Gorney's Takeaways: QBs impress at Rivals Camp Series Los Angeles

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - The Rivals Camp Series stopped in Southern California on Sunday to kick off the series and there were a ton of impressions made from the event. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney offers his takeaways from the camp:

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On Saturday night, Sharma was nervous that his mother forgot to sign him up for camp but he got in at the last minute and made a huge impression for the first time seeing him in person. The three-star defensive tackle from Folsom, Calif., proved his ranking needs to be updated because he’s huge at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, uses his body size and power to his advantage and is surprisingly quick. He’s all business, too, in recruiting as Alabama has particularly caught his attention along with other SEC programs.

Four-star offensive tackle Brayden Jacobs had a big fan watching him Sunday - his dad, Brandon, the Super Bowl champion running back from the New York Giants is the Rivals Camp RB coach but since the linemen work out first in the morning, Brandon Jacobs had time to watch his son closely. The Clemson commit is massive at 6-foot-7 and 318 pounds and is not a finished product yet but still has a lot of tools to be special in the coming years. Jacobs has to handle speed to the outside and second moves better and one wonders if moving inside is something possible but his size - and lineage - is elite so the Tigers have a ton to work with there.

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Champ Taulealea is not one to show up to many events. This was actually the first time we’ve seen him in person even though the San Jose (Calif.) Valley Christian offensive guard is rated as a four-star prospect. Where he ends up in the rankings long term will be debated through this process but there is lots to like. Taulealea can maul people but what stands out even more is the four-star’s patience, letting the defensive lineman come to him and not guessing. The big interior lineman handles counter moves so well and did a great job blocking all day.

Shaun Scott is one of the top-ranked linebackers in the 2026 class but he might not be a linebacker for long because the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout keeps growing. Now up to 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Scott worked with the defensive ends on Sunday and definitely looked the part even if he’s still learning the position. As a sophomore playing at arguably the nation’s top program, Scott was awesome playing at linebacker and roaming all over. We might see more of him with his hand in the dirt.

The 2026 rankings are really just getting started and there are no five-star quarterbacks yet but if we’re going to have one, Brady Smigiel will be in that conversation. So might fellow RIvals camper Ryder Lyons, who looked awesome in this setting but looks even better in games when he can throw from the pocket, run the ball and use his creativity to make plays.

Back to Smigiel, though. A coach’s son, the Newbury Park, Calif., quarterback who put up monster numbers in his sophomore season has proven time and again that he can deliver the ball on the money, he has a knack for putting it only where his receivers can catch it and he has the makeup of someone who’s getting more and more ready for the next step into college ball. Notre Dame and Oregon are high on his list but a swing through the state of Florida is coming up and while some 2026s are coming off the board, Smigiel is not rushing a decision.

TJ Lateef is a really talented quarterback and the four-star proved it once again on Sunday as he was in the running for position MVP (Lyons won it) by throwing precision passes on a line, zipping the ball all over the field and making it all look so easy. During the season, it has not been for Lateef because he’s running for his life sometimes at needs to be creative to get the ball out. He’s also not surrounded by elite receivers in a high school division - the Trinity League - which is filled with elite defensive backs. Even if his season stats aren’t off the charts, Lateef has proven over and over he’s a legit Power Five quarterback.

Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart committed to USC in October and he remains pledged to the Trojans but there are many other programs getting involved and it will be something to watch moving forward. The talk from the USC side has been slower than expected and at the same time Notre Dame is putting on the full-court pressure, position coach Donte Williams is at Georgia and then Oregon and others remain in the mix, too.

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There is no getting around that Jadyn Robinson is undersized. He’s never going to be this monster outside receiver. But there’s also no denying that the four-star receiver can basically do as he pleases in space and not many cornerbacks in the West - and maybe nationally - can slow him down much. The competitive, confident receiver was actually asking me what route I wanted to see as he teamed up with four-star QB Husan Longstreet to win rep after rep. It was pretty impressive to watch.

This isn’t the Chip Kelly UCLA regime any longer. Four-star quarterback Madden Iamaleava and a bunch of other prospects visited Westwood on Saturday and the Downey (Calif.) Warren standout came away very impressed by the excitement around the program (and recruiting, something Kelly seemed to despise when he was there) and how much NFL experience is on the coaching staff. The Bruins are in a prime position to land Iamaleava, who is also serious about Nebraska, and his impressions of the new coaching staff in Westwood is a big reason why the Bruins are so high.

Vander Ploog does not play at an elite high school known for football talent. And it might be keeping his recruitment on the slower side. But every coach who stops by to see the Fullerton (Calif.) Troy standout will be thoroughly impressed for many reasons. Ploog is all of 6-foot-6, he can do a standing backflip, he can throw a 90-mph fastball and he’s also a standout basketball player. The high three-star definitely outplayed his ranking, he’s a fluid route runner and multi-talented. That works wonders in today’s college football landscape.