The Rivals Camp Series made its first West Coast stop today out in chilly Las Vegas, and it was a loaded camp.
Here were the news, notes and evaluations from the afternoon:
*Let's get this one out of the way right now: USC is crushing UCLA on the recruiting trail. Nearly every top 2016 guy at today's camp had SC on their short lists, and some even named the Trojans their outright leader. Then, as if that wasn't a big enough kick to UCLA, there were several top underclassmen today who have held Trojan offers for months now while UCLA still hasn't offered. SC's Junior Day killed UCLA, and the Trojans hold the advantage with nearly every top player in the region at this point.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here we go:
Quarterbacks
-The field today was very similar to yesterday's Rivals QB Challenge, so again, not many standouts. Three-star BYU commit Jaren Hall was easily the best prospect, but he's solidly committed to the Cougars and UCLA isn't involved.
-I again didn't find Tate Martell to be anything special. The 2017 QB prospect is so magical under the Friday night lights, but for some reason in these environments, he's just a guy.
Running backs
-The best prospect in attendance was easily 2017 Najee Harris. He's a massive 6-foot-2, 220-pound back who actually reminds me a lot of Alabama's Derrick Henry. He struggled to catch the ball and run routes today, which kind of made me wonder what he'd look like at linebacker. But regardless, with his size and the way he moves at the size, he's an easy five-star prospect. Despite all the USC love today, Harris actually was the one prospect who didn't list the Trojans. It sounds like the Bruins may actually be the early favorite here, but the SEC (particularly Alabama) and Cal really intrigue the big back as well. He's years away from a decision.
-Four-star Melquise Stovall won the MVP of the group here and he was really good in every 1-on-1 rep he took. He's pocket-sized, and is probably an F-back, and with the way UCLA leads for Sean McGrew, I doubt the Bruins get involved here. But he's a solid slot prospect who should find a niche somewhere in the Pac-12.
Wide Receivers
-What a loaded group this was. It seems like every week, we're adding a new name into the, "Is he the best wideout in the region?" debate. Today, it was the Chase Lucas, and has recruited that Chandler High School (see Brett Hundley and Paul Perkins and Bryce Perkins) heavily the past few years. It's pretty staggering the Bruins haven't been on him. Harry said USC, Texas A&M and Washington are his current top three.
-I loved four-star Darian Owens today. He had horrible quarterbacks all afternoon and he had a few uncharacteristic drops, but he's smoother than butter. He's clean in his routes, he has great feet, he has a great build at 6 feet 2, 188 pounds and I think he's truly an elite prospect in the state. He said he grew up in a USC household, but I think he sees the writing on the wall with all the other receivers planning on going there. So he really wants UCLA to recruit him, yet - again, staggeringly - he said he hasn't been hearing much from the Bruins' staff. He's going to take a visit next month, and he said he hopes communication will pick up again after that.
-2017 slot Tyjon Lindsey was my favorite underclassmen in today's event. He's a Ray-Ray McCloud-like jitterbug, and he's electric. A possible five-star in my opinion. UCLA has not offered, while USC has and has had him on campus multiple times already. The Trojans are also recruiting his quarterback and pseudo-brother Tate Martell, which has put them in a great position already for him.
-Four-star wideout Brandon Burton had his third or fourth straight elite event. Again, he's a USC lean at this point. Demetrice Martin is trying to get him to consider going to Westwood as a defensive back, but after these past few weeks, I'm not sure that's going to happen.
-A pair of 2018 prospects are going to be stars in a few years: Long Beach Poly'sBrevin Jordan. The two dominated guys that were years older than them. They should have multiple Pac-12 offers very soon.
-A couple other names that popped here today were Equanimeous St. Brown's brothers Amon-Ra. They're smaller than Equanimeous, but have much more heart.
-2017 Utah slot receiver Joseph Lewis didn't have as good a day today as he had last Monday, but still looked like an elite guy in his class nonetheless.
Tight ends
-There were only two even remotely close to UCLA level out there today: Three-star Gio Fauolo. I liked Houston's film a ton heading into the event, but he looked like a high Mountain West kind of guy out there today. Fauolo was the superior prospect, although he might be a little too much of a pro-style / blocking tight end for UCLA's liking.
Offensive line
-There were some solid prospects out there today, but I didn't see one that fit the Adrian Klemm mold.
Defensive line
-Much like O-line, there were some good prospects, but nobody I think UCLA would be too terribly interested in. The one high major D-lineman in attendance was Bishop Gorman's Haskell Garrett, who holds a USC offer but not a UCLA one.
