Top 5 Takeaways from ESPN's Updated Recruiting Rankings

The beauty of 247Sports' composite rankings is that they make shakeups in any of the four major recruiting sites—247Sports, Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN.com—more of a topic of discussion in the college football recruiting world.

When ESPN released its updated ESPN 300 on Monday, a few players were rewarded with a bump in their 247Sports composite rankings.

Here are five takeaways from the new ESPN 300 rankings.

Sterling-Cole continues to impress

ESPN thinks very highly of quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole—and rightfully so. Once unranked in the ESPN 300, the uncommitted 4-star is now at No. 111 in the latest rankings.

Sterling-Cole's rise since the spring has been very impressive. When he won quarterback MVP honors at The Opening Dallas Regional in March, he was a 3-star player and the No. 27 dual-threat quarterback. He's now the No. 9 pro-style quarterback after showcasing his skills throughout the spring and summer.

All eyes are on Sterling-Cole, who has schools like Texas A&M, Houston, UCLA, Florida and several others on his list. Texas A&M fans are hoping to land him, as he is an Aggie legacy: His father is former Aggie Chris Cole, who went on to play receiver in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

Major spikes from the defensive front

Nothing helps a player's confidence like watching his rankings escalate emphatically. Four uncommitted, 4-star defensive ends saw a rise of at least 70 spots on Monday.

Brandon Bowen proved to be the biggest winner, as he jumped 190 spots from No. 351 to No. 161. Another triple-digit jumper was Antonneous Clayton, who rose 106 spots from No. 217 to No. 111.

Prince Sammons, a bigger man among big men at 6'8" and 280 pounds, climbed from No. 258 to No. 159, just missing a triple-digit increase in the rankings. Justin Madubuike "only" rose 74 spots but managed to jump into the national top 100, escalating from No. 169 to No. 95.

A fifth defensive end, Georgia 4-star commit Chauncey Manac, rose 75 spots from No. 149 to No. 74.

More news about defensive ends

The new composite rankings feature 22 defensive ends in the top 200, and six of those are in the top 50. Nick Bosa is the nation's No. 2 strong-side defensive end behind 5-star Shavar Manuel, but Bosa, also a 5-star player, rose from No. 31 to No. 8 in the composite rankings. Manuel is at No. 6.

While Bosa cracked the top 10, other defensive ends saw an impressive bump in the composite rankings on Monday. Marlon Davidson, another 5-star defensive end, jumped from No. 53 to No. 22. Florida State 4-star commit Janarius Robinson rose 47 spots from No. 83 to No. 36. McTelvin Agim, a 4-star end and the top-ranked player in Arkansas, went from No. 79 to No. 55.

Geaux-ing for the win

Teams like Florida State, Miami and reigning national champion Ohio State have either double-digit commitments or near-double-digit commitments from the ESPN 300. However, the team to beat currently is LSU.

The Tigers are the top-ranked team in the 247Sports composite recruiting team rankings with 17 commits. Among the members in the ESPN 300 are 5-star cornerback Saivion Smith, 5-star defensive tackle Edwin Alexander, 4-star quarterback Feleipe Franks and 4-star receivers Dee Anderson and Stephen Sullivan.

The good news for LSU is that more commits could be coming. The Tigers are in a solid position to land 5-star studs such as defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence, offensive tackle Willie Allen and safety Brandon Jones.

An interesting race for No. 1

The top two players in the ESPN 300: Rashan Gary and Greg Little.

The top two players in the 247Sports composite: Rashan Gary and Greg Little.

The battle for the top-ranked player in the nation appears to be down to a dynamic, uncommitted, 5-star defensive tackle and a technically sound, 5-star offensive tackle committed to Texas A&M, respectively. Betwen them, the two have nearly 60 reported offers.

The summer and fall, however, will play a key role in who ultimately finishes as the No. 1 player.

Will it be Gary or Little, or will another 5-star prospect overtake them? Quarterback Jacob Eason is the No. 3 player in the 247Sports composite. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who rose 37 spots from No. 54 to No. 17 in the ESPN 300, is No. 4 in the 247Sports composite.

Next month's The Opening could be a determining factor in who ends up where.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings unless otherwise noted. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles