Mid-Atlantic spotlight: Five summer surprises

The summer is commitment season, but there have plenty of puzzling decisions, moves that caught people off guard and new players gaining notoriety over the last number of weeks. Check out some of the biggest surprises from the Mid-Atlantic this summer.

MORE: Midwest summer surprises | Southeast summer surprises

There was a time late last year when Rivals100 linebacker Teradja Mitchell was considered by many to already be a part of Florida State's 2018 recruiting class. After all, the Seminoles have done a tremendous job recruiting the Virginia Beach area over the years, and there are even a few of Mitchell's former teammates in Tallahassee. Jimbo Fisher and assistant Odell Haggins did a great job landing former five-stars Levonta Taylor and Khalan Laborn, who played with Mitchell within the last two seasons, and players like former five-star Josh Sweat and Rivals100 prospect Derrick Nnadi, who also come from the same area as Mitchell. Florida State even has some famous former players that are Virginia Beach natives, but that wasn't enough to secure Mitchell's commitment. Ohio State, Urban Meyer and Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith really flexed their muscles here, and Mitchell will be a key piece to the future of their defense.

The majority of N.C. State's commitments over the years come from North Carolina, one of their bordering states, Georgia, and, of course, Florida. That's why it's such a surprise to see the Wolfpack having success in New Jersey. N.C. State has signed only seven prospects out of the Garden State in Rivals history and two of them, Louis Acceus and Josh Fedd-Jackson, were in the 2017 class. With verbal commitments from Jasaiah Provillon and Daevon Robinson in June and a commitment from Devin Leary in April, N.C. State now holds three commitments from New Jersey prospects in this class. That's more than in any single previous class in the Rivals.com era.

Speaking of N.C. State, the Wolfpack, Boston College and Virginia Tech are three of the six Power 5 teams that have picked at least 10 commitments since the beginning of June. The summer is always a big time for commitments, but picking up almost half the class in a month-and-a-half span is pretty surprising. Provillon and Robinson were important additions for the Wolfpack, but don't overlook running back Trent Pennix and defensive back Tyler Williams. Linebacker Nick DeNucci, offensive lineman Thomas Shelmire and defensive back Elijah Jones highlighted Boston College's summer of commitments. Virginia Tech landed some huge prospects this summer led by Rivals250 athlete Armani Chatman, four-star linebacker Alan Tisdale and defensive back DJ Crossen. Texas Tech, Florida and Vanderbilt were the only three other Power 5 teams to earn at least 10 verbal commitments since the beginning of June.

Each year there are a handful of major recruits from New England that have a big impact on the national recruiting landscape. Cine looks like he will be the leader of the 2019 prospects from the area. His recruitment has exploded over the last few weeks, adding offers from schools like Oklahoma and Tennessee to his growing list that already included Florida, Michigan, Louisville and others. Penn State, Ohio State and Florida State just hosted Cine within the last couple weeks, and more offers are surely coming for the hard-hitting safety.

North Carolina is hoping to get off to a better start in the 2019 class than it has in the 2018 class. Offensive lineman Avery Jones was the first player to commit to North Carolina in the 2018 class, and his commitment didn't come until March of this year. Defensive lineman Hakeem Beamon and defensive back Jayden Curry, both 2019 prospects from Virginia, pledged to the Tar Heels in June, more than a year and a half ahead of Signing Day 2019. Their commitments caught a lot of people off guard, but North Carolina is making a serious effort to make bigger strides with their 2019 class. Curry, now at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, and Beamon were just the starting point.