Linebackers
-It wasn't a great day for linebackers out there. There were four UCLA-level guys heading into the event: Darrian Franklin.
-Franklin was the surprise of the group, but not necessarily in a good way. He's put on some bad weight since I last saw him in the fall and he had a tough time keeping up with quick receivers in 1-on-1s. Either way, he's got USC on top at the moment.
-Youngquist won the MVP of this group, breaking up nearly every pass thrown at him in 1-on-1s. I'm not sure he fits UCLA's prototype at linebacker, though. The Bruins tend to like long and lean LBs, and his body type just doesn't suit that.
-Hall had some UCLA interest, with Scott White reaching out recently, but I'm not sure he did enough today to warrant the Bruins to pursue much further. He's a pretty good linebacker, but again, not sure he fits the UCLA playmaker LB mold.
-Finally, there's Dublanko, who's a defensive tackle in my opinion. He's visiting UCLA tomorrow and if he can put on another 20 pounds, I actually think he'd be a solid D-line prospect.
Defensive backs
-This was a loaded group again today. The problem for UCLA was the two best ones out there, Jordan Parker, both said USC led for them. Parker is one of the best cover corners I've seen in the past few years. Thompson wasn't that impressive, but he was playing corner today and not his expected future position of safety. The duo are a package deal and both are trying to visit UCLA soon.
-Lamar Jackson won the MVP of this group, and he's a great-looking prospect that UCLA will likely get involved with. He fits the long and lean mold UCLA loves, and if Thomspon and Parker do go to USC, the Bruins will need other options. He's from the same city that produced Nate Iese and Marcus Rios, and I'd expect UCLA to be in a good spot for him if they decided to pursue him.
-A pair of 2017 prospects, Deommodore Lenoir, popped multiple times today. I'd expect these two too to be coveted D-backs in their class next year.
-Chase Lucas came to this event playing mostly receiver, and while he had some really good catches there, when he flipped to corner, he looked pretty special. He appeared to have UCLA on top, and actually seemed like he was pondering an early commitment to the Bruins. He's visiting Westwood in mid-March.
We'll have top performers, recruiting updates, interviews, clips and much more from today's camp all week. Stay tuned.
Here were the news, notes and evaluations from the afternoon:
*Let's get this one out of the way right now: USC is crushing UCLA on the recruiting trail. Nearly every top 2016 guy at today's camp had SC on their short lists, and some even named the Trojans their outright leader. Then, as if that wasn't a big enough kick to UCLA, there were several top underclassmen today who have held Trojan offers for months now while UCLA still hasn't offered. SC's Junior Day killed UCLA, and the Trojans hold the advantage with nearly every top player in the region at this point.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here we go:
Quarterbacks
-The field today was very similar to yesterday's Rivals QB Challenge, so again, not many standouts. Three-star BYU commit Jaren Hall was easily the best prospect, but he's solidly committed to the Cougars and UCLA isn't involved.
-I again didn't find Tate Martell to be anything special. The 2017 QB prospect is so magical under the Friday night lights, but for some reason in these environments, he's just a guy.
Running backs
-The best prospect in attendance was easily 2017 Najee Harris. He's a massive 6-foot-2, 220-pound back who actually reminds me a lot of Alabama's Derrick Henry. He struggled to catch the ball and run routes today, which kind of made me wonder what he'd look like at linebacker. But regardless, with his size and the way he moves at the size, he's an easy five-star prospect. Despite all the USC love today, Harris actually was the one prospect who didn't list the Trojans. It sounds like the Bruins may actually be the early favorite here, but the SEC (particularly Alabama) and Cal really intrigue the big back as well. He's years away from a decision.
-Four-star Melquise Stovall won the MVP of the group here and he was really good in every 1-on-1 rep he took. He's pocket-sized, and is probably an F-back, and with the way UCLA leads for Sean McGrew, I doubt the Bruins get involved here. But he's a solid slot prospect who should find a niche somewhere in the Pac-12.
Wide Receivers
-What a loaded group this was. It seems like every week, we're adding a new name into the, "Is he the best wideout in the region?" debate. Today, it was the Chase Lucas, and has recruited that Chandler High School (see Brett Hundley and Paul Perkins and Bryce Perkins) heavily the past few years. It's pretty staggering the Bruins haven't been on him. Harry said USC, Texas A&M and Washington are his current top three.
