re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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BEAVERTON, Ore. — Perhaps no event at The Opening, an annual invite-only showcase held at Nike's world headquarters, demands as much attention as its star-studded seven-on-seven tournament.

Action gets underway Saturday morning and continues through Sunday afternoon, with six teams competing for a title. This tournament challenges athletes to rise up against premier peers or risk embarrassment at the expense of opponents.

Each team is equipped with two Elite 11 quarterbacks, who will split reps in an effort to chase down MVP honors. They'll operate alongside running backs, receivers and a tight end, lined up across from linebackers and defensive backs.

Every roster is loaded with talent from across the country, but considering our assessment of regional camps and past high school performances, here's how we rank these six squads.

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5. Hyper Cool

Elite 11 Quarterbacks: Dylan McCaffrey (No. 2 pro-style prospect) and Myles Brennan (No. 18 pro-style prospect)

University Vibes: Michigan Wolverines (five commits) and LSU Tigers (three commits)

Who to Watch

This quarterback duo should provide a consistent downfield threat, with both passers capable of spinning pretty spirals on deep attempts. Brennan set all-time Mississippi high school records for single-season passing yards and touchdown tosses in 2014, while McCaffrey is the younger brother of Stanford running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey.

They'll target a slew of standout receivers, headlined by No. 1 overall pass-catcher prospect Donovan Peoples-Jones and LSU pledge Jhamon Ausbon, while Wolverines running back commits O'Maury Samuels and A.J. Dillon are each threats to claim the top score in the Nike Football Ratings Championship. Defensively, this group is led by New Jersey linebacker Drew Singleton, Virginia safety Devon Hunter and Southern California cornerback Thomas Graham.

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2. Alpha Pro

Elite 11 Quarterbacks: Tate Martell (No. 1 dual-threat prospect) and Jake Fromm (No. 3 pro-style prospect)

University Vibes: Georgia Bulldogs (five commits) and Florida State Seminoles (two commits)

Who to Watch

Martell, who committed to Ohio State last month, is unbeaten as a starter at Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School and has also cruised past opponents in a highly competitive national seven-on-seven landscape. He'll be busy recruiting Alpha Pro receivers Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey—one of his closest friends—to the Buckeyes while targeting them throughout the tournament.

Fromm, a Georgia pledge, joins forces with Athens-bound receiver Trey Blount and primary Bulldogs running back target Toneil Carter. Los Angeles receiver Jalen Hall is the top-rated prospect at his position in the 2018 class, while this defensive secondary is stocked with sensational talent such as Patrick Surtain Jr. (No. 1 cornerback in 2018), Jeffrey Okudah (No. 1 safety in 2017) and Richard LeCounte III (No. 2 safety in 2017).

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BEAVERTON, Ore. — Diane Tagovailoa has heard the chatter about her son and how he won’t stick with his commitment when it comes time to sign his paperwork.

Will it be Southern California, the school Alabama quarterback commit Tua Tagovailoa once considered his dream school, to steal him away? Or will it be Oregon? The Ducks recently offered Tagovailoa, and the comparisons between Tagovailoa and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota are endless. Both quarterbacks are from Hawaii, attended the same high school and their style of play is almost identical.

But neither school is going to flip Tagovailoa, according to Diane. He’s going to Alabama.

“I don’t believe that he’ll waver from his verbal commitment to Alabama because he’s prayed hard on it,” Diane told SEC Country at The Opening, the premier summer camp in the nation, held at Nike’s world headquarters. “Once he makes up his mind, he’s a man of his word. Once he makes up his mind, that’s what he’s going with.”

If there’s one thing you need to know about Tagovailoa it’s that his faith is very important to him. Honesty and loyalty aren’t just two words to Tagovailoa. He lives by their meaning.

So why continue taking visits elsewhere if he’s 100 percent solid with Alabama? Being from Honolulu, he doesn’t get the experience to just freely travel to places like many other recruits, who live in the continental United States, do who on a weekly basis.

As of now, Tagovailoa will take official visits to Alabama and Southern California. He plans on taking all five if time permits. Diane said fans should not worry about her son visiting other schools.

“We have never gone through this experience before,” Diane said. “He wants to make the most of it. It’s a blessing to be given these options and opportunities to go different places. That’s mainly the reason why he wants to take these official visits.”

He has visited Southern California plenty of times in the past, so there’s not much else he can see on the Trojans’ campus. But the experience of traveling together as a family is what’s most enticing about these trips.

“It’s basically just the experience of being together,” Diane said. “He’s obviously been there on unofficial visits, but he wants to see what it’s like on an official visit. USC is a school that he’s grown up to like. He’s watched a lot of their games when he was younger. He wants to get the experience.”

The Tagovailoas talk with Nick Saban, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi on a weekly basis. They are fully aware that Tagovailoa will continue taking trips to other schools, but are they concerned about that?

“They are not concerned with him taking visits. There’s no concern at all,” Diane said. “When we talk to them, they always ask how the family is doing. We talk about family and church a lot with them.”

The only schools actively recruiting Tagovailoa are Alabama and Southern California. Despite the obvious connection to Oregon, as stated above, he said the Ducks have not contacted him since he received an offer a few weeks ago.

As for where Tagovailoa stands with his commitment to Alabama, there’s nothing that comes to mind when thinking about what could possibly change his mind on not playing for the Crimson Tide.

“I’m not too sure. I don’t know. It’s kind of hard (to think about),” he said.

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11:03 a.m. Alabama QB commitment Tua Tagovailoa hooks up with Tide WR target Jerry Jeudy. The 4-star from Pompano Beach, Fla. is the No. 7 ranked wide receiver in the class of 2017.

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