After a few weeks of deliberation and a few years of evaluation, the final Top247 for the class of 2018 is complete. It closes a unique year in recruiting. It could be called the Year of the Quarterback, the Year of the Cornerback or the year that 247Sports welcomed Scout.com to the team to make the most accurate rankings in the industry even stronger.

In our final effort for the class of 2018, we continued to draw on film and feedback on senior seasons but we also leaned heavily on seeing the best in the country compete side by side at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the Under Armour All-American Game and other postseason and all-star events around the country. Given that the Top247 will not change after Thursday, this was also our final chance to correct any previous mistakes or scratch any itch that had been plaguing us.

While we made a lot of active moves up for a variety of reasons, there weren’t as many active drops in the rankings to reflect poor performances or unmet expectations. However, note that 185 of the prospects from the previous Top247 (74.8 percent) experienced a drop of at least one spot in the final release, even players who had very positive postseason showings. There were scraps for every spot on this list.

The Race for No. 1

In three or four years, NFL General Managers are going to have the same debate that we’ve had with regard to the quarterbacks in this class. Trevor Lawrence will finish with the top spot for us after an immaculate high school career but we see very little difference between him and the guy right behind him at No. 2 in Justin Fields. They’re just different styles. We’ve given both a rating of 101, the highest mark for a quarterback in Top247 history.

Had Fields not been forced to miss the Under Armour Game due to injury, perhaps one final glimpse at his skillset among similar talents may have given him an opportunity to edge out Lawrence but in the end, what Lawrence did on Friday nights carried him home. Despite a lackluster Army Bowl showing, Lawrence was fantastic all week in practice and had the coaches in the game gushing about his ability.

If anyone were to top Lawrence for that No. 1 spot, it was actually Eyabi Anoma that got the most serious consideration. What he flashed at the Under Armour game as a pass-rusher, the athleticism he showed all week in practice, the size, the limited experience playing the game — Anoma’s incredible upside did tempt the Rankings Council. Given all the unpredictable mental challenges of the quarterback position, Anoma, as a defensive end, may actually be the safest pick in the class.

The Year of the QB

In the history of the 247Sports Composite rankings, there's never been three quarterbacks ranked in the top-6. Thanks to the reclassification of USC commit JT Daniels from the 2019 to the 2018 class and landing at No. 6, this is the best quarterback class of all-time.

Daniels has thrown for more than 12,000 yards in three seasons and he was arguably the best quarterback all week at the Army Bowl. Given a little bit more time to try to walk down the guys in front of him, Daniels might have been in the discussion for No. 1 overall. Don’t be surprised to see the youngster compete for a starting job right away in Los Angeles.

The New 5-Stars

At 247Sports we model our rankings off the NFL Draft. We consider the draft an unbiased, if imperfect, reflection of talent measured primarily on college productivity. Because of that philosophy, we limit our five-stars to a hard 32 by the final release, mirroring the first round of the NFL Draft. This year, we had some work to do to decide on those 32 names.

RELATED: Players who just missed the 5-star cut

Fifteen players landed a fifth star in these final rankings. Because we play an active role in the selection process of the Army All-American Bowl and have confidence that the Under Armour Game will put together a quality roster as well, we are able to treat the all-star games as a clearinghouse of sorts for the five-stars. But there are the rare exceptions when we’ll add a fifth star to a player who wasn’t named to a major game. That happened this year with our biggest riser, Jalen Redmond.

Redmond is a former basketball player out of Oklahoma who is relatively new to the football field but absolutely blew up as a senior. The Oklahoma signee put together film that was too impressive to leave out of the five-star range and he was the biggest riser among the newcomers, shooting up from the No. 77 player in the country to 16th overall.

But while Oklahoma was home to the biggest five-star riser, it was rival Texas that received the biggest five-star windfall. Three Texas signees earned their fifth stars. Cornerback Jalen Green jumped up to No. 17 in the country, safety DeMarvion Overshown actually dropped two spots from 26 to 28 but added a fifth star and Army Bowl MVP Caden Sterns, a safety, was the final five-star at No. 32.

The Newcomers

The highest-ranked newcomer to the list was actually a prospect that had previously been on the Top247, but one who had steadily been pushed down as others jumped above him. Texas A&M signee Colten Blanton pushed back at the Army Bowl. The kid is massive and yet he still looks like he’s developing physically, but we loved the way he battled in San Antonio and after digging into his senior film, Blanton shot back on to the list at No. 97.

The second-highest debut on the list comes from a guy that doesn’t have any experience on this list. In fact, he was a virtual unknown before Tennessee unearthed him just over a week ago. Jordan Young out of Conyers (Ga.) Heritage joins the list at No. 190 in the country and we are still bewildered at how it took anyone this long to find the kid. He’s 6-foot-2, he’s the Georgia state champion in the 110 high hurdles, he had more than 1,500 yards receiving in the fall and he averaged more than 22 yards per catch. Turn on the film and there’s just no doubt that he’s one of the top receivers in the country. Credit Tennessee for digging this kid up but he’s not hiding any longer. He’s now ranked No. 190 overall.

While Alabama DT signee Christian Barmore and Ohio State WR signee Cameron Brown are among the other new additions to the Top247, they weren’t all blue bloods that put new names on the list. Wake Forest offensive tackle signee Mike Edwards and Indiana safety signee Devon Matthews, both out of Florida, have senior film that points to the Deacons and the Hoosiers getting major steals. Both guys are ranked inside the Top 220.

Notes

- Geographically, California led the way with 35 names on the list. Predictably, Florida is second with 32 names, followed by Texas with 30 and Georgia with 27.

- Many of the most hotly-contested debates centered around the cornerbacks. The No. 1 ranking was either Patrick Surtain Jr. or Tyson Campbell but there wasn’t a clear consensus on which of the two teammates was better. Isaac Taylor-Stuart as a potential five-star generated a lot of discussion, as did the question of just how high could we push an undersized, Honey Badger-esque playmaker in Brendan Radley-Hiles. There were also varying points in which Olaijah Griffin was the final five-star. All were tough decisions.

- Early in the process, we felt like Ohio State signee Kamryn Babb had a chance to be the No. 1 wide receiver in the class. Heading into his senior season, that ranking was still very much in play but after missing his senior year due to injury, he’s been stuck in limbo as others have passed him up and he’s missed the opportunity to add that fifth star. Babb should take comfort in the fact that J.K. Dobbins was in the exact same position last year and turned out just fine for the Buckeyes.

- Similarly, NC State signee Payton Wilson would have had a real shot to earn a fifth star had we been able to gain some confidence in him against elite competition in pads. His injury didn’t allow an Army Bowl showing so his five-star candidacy died but we came away really impressed with his future teammate Ricky Person. It wouldn’t surprise us if Person is the best back in this class and even though his ranking slid slightly, we like him as a rare back in a thin year at the position.