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re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:17 am to TideSaint
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:17 am to TideSaint
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College football's stars of tomorrow will gather at The Opening in Beaverton, Oregon, for the annual summer showcase from June 28 until July 3.
We'll be watching closely as elite prospects compete in a variety of drills against the best competition in the country. Position-specific workouts can help shape a player's ranking, especially since every major recruiting outlet will be in attendance.
But which touted players will back up their billing? Who among the lesser-known invitees will boost their recruiting stock? And how many prospects will choose their college destination?
Those are just three of the storylines we're exploring leading up to The Opening, which takes place at the Nike World Headquarters.
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Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:17 am to TideSaint
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Next Chapter in the Daniel Faalele Story
Daniel Faalele has never officially played a down of football, yet he'll participate in The Opening.
How is that possible?
The 3-star's 6'8", 400-pound frame is a great starting point for an answer. The offensive lineman from Australia has already been invited to the Under Armour All-American Game too.
Faalele lists offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Tennessee, among others. Proven or not, that catalog of scholarships makes him a target for under-the-radar players looking to bolster their value.
Or maybe he'll dominate some of the best pass-rushers in the country and further fuel the hype train.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:18 am to TideSaint
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Players Announcing Commitments
Recruits often take advantage of a national stage to announce their college commitments, and The Opening provides that type of opportunity to an exclusive group.
This year, 4-star wide receiver Jordyn Adams is expected to reveal his choice between Clemson and North Carolina, according to Tony Crumpton of TigerNet.
Additionally, per Sam Spiegelman of SEC Country, Ja'Marr Chase—another 4-star wideout—plans to pick LSU, TCU or Tennessee.
More players are bound to follow suit. Which programs will see their futures get a little brighter?
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:18 am to TideSaint
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Underclassmen on the Big Stage
Six players scheduled to compete at The Opening won't be signing a letter of intent during the 2018 cycle.
Owen Pappoe, a 4-star linebacker from Georgia, is perhaps the most notable. He also earned an invite to the event last summer, becoming the first sophomore to receive a spot.
Four more 4-stars—defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, defensive end Devontae Dobbs, defensive end Zach Harrison and defensive end Nolan Smith—will join Pappoe. Unranked running back John Emery Jr. rounds out the group.
The experience against top prospects should benefit their respective developments, and it might not hurt in recruiting rankings, either.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:19 am to TideSaint
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Nike Football Rating Championship Competition
Being a great athlete doesn't make someone a great football player. Testing well athletically demands attention, though.
The Nike Football Rating Championship attempts to gauge explosiveness. It factors in height and weight, but the primary measurements are performances in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and agility shuttle, plus either the powerball toss or bench press.
Six of the top 10 players on the national leaderboard from The Opening regional camps earned an invite to the Finals. Baylor commit safety Christian Morgan, uncommitted cornerback Kenneth Dicks III and Texas pledge wide receiver Rondale Moore posted the three highest ratings.
Morgan led the country, with a 144.00 rating, which compares favorably to last summer's champion. Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins claimed the title with a 146.76 score.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:19 am to TideSaint
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Tracking the Elite 11 QBs
Headlined by the country's No. 1 overall prospect, Clemson commit Trevor Lawrence, the field of Elite 11 quarterbacks will challenge for MVP honors.
Of the 12 players (yes, 12) heading to Beaverton, three are 5-star signal-callers. In addition to Lawrence, the event will feature Justin Fields and Matt Corral, who recently decommitted from Penn State and USC, respectively.
The final uncommitted option is Tanner McKee, a highly regarded 4-star from California. Otherwise, fans of certain schools can watch their potential quarterbacks of the future.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson is pledged to UCLA, and Jack Tuttle is unofficially tied to Utah. Justin Rogers (TCU), Tyler Shough (North Carolina), Cammon Cooper (Washington State), Devin Leary (North Carolina State), Jarren Williams (Kentucky) and Quincy Patterson II (Virginia Tech) complete the finalists.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:19 am to TideSaint
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Standouts in 7-on-7
Unless you're a proud member of a niche group, your favorite part of football is watching skill-position guys make highlight-reel plays.
And does The Opening ever have that. The 126 non-linemen are divided into six teams for the intense showdowns.
Quarterbacks try to display clean footwork, quick decisions, arm strength and accuracy while commanding the offense. For running backs, they're trying to show off versatility as a pass-catcher.
Receivers—both wideouts and tight ends—have a not so-simple task: get open against the best defensive backs in the country. And those backs have a similarly difficult challenge: lock down some of the best receivers in the nation.
It's a two-way street in seven-on-seven. While one right move can leave a player on a highlight reel, a wrong one could expose him.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:20 am to TideSaint
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Top Linemen in 1-on-1 Drills
Pure strength is an essential asset for linemen on both sides of the football, but the technicians shine at The Opening. Each player's fundamentals will be judged and then tested in high-pressure situations over and over and over again.
Does the offensive lineman have a strong base and good stance? How's his get-off and balance? Does he strike authoritatively with proper hand placement and pad level?
For defenders, is the rusher only able to win with physicality or finesse, not a combination of both? Can he bend around the edge? Will he fight and win battles with his hands?
There's no place to hide in one-on-one reps. The top performers will earn a place in the Final Five lineman challenge.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:20 am to TideSaint
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Who's Talking to Whom
Football is only one significant part of The Opening.
It also doubles as an unintentional training ground for the nation's next round of salesmen. Recruits—no matter whether they are verbally pledged to a school or uncommitted—will be working to convince fellow top prospects to join them.
