Ratings and rankings can be subjective to an extent. When someone like USC commit Mark Bowman is universally agreed upon and seen as a consensus five-star talent, there isn't anything reasonable to point to in July that would then warrant a drop in status.
That is, however, what Bowman experienced after Rivals revealed their latest evaluations. Somehow, for everyone else except these so-called experts, the tight end is one of the top overall prospects in the nation.
For Rivals, however, Bowman took so much of a step back from the earlier part of 2025 that he has now been rated as a four-star by the particular recruiting service in question.