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

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1. What city (metro area) is the current king of high school football prospects?

Rob Cassidy (Southeast): It's Miami-Fort Lauderdale. That's a homer pick. I get it. Sue me, but it's true. And it's not just a one-year thing. Sure there are exceptions (2017), but most years the area is well represented in the draft. The reputation the region boasts has been earned over time. One down year won't change that.

Mike Farrell (National): I'll still say Miami although a case can easily be made for Los Angeles and perhaps Atlanta. But to me South Florida is still the place to go for elite talent and more kids seem to pan out from there when it comes to college and NFL success than anywhere.

Adam Friedman (Mid-Atlantic): The sheer number of five-stars that hail from Florida makes it the best state for high school football prospects in the country, and the most talent-rich area of the state is South Florida. So I'll go with the Miami metro area.

Adam Gorney (National/West Coast): The Tampa metro area is the current king of high school football prospects because of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Every coach in the Southeast and many from around the country venture to that area to recruit kids because it is the mecca of high school football right now. So many talented kids play at IMG now and more are going there in the years to come. If you're a college coach and you have a working brain, stationing yourself at IMG makes a whole lot of sense.

Josh Helmholdt (Midwest): The Midwest has several strong, consistent talent-producing metro areas, but nothing that can compare with the likes of Miami, Dallas or Los Angeles. If we're just looking at talent in the 2018 and 2019 classes, then Cincinnati and St. Louis would share the throne in the Midwest region. Over the last several years Detroit has been in that top tier as well.

Nick Krueger (Texas): Houston. Look no further than the state's premier 7-on-7 team, Fast Houston. It's one of the best in the country and is filled primarily with stars from the Houston and Cypress areas. Lamar High alone had four players in the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas earlier this month. Manvel is another team loaded with big-time talent, and when you include the prospects in the Missouri City/Fort Bend and Katy areas in addition to Cypress and metro Houston, you have a huge swath of the state's talent in one spot. Just last year, Bellaire-Episcopal had two of the top seven players in the country in Marvin Wilson and Walker Little, and has one of the nation's most dynamic wide receivers returning this season in Jaylen Waddle.

Chad Simmons (Southeast): It is hard to go against Miami when you look at the number of Power Five prospects that come out of that area each cycle. The Miami Hurricanes have 18 commits and eight of those come from the Miami area with a couple others from just north of there. Each year it has top-end talent, depth and future stars on the next level. James Cook (Florida State commit) and Mark Pope (Miami commit) lead the way in 2018, but there is plenty of talent behind them. It may not have been as top-heavy in recent years, but when I think numbers, Power Five talent and top athletes, I think Miami first.

Woody Wommack (Southeast): I might be biased considering I live in the city but the Atlanta area feeds most of the SEC as well as several other conferences from around the country. The quality coaching in the area as well as a number of former professional players living in the city has created quite the incubator for elite high school talent. As the city continues to grow I don't anticipate the number of top prospects from the area to decrease anytime soon.

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