re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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INDIANAPOLIS – More than 100 of the top players in the nation participated June 10 in the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas at the Indianapolis Colts practice facility. The Rivals analyst team is breaking down the status of each player at the marquee event based on his performance against elite competition. Today, we look at the defensive linemen.

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Stephen Herron

At this point in his career, Herron could grow into a defensive end or end up playing linebacker at the next level. Right now, he’s a bit of a tweener, but clearly has the skills to excel at either position. With Ohio State, Michigan, Texas and several others in the mix it will be interesting to see how he develops going forward.

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STOCK DOWN

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Derrick McLendon

McLendon is a big defensive end with length and the ability to get to the quarterback, but when going up against the bigger, more physical, and older offensive tackles, he struggled. He has to work his hands more, improve his moves off the ball and be able to counter more.

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1. BREAKING DOWN FIELDS AND CORRAL

It’s late June and there are two recently decommitted five-star quarterback prospects available, which is not exactly a common occurrence in Rivals.com history. So the questions surrounding where Justin Fields and Matt Corral will end up are endless and the intrigue is great, especially since both are looking at some of the same schools. While no one knows where either will commit, here’s my best effort at a breakdown.

The players for Fields include home-state school Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Penn State (where he was committed before) and USC, to my knowledge. Assuming Penn State won’t happen, as re-commitments are highly unlikely in the recruiting world, many feel this will come down to Georgia, Florida and Florida State.

Fields took recent visits to Georgia, Auburn and Florida State and is coming off a two-day visit to Florida. He has obviously seen Penn State and also took a visit to USC a few weeks back according to sources.

Now, this is where things get interesting. Some sources tell me he’s a silent commitment to Georgia and has already told Kirby Smart he’s coming. Others feel that Florida State has taken the lead after Fields recently visited with Jimbo Fisher at camp, and still others think the Gators have the edge because he’s been there at least three times now and the opportunity to play right away is obvious. And still others think a return trip to Los Angeles, where he has some family, is in the works before a final decision is made.

Where do I think he’ll end up? No clue. This is one of those situations where only those very close to Fields know what is going on and everyone seems to be hearing what they want to hear. My best guess is still Florida, but I seem to be in the minority there.

After Corral's decommitment from USC, the Trojans are in the mix for other quarterbacks (see below), and Corral has been linked to Georgia (where he visited), Florida and Alabama - and keep an eye out for Nebraska. Georgia could be a real player, here, but obviously the in-state five-star Fields is a higher priority according to sources, while Florida is also all-in on Fields and Alabama is hoping Corral will come and throw for them, as is customary, before taking any commitment.

Nebraska is the interesting one here, as Corral would be a huge get for the Calibraska movement. Nebraska has the kind of atmosphere on a visit, whether it’s during the season or even during the summer, where it’s not out of the question to see Corral commit. Other schools could be involved, but these are the ones I’ve heard the most about.

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There were plenty of still uncommitted prospects from the West at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas. Here is a look at some of their recruitments and a prediction on where each could end up.

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Matt Corral

Overview: Corral had been a longtime USC commit, but the two sides parted ways recently and the five-star quarterback is back on the market. There is a lot of thinking that Georgia is the early frontrunner, especially since he loved his visit to Athens in the spring and the whispers are that he hit it off with current quarterback Jacob Eason. Sitting behind Eason and possibly Jake Fromm might be a roadblock. Alabama is also of interest, although Corral has not made it to Tuscaloosa yet, though the coaches have pushed for a visit. There’s no question many others could get involved now that Corral is no longer committed to the Trojans.

Prediction: Georgia

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Penei Sewell

Overview: The massive offensive tackle surprised a lot of people at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge when he stated that Alabama and Nevada were really the two schools he was most serious about, and that could still be the case with some caveats. The four-star had an excellent visit to Tuscaloosa, and playing for the Crimson Tide would be a big deal. He has two brothers playing at Nevada, and Sewell was serious about possibly joining them. USC, Utah, Oklahoma and others are also in the mix, and a surprise school could come in the picture as well.

Prediction: Alabama

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