Five-Star Challenge: Ten up, five down
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Cooper added some good weight since he was so dominant at Rivals Camp Series: Atlanta and his motor is still non-stop. His outside pass-rushing ability was off the charts and he showed the strength to deal with linemen when they get their hands on him. He's still not the biggest end, but he's proving to be one of the best.
UP
OL
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha
Davis was physical, used his hands well and pushed around some big bodies during one-on-ones. He also showed excellent footwork and a strong motor during drills and testing, and came away as one of the surprises of the event.
UP
OL
Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson
Johnson is the highest-ranked player on this list with the least amount of room to move up, but he is so physically imposing and anchors so well that he should get a bump if he continues to excel this summer. He'll likely make the move over to center and push up the charts from No. 46 and No. 16 in state. I don't see five stars, especially as a pure guard/center prospect, but time will tell.
UP
DB
Long Beach (Calif.) Poly
Jones is a bundle of energy with a ton of quickness, great hips, closing speed and excellent instincts. He turns on a dime moving backward and arguably has the best feet in this class for a defender. He plays bigger than he is, and that's a huge key.
UP
DB
Sachse, Texas
Mayden was on the worst 7-on-7 team and while many quit or lost that extra step, he and Lyndell Wilson kept pushing their team forward and making plays on defense. He was one of the most technically sound defensive backs at the event and it showed in one-on-ones and team play.
UP
OL
Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech
Checking in at 6-foot-2 and 367 pounds, Onwenu showed off amazing feet for a massive interior lineman and he reset as well as anyone. He washed opponents across the middle when they tried to go inside him and he extended his arms well and got his feet right when they tried to go outside. His balance was very good and he was solid inside and even outside at tackle.
UP
WR
La Puenta (Calif.) Bishop Amat
Sidney was arguably the star of the show, this year's Christian Kirk so to speak, as he couldn't be covered and simply dominated at every level. He measured at 5-foot-10 and 163 pounds, so he's not as physically put together as Kirk was and certainly not as strong. But he's a dynamic playmaker who needs to move up from No. 97 to closer to that elite five-star status if his summer continues with dominance.
UP
WR
Coconut Creek, Fla.
Victor is skinny. There is no doubt about that, as he measured 6-foot-4 and 173 pounds. He did have a couple rare drops in the morning session, but as the camp progressed and especially in 7-on-7 play, he was a reliable target for his team and scored numerous touchdowns using his size. He's just outside the Rivals100 right now, but with the Florida wide receiver shifting that seems to occur from event to event, a move up is likely if he continues to do well.
UP
S
Nashville (Tenn.) Father Ryan
We like Williams enough to be a Rivals100 prospect already, but the big, smooth safety is better than we even expected. He had numerous pass breakups, a couple of picks and was rarely out of position. He's a high-energy kid who is always looking to prove himself. That work ethic, along with his length and speed, bode well in the next rankings.
DOWN
DT
Sugar Hill (Ga.) Lanier
Brown came into this event looking for, and needing, vengeance for a poor performance last year when he was easily handled by older linemen and some in his age group. It didn't happen. He was once again too upright coming out of his stance, seemingly indecisive as to what he was going to do or how he would counter contact, and only showed a couple of glimpses of the speed at his position he's known for. Many of us have seen Brown numerous times and were a bit disappointed while others eyeballing him for the first time were puzzled at his No. 10 national ranking, especially with Dexter Lawrence and Rashan Gary on hand.
DOWN
QB
Frostproof (Fla.) Lake Wales
Gaines is a dual-threat kid with good size and the ability to make plays with his feet, and these events aren't tailor-made for that style of QB. That being said, Gaines struggled mightily in some very important aspects, especially decision-making, reading the field and accuracy. He threw behind guys, too low and threw some especially poor balls to the outside. Maybe it was just a bad day, but he was clearly the quarterback who struggled the most, including the underclassmen with less experience.
DOWN
LB
Havelock, N.C.
Injuries always play a key factor when it comes to playing time and evaluating talent. With Joyner injured in drills at RCS: Charlotte and suffering a separate injury at the beginning of the day in Baltimore, he now has a few things to prove in that respect. Is he going to be injury-prone or were these just flukes? Even without the injury, he didn't match up well with the other five-star linebackers in drills as he wasn't as sudden, big or flexible as guys like Daelin Hayes, Ben Davis, Lyndell Wilson or Caleb Kelly.
DOWN
WR
Miami (Fla.) Central
Man, this is tough. The player myself and the analysts absolutely fell in love with at RCS: Miami for the regional against a loaded receiver group and a solid group of defensive backs had a serious case of the drops all day long. In drills he dropped passes, in one-on-ones he dropped passes and in the 7-on-7, even though he had the most inexperienced group of quarterbacks on one team, he dropped some passes that would have helped out his signal callers. He didn't make any plays where you said, "that's the five-star" and that was puzzling and disappointing. We will see how he rebounds this summer as there are many key events left, but this one was rough.
DOWN
LB
Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Charter
It was a loaded linebacker group with a lot of players from the 2016 and 2017 classes that moved well laterally, backpedalled smoothly, closed on the ball quickly and showed quick-twitch ability either in flashes or consistently. Toailoa is a downhill guy on film and granted this isn't the best event for him to showcase his skill set. But No. 76 nationally and No. 2 at inside linebacker seems a bit high based on his quickness, build and instincts right now.
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Complete Coverage
Mike Farrell
National Recruiting Director
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