Stanford recruit Walker Little is 247 Sport's new No. 1 player

247Sports published its final Top247 rankings of the 2017 recruiting cycle, and, as expected, a Stanford-bound offensive lineman topped the list. Or was it?

Walker Little supplanted Foster Sarell as the nation’s top trench man in the newly-released rankings. Little edged out UCLA early enrollee pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips (remember that name, Stanford fans) for the top spot.

What clinched it? A fantastic performance at the Army Bowl two weeks ago, as well as a loaded film reel that includes a multitude of snaps that are carbon copies of this one.

Sarell, who had held the No. 1 ranking from July until now, dropped seven slots to No. 8. Davis Mills, 247’s top ranked quarterback, came in at No. 19, while tight end Colby Parkinson dropped to 28th overall. Still, four Stanford commits within the top 32 players in the nation is nothing to scoff at, no matter which recruiting service you are basing your opinion on.

Here are 247 senior recruiting analyst Barton Simmons’ thoughts on each of the ranked Stanford commitments.

On Little: "This is the best offensive line prospect I've ever scouted. It took me a while to get to that realization but Little's performance at the Army Bowl sealed the deal for me."

On Sarell: "He may not be the No. 1 player in the nation but he still has No. 1 player traits. Sarell got exposed some at the Army Bowl but after Mike Bloomgren gets ahold of him at Stanford, I still expect him to develop into one of the elite NFL prospects in this cycle."

On Mills: "An ACL injury in the playoffs kept Mills from rising even higher in the rankings. We wanted to see him throw next to all the other top arms at the Army Bowl but despite his absence, we got to the end of this cycle thinking that nobody can match Mills as a pure passer."

On Parkinson: "The subtleties of Parkinson's game are what makes him special. He's got a 6-foot-7 frame that he can use to box out defenders, he's got suddenness to him as a route-runner and he's a tough, gritty competitor."

Though #CardClass17 is only up to a mere eleven players, their projections as college and NFL talents are as telling as their final rankings.

You can read the rest of the rankings here.

Follow us on Social Media:

facebook: facebook.com/RuleOfTree/

twitter: twitter.com/RuleofTree

Join the team!