For programs such as Miami and Ohio State, the teams have large (though unofficial) delegations. However, undeclared players may be leaning a certain way and will be trying to bolster a class at, say, Alabama, Clemson or LSU before joining themselves.
The rewards of these discussions might not be felt until September or December or even national signing day in February.
But with 5-star talents like Micah Parsons, Fields and Corral still uncommitted, recruiting pitches by peers are worth the potential prize.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:22 am to TideSaint
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At a track and field practice during the spring, Jack Tuttle received some unwelcome news from two of his football coaches at Mission Hills High outside of San Diego.
“Hey, you’re in trouble,” the quarterback -- and Utah commit -- was told.
“I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’” Tuttle said.
The coaches didn’t keep up the charade for long. They were there to pass along a bit of potentially life-altering news: Alabama had offered Tuttle a scholarship.
“That was pretty cool,” he said.
It also didn’t really change anything for him. Tuttle appreciated the offer and understood its significance, but it didn’t make him rethink his commitment to Utah. It did, however, affect the way he was perceived nationally as a prospect and, perhaps, by other schools. By the time he arrived at the Elite 11 finals in early June, Tuttle had received several more offers from prominent programs from all over the country.
There was a definite buzz about him headed into the camp, and it took less than a day of him competing side-by-side with some of the nation’s best quarterback prospects to understand why. Not only did Tuttle hold his own among the 24-player field, he was consistently among the camp’s most impressive players and an easy choice to earn one of the 12 prestigious quarterback invitations for The Opening this week in Beaverton, Oregon.
He displayed a natural fluidity that’s rare for a player entering his final year of high school and possesses a strong, accurate arm. At 6-foot-4 and just over 200 pounds, he has the size coaches look for and is athletic enough to confidently make throws on the run. For Utah fans, his performance should have been encouraging, but it’s also important to consider the setting. There’s only so much that can be learned about any player from how they go through camp drills in shorts and T-shirts.
“I thought I played pretty well and the experience was fantastic,” Tuttle said. “I really loved the camp. The coaches, the players, they were all great and now I’m really looking forward to The Opening.”
In the weeks since his performance at the Elite 11, Tuttle’s stock has continued to rise. Following the decommitment of Matt Corral, the ESPN.com’s No. 2-ranked pocket-passer from USC, Trojans head coach Clay Helton extended an offer to Tuttle. Again, Tuttle was honored and, again, he gave no indications the USC offer would affect his pledge to Utah.
“The first time I stepped foot on campus, it was love at first sight,” Tuttle said. And his subsequent trips to Salt Lake City, including one two weeks ago to throw at a camp, have reaffirmed his initial feeling.
Tuttle remains ESPN.com’s No. 29-ranked pocket-style passer, but by the time the rankings are finalized, it stands to reason he could be the Utes’ most highly ranked incoming quarterback in over a decade – and possibly longer.
There will be more than 160 of the nation’s best prospects at The Opening, which takes place at Nike’s world headquarters and begins when players start arriving on Wednesday and runs through July 3.
Of the 12 quarterbacks who will be at The Opening, three -- Tanner McKee, Justin Fields and Corral -- remain uncommitted. Fields, the No. 4 overall player in the ESPN300, was committed to Penn State, but had a change of heart in June.
The full list of quarterbacks also includes: Cammon Cooper (Washington State), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Devin Leary (NC State), Quincy Patterson III (Virginia Tech), Justin Rogers (TCU), Tyler Shough (North Carolina), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA) and Jarren Williams (Kentucky).
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Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:31 am to TideSaint
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Now we know he visited this weekend.
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Alabama's targets headed to The Opening
A look at every Alabama target competing in The Opening Finals this week.
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Justin Fields
Alabama isn't as involved as others, but Fields did recently include them in his list of seven programs sticking out.
Now we know he visited this weekend.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:32 am to TideSaint
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Micah Parsons
Alabama would love to add the five-star former Penn State commit. He's recruited as a defensive end/linebacker but can play running back as well.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:33 am to TideSaint
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Patrick Surtain Jr.
LSU and Florida State are out front for Surtain Jr., but he recently said Alabama and some others are starting to close the gap. The nation's top corner is expected to visit Tuscaloosa at some point this summer.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:34 am to TideSaint
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Nolan Smith
Georgia got Smith onboard early, but many others, Alabama included, are working hard to flip the elite edge rusher.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:37 am to TideSaint
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Jamaree Salyer
Georgia and Clemson look to be in better shape for Salyer as it stands, but the nation's No. 1 guard has long shown high interest in Alabama dating back to February of 2016.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:39 am to TideSaint
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Jackson Carman
Alabama would love to add the nation's top offensive tackle, but as it stands, Ohio State looks to have the best shot at keeping Carman home. The Tide got Carman on campus last year for the Texas A&M game. Nick Saban stopped by his school in January.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:39 am to TideSaint
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Owen Pappoe
Florida State has the edge, but Alabama isn't far behind for the nation's top outside linebacker in the 2019 class.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:40 am to TideSaint
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KJ Henry
One of Alabama's top targets, Henry's decision could ultimately come down to Alabama or Clemson.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:41 am to TideSaint
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Matt Corral
Corral recently backed off his pledge to USC, opening the door for a trio of SEC programs - Alabama, Florida and Georgia - to land the No. 2 pocket passer. Corral is expected to visit Alabama on July 21 for its Champions Cookout.
Posted on 6/26/17 at 11:43 am to TideSaint
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Justyn Ross
Ross is Alabama's top priority at receiver. It's long been considered an Alabama-Auburn battle for the state's top player.
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