IL | 3 MAC offers, 6 FCS |
| 17 | SOUTH DAKOTA | ATH | Teven McKelvey | Gardner, KS | KS | Akron, 7 MVFC offers, 10 FCS |
| 18 | SOUTHERN ILLINOIS | DB | Colin Williams | Hoschton, GA | GA | Kent St., 9 FCS |
| 19 | SOUTH DAKOTA | DB | Josiah Ganues | Miramar, FL | FL | Elon, UCF, Kent St., Toledo, Bama AM |
| 20 | MISSOURI STATE | RB | Celdon Manning | Allen, TX | TX | Miami (O), Army, Navy, 3 FCS |
| 21 | INDIANA STATE | DB | Jonathan Edwards | St. Louis, MO | MO | SEMO, EKU, UTM, SoDak, EIU, UND, UNI, SIU |
| 22 | NDSU | RB | Dominic Gonnella | Valrico, FL | FL | Southern Miss, BGSU, 4 FCS offers |
| 23 | NDSU | WR | D.J. Hart | Suwanee, GA | GA | Maryland, New Mexico, ETSU, Samford |
| 24 | SDSU | WR | Nate Sullivan | Bellevue, NE | NE | Cent. Mich, Buffalo, 5 FCS offers |
| 25 | ILLINOIS STATE | RB | Rashad Lampkin | Brookfield, WI | WI | 6 MVFC offers, 8 total |
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