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Fab 15: Playmakers state their case in Los Angeles

Tyjon Lindsey
Tyjon Lindsey (Rivals.com)

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour made its stop in Southern California on Saturday and many top prospects worked out. Some stars lived up to the hype, while some sleepers also made a case for a move up in the Rivals.com rankings. Here’s a rundown of the 15 offensive players that caught our attention.

More: Recruiting notes | Live from Los Angeles | Video interviews | Rivals Recap

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Recruiting wrap: Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC are some schools standing out to the four-star receiver, who recently transferred from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman to Corona (Calif.) Centennial.

Performance: Lindsey is virtually unstoppable in one-on-one situations because he’s so sudden, has such tremendous burst off the line of scrimmage and he’s a tremendous route runner to create space. Plus, the four-star receiver has excellent hands, catches everything thrown his way, can take a short pass and make people miss or burn by cornerbacks to catch the deep ball. Nobody had any answers to slow down Lindsey.

Recruiting wrap: Harris is committed to Alabama but visited USC and UCLA this past weekend and could take other trips.

Performance: For someone his size (6-foot-2, 222 pounds), Harris is light on his feet, fast through drills and he’s getting much better as a pass catcher out of the backfield. The word was Harris had an intense workout in the hotel even before the camp started, and that’s something else to love about his game – the five-star is a tremendous competitor who wants to be the best. No running back in the country looks better than him.

Recruiting wrap: Carr is a soft commit to USC.

Performance: Carr has been great this offseason and proved even more when he and Harris were competing against each other in bag drills. The four-star was a step faster than Harris sometimes, which was impressive, and, Carr was spectacular in one-on-ones as well. The Fontana (Calif.) Summit recruit makes tough catches, runs great routes and linebackers just can’t keep up with him.

Recruiting wrap: Neilon could start developing a list of favorites after upcoming trips to USC, UCLA, Stanford, Washington and Michigan. USC and Stanford have not offered yet.

Performance: Neilon is not a massive offensive guard, but he’s surprisingly powerful, he has outstanding technique and he proved to be arguably the toughest kid during one-on-one reps. The four-star doesn’t have a menacing frame, but he power-slammed a defensive tackle twice, stunned others with a great punch and just simply refused to be pushed back into the pile. It was an outstanding performance.

Recruiting wrap: Lewis remains wide open in his recruitment.

Performance: Lewis makes all the catches, and even with cornerbacks hanging all over him and trying to slow him down on the outside, the five-star receiver still make some really nice grabs. He’s not the world’s fastest receiver, but Lewis is a great route runner, and gets separation. And even when he doesn’t, the Los Angeles Hawkins recruit usually comes down with the ball.

Recruiting wrap: Corral is committed to USC.

Performance: According to one camp coach, Corral has been the most impressive quarterback through four camp stops so far this offseason. There’s no question he had a good day on Saturday and continues to prove he’s one of the best 2018 quarterbacks. The early USC commit has a great arm and the ball comes flying out, but it’s almost always under complete control and he consistently hits receivers in stride. For someone still so young, Corral is very polished.

Recruiting wrap: USC is the newest offer for the Las Vegas Desert Pines three-star receiver, who also has Pac-12 offers from Oregon State and Washington State.

Performance: Grimes has quickly emerged as one of the better receivers in the West because he’s 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds and uses his speed, athleticism and height all to his advantage. The three-star is lean but wiry strong, can outreach basically any cornerback on balls thrown high and he has excellent hands. Speed is no issue at all and with his catch radius a quarterback can be off target and Grimes will haul it in.

Recruiting wrap: Oregon State and Hawaii have offered the three-star from Buena Park, Calif., so far.

Performance: Bates had this date circled on his calendar ever since getting the invite and he delivered in a big way. The three-star is super fast and electric and he made some spectacular catches throughout the camp. What stood out most about Bates is his ability to get down the field and by cornerbacks, and he proved to be a big-play threat every time he was on the field.

Recruiting wrap: Thompson has Pac-12 offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Washington so far.

Performance: Thompson is a strong, physical receiver who can brush off smaller cornerbacks. The four-star from Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde never waits for the ball to get into his body – he goes out and snatches it in the air. That’s important because Thompson is aggressive in all he does, whether it’s running routes, fighting off a corner using his hands or going up to get the ball. He made catch after catch.

Recruiting wrap: Filiaga remains wide open in his recruitment. He’s expected to transfer to a school in Texas this offseason.

Performance: Filiaga has an excellent frame to play offensive tackle and the Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta four-star is physical, has tree-trunk legs and a powerful base. Sometimes, he lets defensive ends get into his body too much, but because Filiaga is so strong that usually doesn’t matter and he wins with power and technique.

Recruiting wrap: Calvin continues to load up on offers with Cal, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Washington being some of the biggest so far.

Performance: Calvin is a burner down the field who creates nightmares in open space. Yes, the three-star receiver is undersized and yes, he’s lean, but that also means he’s tough to tackle and a headache to corral with the ball in his hands. Calvin catches everything, he’s a great route runner and he’s a threat all over the field because of his speed and ability to escape.

Recruiting wrap: Burmeister de-committed from Arizona this week and is considering South Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Washington and others.

Performance: Burmeister quickly gets into his drop, he has a tight, compact release, the ball spins well and the four-star is really accurate, putting it right on receivers time and time again. Consistency is there, accuracy is there, the ability to create with his feet is there, so Burmeister continues to prove he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the West.

Recruiting wrap: UCLA, Washington, Michigan and many others are involved with the four-star tight end from Roseville, Calif.

Performance: Jaggers is a big, physical tight end who made tough catches as linebackers tried to out-muscle him and get to the football. Yes, there are some questions about his straight-line speed, but Jaggers gets into his routes and he’s such a massive target with great hands that even when defenders drape themselves on him, he can still haul in the ball.

Recruiting wrap: UCLA is a frontrunner for Cook, but Cal and many other Pac-12 schools have offered so far.

Performance: Cook is an all-around solid wide receiver. He has good size, athleticism, he always runs hard through his routes and the three-star can make difficult catches. One of the top receivers in Northern California, Cook made numerous catches and really was consistent and solid all day.

Recruiting wrap: Washington is the first offer for the 2018 prospect from Corona (Calif.) Eleanor Roosevelt.

Performance: These camps can be tricky sometimes because it’s impossible to see every rep and there is always nervousness about missing something or someone spectacular. But Williams could not go unnoticed because he made catch after catch, out-jumped a few cornerbacks for grabs, made some nice sideline catches and really looked the part in one-on-ones.

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