Takeaways from Tom Lemming Photo Shoot

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WESTWOOD, Calif. - The annual Tom Lemming Photo Shoot was held Sunday at UCLA and many of the region’s top prospects were in attendance. Here are some thoughts coming out of the event:

The distinct impression left after talking to four-star cornerback Clark Phillips is that his Ohio State visit could not have gone any better and now the La Habra, Calif., standout is even more serious about playing for the Buckeyes.

Phillips has already had a good relationship with coach Ryan Day and especially defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley but things picked up even more after the four-star got to spend time with them in Columbus. The La Habra recruit also had a tremendous time on his Notre Dame visit and there’s no question the Irish should remain high on his list as well.

Coming up for Phillips: Trips to Cal (where he has a strong bond with assistant coach Gerald Alexander) and Utah and he’s also considering a trip to South Carolina.

Jonah Monheim spent time at Oklahoma over the last few days, got a chance to talk with current and former players and get more in-depth with the Sooners’ coaching staff. The four-star offensive lineman from Moorpark, Calif., loved it.

Oklahoma is going to remain a contender for Monheim but he seems nowhere near narrowing down his list and has put no timetable on a decision. But he did call position coach Bill Bedenbaugh “one of the best” and he knows full well that the Sooners have produced NFL-level offensive linemen especially heading into this draft.

Monheim also recently visited Alabama, Auburn and Clemson. Trips to Michigan and Notre Dame could come soon.

Five-star receiver Johnny Wilson named a top five of Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, UCLA and Washington in the last couple months and he’s sticking to that plan even as Texas A&M offered and others are trying to get involved.

The Calabasas, Calif., standout said his life has gotten so much easier now that he can focus on a select group and unless there are dramatic coaching changes at those programs he’s sticking to the plan and going to only focus on those five. Wilson is still working on a trip to Texas for this weekend and he loves how the Longhorns have utilized big receivers. He also plans to be at Oregon’s spring game and that’s big because former Calabasas teammate Mycah Pittman is a freshman receiver there.

In December, four-star receiver Jermaine Burton named a top five of Miami, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia and that remains the same although he’s not counting out UCLA, either.

Still, the former Miami commit who is originally from the Atlanta area looks to be headed back to the Southeast to play his college ball and some visits are coming up. The Calabasas, Calif., standout plans to be at Alabama in a couple weeks and he’s hoping to see Georgia and LSU on that trip as well.

Burton is planning to commit on April 20 right after those big SEC trips - and it just happens to be on former Georgia receiver Terrence Edwards’ birthday since the two have a close connection.

With close to 30 offers, three-star offensive tackle Jeffrey Persi has his pick of schools and this past weekend he visited Michigan. It went really well.

The San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic standout said he absolutely hit it off with position coach Ed Warinner, assistant Josh Hendershot and coach Jim Harbaugh. He watched the Wolverines practice and loved his time in Ann Arbor. But Persi is not ready just yet to start narrowing down his list.

The 6-foot-7, 265-pound prospect plans to see Oklahoma, Washington, UCLA and possibly USC next and then he will start to seriously look at his official visit schedule. Good news for Michigan: Persi said he’s all but certain that the Wolverines will get one of those trips.

Alabama recently offered Jaden Casey and now he’s hearing from Oklahoma, Auburn and Stanford but the three-star quarterback from Calabasas, Calif., is holding firm with his Fresno State commitment.

That might sound strange to some but Casey loves the job Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford has done with elite quarterbacks during his coaching career and for Casey that trumps playing at the biggest-named schools possible. He’s not exactly counting everyone out, though, since Casey will throw for a lot of coaches during spring practice and is not 100 percent sure if he will take visits through his senior season.

One of the best-looking prospects at the photo shoot was 2021 defensive tackle Victory Vaka, who already has offers from Arizona State, BYU, LSU, Vanderbilt and Washington State. The Tigers have definitely captured his attention so far and LSU should be considered the early leader especially after he visited Baton Rouge.

The Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake standout said LSU is one of his three dream schools along with Clemson and Texas. The Longhorns along with Georgia and Notre Dame have been showing the most new interest. The massive 6-foot-3, 305-pound prospect is expected to visit Arizona State over spring break.