IMG Media Day: Smith still with UGA, more takeaways

BRADENTON, Fla. – IMG Academy is loaded with top college talent from all over the country and on Wednesday the team held its annual media day, giving reporters a chance to catch up with the elite prospects before they start their preseason training camp. Rivals.com Southeast analysts Rob Cassidy and Woody Wommack were on hand to talk to the players and give their five biggest takeaways from the event.

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Longtime Georgia commit Nolan Smith was a popular man among the gathered media on Wednesday and had some pretty glowing things to say about schools other than the Dawgs. The five-star defensive end praised Alabama and also said he remains interested in Clemson, with the caveat that he thinks the Tigers may have moved on because they don’t feel confident about their chances.

Any time a player of Smith’s caliber commits as early in his high career as he did, there will always be some curiosity toward other programs. But the way Smith was talking when the Dawgs were brought up, it still seems very unlikely he ends up anywhere except Athens. While Georgia fans might give nervous if Smith follows through with his plans to visit Tuscaloosa or other places, it would take quite a change of heart for him not to be playing for the Dawgs come next season.

A byproduct of the new recruiting calendar is a major push from programs around the country to get the top players on campus for one final recruiting weekend before fall camp starts. While they have different names and in some cases include barbeques or on-field activities, the events help clarify where some of the top players stand in their recruitments.

Several of the top IMG prospects said they intend to take a visit this weekend, most specifically to Florida State’s Saturday Night Live event or Miami’s Paradise Camp event. The only problem? IMG head coach Kevin Wright told reporters that his players will already be practicing this weekend and won’t be able to get away to take college visits.

So will top prospects like Jaleel McRae, Dontae Lucas and others be on campuses come Saturday night or will they be at IMG? We will have to wait and see.

The highest ranked prospect at the event, five-star running back Trey Sanders, was ordered to avoid interviews at media day as some form of punishment for breaking a team rule. Sanders, who will not visit a college campus this weekend, mulled around the media room but did no on-record interviews with reporters under orders from Wright.

Sanders’ teammates spoke about his recruitment during the event and mostly predicted the five-star tailback would land at either Florida, Texas or Alabama.

Ohio State defensive back commit Lejond Cavazos was also under the same gag order as Sanders, and was off limits to reporters on Wednesday. The exact infraction that brought on the duo’s media ban was undisclosed.

Four-star tackle Evan Neal named Alabama, Miami, Florida, Florida State and “other southern schools” as the main players for his commitment. Neal, who says he plans to enroll early at the school of his choice, plans to make a verbal commitment during the upcoming season.

Michael Redding's recruitment is still in its early stages, as the class of 2020 receiver will likely rack up more offers in the year ahead. Still, that didn’t stop him from naming a few schools of interest during Wednesday’s event.

“My recruitment is still open, but I’ll give a quick top five,” Redding said. “ It’s probably Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, Miami and Arkansas.”

Redding has already visited both Alabama and Georgia and says he intends to take trips to both Miami and Arkansas sometime this fall.