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East Coast Spotlight: Prospects with rising stock this summer

Damond Harmon
Damond Harmon (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Organized football activities started to return in June, and prospects who have been waiting for months to showcase their talents have been back on the field at camps and combines across the country.

Rivals has covered many of those events, and looks now at several East Coast prospects whose stock is on the rise after summer performances.

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MORE FROM THIS SERIES: Midwest prospects with rising stock this summer | Southeast prospects

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2022: Top 100

MORE: Rivals Transfer Tracker

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Clark looked very impressive at the NLG New Jersey 7-on-7 Tournament earlier this month. The Rutgers commit has grown an inch or two and added weight while dropping his body fat percentage. Clark has also rounded out his skill set. He has the footwork and instincts to play almost all of the positions in the secondary, and his instincts are top notch. Clark has the speed to stick with nearly any receiver that comes his way, and he is physical enough to out-muscle receivers for jump balls.

Clark has the look of a day-one contributor at the college level, but Rutgers will need to keep him away from other schools. Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M are keeping tabs on Clark and hope to eventually get him on campus.

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Harmon put on a show at the GAME Academy Richmond Camp over the weekend. He had multiple interceptions and pass breakups during the camp and subsequent 7-on-7 tournament. Harmon is bigger and stronger than last year and his ability to anticipate the route and throw have definitely improved. It looks like he is also more explosive when driving on the ball, and he has a good sense of timing when trying to knock passes down.

Harmon is set to announce his commitment on Aug. 1, and he is deciding between Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Penn State and Georgia.

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Johnson is a huge inside linebacker, and he showed off impressive athleticism for his size at a recent workout. At about 6-foot-2, 230-pounds, Johnson moves really well for a player his size and that ranginess can make him a really special prospect. His film from last year is very good, but with this physical development Johnson could be a fairly highly rated prospect when the 2022 rankings come out next month.

Teams like Penn State and Rutgers have done a good job making an impression on Johnson early in the recruiting process. He hasn’t been talking to many schools yet, but that will change later this year and into next year.

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Tysheem Johnson
Tysheem Johnson (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Johnson, a four-star athlete, is getting recruited on both sides of the ball and he certainly has the skill set to be successful as a defensive back or running back. He is very explosive and it was obvious at a recent workout that he has been working hard during this pandemic to add more solid mass to his frame.

Johnson has improved his explosiveness even though he’s added that mass and he should present matchup problems to opposing receivers. As a running back, Johnson should be able to hold up better when running between the tackles. Last season, Johnson did a great job on both sides of the ball, but he has an even better foundation heading into his senior season.

Look for Johnson to announce a short list later this week with teams like Arizona State, Ole Miss, Maryland, Stanford, Texas A&M and Alabama in the mix.

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Zach Rice
Zach Rice (Rivals.com)

He’s already a four-star in the 2022 class, but Rice impressed so much at the GAME Academy Camp in Virginia Beach in late June that he could be in line for a move up the rankings. Rice is absolutely massive, but he still moves really well. He does a great job getting into his pass set quickly and shows a lot of patience before punching the oncoming defensive lineman.

Rice is plenty strong and can throw defensive ends around once he gets his hands on them. It was really impressive to see how he plays with good leverage but still has the quickness to slide inside or outside to stay in front of defensive lineman.

Teams from all over the country are coming after Rice, but so far the teams that have caught his eye are Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Virginia, Miami and Notre Dame.

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