Lucky earns Nike Camp MVP honors

The talent at the recent SoCal Nike Camp wasn't as deep as it has been in recent years but that should not diminish in anyway how dominant North Hollywood (Calif.) running back Marlon Lucky was. Lucky took home Camp MVP honors and is the first player on the Nike tour to earn both MVP and have the highest SPARQ Rating* in the camp.

At 5-11.5, 202 pounds, Lucky has the size, speed and ability to play for any college in America. He has great film, the kind that jumps off the screen, so we were expecting big things out of him. For starters, Lucky clocked a 4.44 in the 40, 4.27 in the shuttle, jumped 36 inches in the vertical and did 24 reps on the bench.

Lucky was just as impressive in the position drills. He runs hard, can take it between the tackles or around the edge and has the perfect combination of speed and power. He also drew raves from the Nike camp coaches for his ability to catch the ball, which isn't surprising since he's used a ton in the slot at North Hollywood to take advantage of obvious mismatches.

After Lucky's showing on Saturday combined with his play on the field last season, we would put him right up there with Pahokee's (Fla.) Antone Smith as the best back we've seen on the tour so far.

"That's an honor to be named Camp MVP, I didn't know I got that," Lucky said. "I had a good time, it was tiring being out here, we worked hard but it was fun and I'm proud of the way I performed."

Things are also going well on the recruiting front for Lucky and he said four schools stand out right now.

"LSU, USC and Washington have offered and those three along with Florida are my early favorites," Lucky said. "I want to take my trips before I commit anywhere though so I'm not planning to make a decision any time soon."