First and 10: Top surprise commitments
Sometimes a new commitment will come across the wire that will flat out shock
the Rivals.com National Recruiting team as well as fans and observers of the
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recruiting scene. Every once in a while, it's the timing. A commitment who has
said he will wait for Signing Day pulls the trigger early or out of the blue.
Other times it's the school choice, or a surprise flip that turns heads. Every
recruiting cycle is full of them, and the 2016 cycle has already had its fair
share. In this week's First and 10 we break down the 10 biggest surprise
commitments thus far.
Committed to: Ohio State.
At the time of the National Championship in 2015 Walker, already rated as a
five-star and the top running back in the nation, was favoring a handful of
schools but nobody saw his commitment coming the way it did. With Ohio State
leading 21-10 at halftime, Walker announced his commitment to the Buckeyes.
and Alabama were some of his top choices.
-- Adam Friedman, Mid-Atlantic analyst
WR
Pembroke Pines (Fla.) Flanagan
Committed to: Minnesota.
Snelson's commitment to Minnesota was due to a number of factors. It being an
especially deep year at wide receiver in Florida forced a lot of the local
schools to fill up on players they targeted ahead of Snelson. Still, the job
Minnesota did when it came to courting the four-star wideout should not be sold
short, Jerry Kill and company beat out a number of powerful recruiting schools
based in the southeast a beyond. Holding on to Snelson until Signing Day will
take work, but the hard part is done.
- Rob Cassidy, Mid-South analyst
WR
Richmond (Va.) Benedictine School
Committed to: Duke.
As a sophomore, Bracey was a man among boys in the private school league in
Virginia. His film was so impressive that he pulled in offers from Florida,
elite teams in the country. Virginia Tech, the Florida schools and Notre Dame
all looked like they were in good position for Bracey. Seemingly out of the
blue, Bracey decided Duke was the place for him, a high academic institution
with a football team that is on the rise.
- Friedman
DB
Brentwood (Calif.) Liberty
Committed to: Oregon State.
Thompson has had curveballs in his recruitment for the last few months. After
saying he was definitely playing with fellow four-star Jordan Parker in college
he went and committed to California when Parker picked UCLA. Then he backed off that
pledge and planned a round of official visits. He fell in love with Oregon State
and decided to end his recruitment even though Utah, the up-and-comers in the
Pac-12, along with other top programs were trying to get involved.
- Adam Gorney, National analyst
ATH
Sealy, Texas
Committed to: Oregon State.
Wallace has had a bit of a curious recruiting process. He committed to TCU
early. After the two parted ways, he had a top three of Mississippi State,
visit to Oregon State and committed shortly after returning to the Lone Star
state.
- Howell
WR
Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett
Committed to: USC.
Imatorbhebhe was a prime target for Georgia, but the in-state school got beat
out by the USC, the school that also accepted a transfer from Imatorbhebhe's
older brother Daniel. The recent turmoil in Southern California may give schools
like Georgia and Auburn another shot.
- Woody Wommack, Mid-South analyst
RB
Little Rock (Ark.) Christian
Committed to: Boise State.
It's pretty rare for a four-star prospect from the state of Arkansas to get away
from the Hawgs, let alone the entire SEC. But outside of Vanderbilt, Crockett
never got the attention we think his talent warrants. The Boise State Broncos swooped in to
steal him away from the Commodores and a few other programs.
- Wommack
QB
Crawfordville (Fla.) Wakulla
Committed to: LSU.
It's not easy for any school to go into Florida and pull out a top quarterback.
LSU did just that when they landed Franks, who drew plenty of interest from the
in-state programs. Not only did the Tigers land an early commitment from Franks,
but they have done a tremendous job of retaining his pledge despite a number of
overtures from a handful of other powerhouse programs.
- Cassidy
DE
Wichita (Kansas) East
Committed to: Clemson.
When Kelly was at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in June and put on the hats
of teams he was most likely to sign with, there was not a Clemson hat in the
mix. However, within a month he had made a second visit to the school and before
July was out announced his commitment to the Tigers over a finalists list that
included Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Michigan. Kelly narrowed down a
crowded field of contenders pretty quickly, and having family nearby in Georgia
certainly did not hurt Clemson in this recruitment.
-- Josh Helmholdt, Midwest analyst
Adam Gorney
National Recruiting Analyst
Josh Helmholdt
Midwest Recruiting Analyst
Woody Wommack
Southeast Recruiting Analyst
Jason Howell
Mid-South Recruiting Analyst
Adam Friedman
Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst