Michael O'Brien's preseason Super 25 high school football rankings put Mount Carmel at No. 1, giving the four-time defending state champion the top spot before a snap has been played. Senior Ryder Startz is stepping into the starting quarterback role, which makes the ranking feel both like a vote of confidence and a test of how much the program can absorb and still win.
The list landed now because preseason rankings are the first real marker of where expectations sit, and this one starts with Mount Carmel and keeps going through the rest of the state’s top teams. Brother Rice was placed No. 2, Loyola No. 3 and Montini also stayed in the conversation after Israel Abrams led that program to 24 consecutive wins and back-to-back state titles.
Mount Carmel’s case is built on more than history. During Jordan Lynch's tenure, the program won five state titles, and in four of those seasons it did so with a new, inexperienced starting quarterback. That matters because Startz is being asked to fill the same kind of role now, while the roster still includes major college talent like Roman Igwebuike, who is committed to Notre Dame, and Tavares Harrington and Quentin Burrell, who are committed to Michigan. Marshaun Thornton, a junior receiver, gives the offense another piece to lean on.
Brother Rice brings its own pressure. Coach Casey Quedenfeld plans to play two starting quarterbacks, senior Rocco Galasso and freshman Sam Holcomb, who already holds an offer from Michigan. Brother Rice is the defending Class 7A champion, and it also has Kam McGee, named the top junior prospect in the country, which is why the No. 2 ranking feels less like a surprise than a warning to everyone below it.
The depth behind those top three teams is what makes the ranking more than a local exercise. Illinois, especially the Chicago area, is loaded with elite players at multiple positions, including two five-star seniors in Montini's Israel Abrams and St. Patrick's David Folorunsho, plus five-star juniors Darieon Prescott of Bolingbrook and McGee. The state also features a senior class with six players in the nation's top 100, a junior class with seven, and more than 50 seniors already committed to Power Four schools. By any count, there are 19 future college football players sitting near the top of the board.
The bigger question is not whether the preseason Super 25 is packed with talent. It is whether Mount Carmel can hold No. 1 while replacing its quarterback and whether the teams clustered behind it can turn rankings into proof once the season starts.
