Five teams with buzz after Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Chicago

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. – The city of Chicago is a melting pot of people from across the country, and generally has a good representation of alumni from schools coast-to-coast. The college programs that had the most buzz at Sunday’s Rivals 3 Stripe Camp, however, were all Midwest-based.

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The Iowa Hawkeyes have always recruited the Chicagoland area well, so it is no surprise to see that program among those with the most buzz from a camp in the area. Isaiah Azubuike, Jack Buford, Jalen Hunt, as well as underclassmen like in-state defensive tackle Griffin Liddle, are strongly considering Iowa and several of them had a good day.

However, the biggest reason the Hawkeyes make the list is the performance of tight end commit Logan Lee, who bested all at his position and all of the wide receivers, to earn the receiver MVP award. He is only the third tight end to win the award over the course of 12 Rivals 3 Stripe Camps. Offensive tackle commit Ezra Miller also had a solid day, especially after he got a chance to get adjusted to the level of competition.

These lists are usually dominated by Power Five schools, but the Mid-American Conference’s Miami Redhawks were undoubtedly one of the programs with the most buzz on Sunday.

Four Miami commits were in attendance, and all were among the top performers at their position, including Alante Brown who won MVP honors at the quarterback position one week after another Miami quarterback commit, St. Louis’ Brett Gabbert, impressed with his play at the Nashville stop of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp. The Defensive Back MVP award also nearly went to a future Redhawk, with three-star Devin Blakely and cornerback Mehki Miller among the top players at their position. Meanwhile, Grand Rapids (Mich.) South Christain’s Spencer Holstege showed he will be a versatile addition to Miami’s offensive line, with the strength to battle on the inside and the foot speed and technique to handle edge play.

The Illini did not actually have any committed players participating in Sunday’s camp, but predictably have offers out to a number of the event’s participants. In-state prospects all raved about the amount of NFL experience among the assistants on the staff in addition to head coach Lovie Smith. Class of 2020 offensive lineman Dylan Barrett, who just picked up an offer from Northwestern and holds six other offers – including the Illini – was particularly enthusiastic about the direction the program is heading.

“The recruiting is special there,” he said. “I think that they’re doing a great job of bringing talent back to the O-Line and the team has a bright future in front of it, for sure.”

Another top offensive lineman at the camp, Jack Buford, said Illinois was his first offer and he is seriously considering the Illini as well as keeping in contact with them on a daily basis. In-state prospect David Monnot said that he was on campus for a junior day event earlier in the spring and said he’s impressed with Smith and improvements the program is making to its facilities.

It was a good day to be a Golden Gopher fan as one of the school's commits, three-star offensive tackle J.J. Guedet turned in quite the performance. Guedet measured in at 6-foot-7 and a lean 282 pounds and showed good footwork while using his 82-inch wingspan to keep opponents at arm's length.

Guedet has been committed to Minnesota since March and with his length and frame and potential to add even more strength, he could turn into quite the college player. But it wasn't just Guedet who impressed. Prime 2020 Minnesota target Denver Warren also put on a show and walked away with defensive line MVP honors. Prior to the camp's start, he mentioned Minnesota as one of the main schools recruiting him and said he's been very impressed with the school's coaching staff as well as the facilities upgrades.

The Huskers were on the mind of several prospects in attendance at the event, especially commits Garrett Snodgrass and Garrett Nelson. Both future Huskers had their impressive moments and said in interviews that they are impressed with new coach Scott Frost's efforts both on the recruiting trail and on the field.

The pair also said they're doing their best to help Frost and company bring more talent to Lincoln in the 2019 class. Also worth noting to Nebraska fans was the impressive performance of in-state linebacker prospect Caden McCormack. The versatile prospect shined all day long while taking away linebacker MVP honors. As of now, McCormack has just one FCS offer to his name, but the Huskers have already been in contact and should be giving one of the state's best a longer look this summer.