Lawson will continue to rise

The Class of 2013 Top247 will be updated again on Memorial Day week, following our analysts trips to the Nike Football Training Camps in Baltimore and Oakland, the Houston and Dallas Under Armour 7-on-7s, the Best of 757 combine in Newport News, Va., and the Phoenix Under Armour 7-on-7, among other trips.

Auburn defensive end commit Carl Lawson will continue to rise in the Top247 when it is updated in the coming weeks.

Here’s a look at what we are thinking thus far, though.

Carl Lawson will continue to rise

Lawson was a player that jumped out to us on film. There was no question in our minds that he was a top 100 prospect in the country based on that, but there was some concern about his height. After seeing him in person twice during the last five months, we believe that at nearly 6 feet, 3 inches and with an excellent wingspan and physical development that he is an instant impact player on the collegiate level.

ESPN, which ranks based on college impact, rated him the No. 5 prospect in the country. We agree, based on that criteria, with that ranking. At 247Sports, our rankings are long-term projections to the college level and beyond, so while the number may not be quite as high, we believe that Lawson has a high ceiling as well as a chance to play early at Auburn, where he is committed.

We feel good about the top eight

We’ve seen most of the players in our top six- Robert Nkemdiche, Reuben Foster, Montravius Adams, Vernon Hargreaves III, Laremy Tunsil Jaylon Smith, Max Browne and Su’a Cravens this spring and we are convinced that right now, according to our rankings criteria, that they are the top prospects in America according to our rankings criteria. That could change over time, but right now, we feel good. Beyond that, there definitely could be some movement, including some new five-star prospects moving forward.

Shane Morris is the most valuable

Considering everything- including position value, impact on a class and a load of intangibles- Michigan quarterback commit Shane Morris may be the single most valuable prospect committed to any program in the country. Morris not only plays the most important position on the field and has great talent, he’s helped Brady Hoke and the Wolverines assemble what is the nation’s top 2013 recruiting class to date. Morris is active on social media and recently celebrated his one year anniversary of being committed to Michigan.

There are potential five-stars in 20-40

When you look closely at the nation’s No. 20-40 overall prospects, quite a few jump out at you. We think there are a handful of five stars in this range. Vonn Bell, Mackensie Alexander, Kendall Fuller, Joey Bosa, Adam Breneman, Altee Tenpenny, Keith Ford, Antonio Conner and Derwin Gray all are players we have discussed at one point or another as potential five-star prospects in this class.

Still working 2014

Last week, we released our Top 25 prospects for the 2014 recruiting cycle (led by top prospect Da’Shawn Hand) and quite a few of those players have seen their offer lists increase significantly as we are in the midst of the spring evaluation period and college coaches are stopping by schools and checking into players. We don’t plan to stop at 25 and on Tuesday, we will build our list out to a Top 100 with an eye toward a full Top247 for 2014 in the near future.