-I loved four-star Darian Owens today. He had horrible quarterbacks all afternoon and he had a few uncharacteristic drops, but he's smoother than butter. He's clean in his routes, he has great feet, he has a great build at 6 feet 2, 188 pounds and I think he's truly an elite prospect in the state. He said he grew up in a USC household, but I think he sees the writing on the wall with all the other receivers planning on going there. So he really wants UCLA to recruit him, yet - again, staggeringly - he said he hasn't been hearing much from the Bruins' staff. He's going to take a visit next month, and he said he hopes communication will pick up again after that.
-2017 slot Tyjon Lindsey was my favorite underclassmen in today's event. He's a Ray-Ray McCloud-like jitterbug, and he's electric. A possible five-star in my opinion. UCLA has not offered, while USC has and has had him on campus multiple times already. The Trojans are also recruiting his quarterback and pseudo-brother Tate Martell, which has put them in a great position already for him.
-Four-star wideout Brandon Burton had his third or fourth straight elite event. Again, he's a USC lean at this point. Demetrice Martin is trying to get him to consider going to Westwood as a defensive back, but after these past few weeks, I'm not sure that's going to happen.
-A pair of 2018 prospects are going to be stars in a few years: Long Beach Poly'sBrevin Jordan. The two dominated guys that were years older than them. They should have multiple Pac-12 offers very soon.
-A couple other names that popped here today were Equanimeous St. Brown's brothers Amon-Ra. They're smaller than Equanimeous, but have much more heart.
-2017 Utah slot receiver Joseph Lewis didn't have as good a day today as he had last Monday, but still looked like an elite guy in his class nonetheless.
Tight ends
-There were only two even remotely close to UCLA level out there today: Three-star Gio Fauolo. I liked Houston's film a ton heading into the event, but he looked like a high Mountain West kind of guy out there today. Fauolo was the superior prospect, although he might be a little too much of a pro-style / blocking tight end for UCLA's liking.
Offensive line
-There were some solid prospects out there today, but I didn't see one that fit the Adrian Klemm mold.
Defensive line
-Much like O-line, there were some good prospects, but nobody I think UCLA would be too terribly interested in. The one high major D-lineman in attendance was Bishop Gorman's Haskell Garrett, who holds a USC offer but not a UCLA one.
Linebackers
-It wasn't a great day for linebackers out there. There were four UCLA-level guys heading into the event: Darrian Franklin.
-Franklin was the surprise of the group, but not necessarily in a good way. He's put on some bad weight since I last saw him in the fall and he had a tough time keeping up with quick receivers in 1-on-1s. Either way, he's got USC on top at the moment.
-Youngquist won the MVP of this group, breaking up nearly every pass thrown at him in 1-on-1s. I'm not sure he fits UCLA's prototype at linebacker, though. The Bruins tend to like long and lean LBs, and his body type just doesn't suit that.
-Hall had some UCLA interest, with Scott White reaching out recently, but I'm not sure he did enough today to warrant the Bruins to pursue much further. He's a pretty good linebacker, but again, not sure he fits the UCLA playmaker LB mold.
-Finally, there's Dublanko, who's a defensive tackle in my opinion. He's visiting UCLA tomorrow and if he can put on another 20 pounds, I actually think he'd be a solid D-line prospect.
Defensive backs
-This was a loaded group again today. The problem for UCLA was the two best ones out there, Jordan Parker, both said USC led for them. Parker is one of the best cover corners I've seen in the past few years. Thompson wasn't that impressive, but he was playing corner today and not his expected future position of safety. The duo are a package deal and both are trying to visit UCLA soon.
-Lamar Jackson won the MVP of this group, and he's a great-looking prospect that UCLA will likely get involved with. He fits the long and lean mold UCLA loves, and if Thomspon and Parker do go to USC, the Bruins will need other options. He's from the same city that produced Nate Iese and Marcus Rios, and I'd expect UCLA to be in a good spot for him if they decided to pursue him.
-A pair of 2017 prospects, Deommodore Lenoir, popped multiple times today. I'd expect these two too to be coveted D-backs in their class next year.
-Chase Lucas came to this event playing mostly receiver, and while he had some really good catches there, when he flipped to corner, he looked pretty special. He appeared to have UCLA on top, and actually seemed like he was pondering an early commitment to the Bruins. He's visiting Westwood in mid-March.
We'll have top performers, recruiting updates, interviews, clips and much more from today's camp all week. Stay tuned.
