Midwest Spotlight: Five prospects on flip watch
The summer has seen a flurry of commitments in the Midwest as staffs ramp up efforts to secure pledges and build classes. We highlight a handful of prospects that could be on flip watch for the remainder of the cycle until the ink is dry.
FLIP WATCH: Five Mid-South prospects | Southeast prospects
MORE MIDWEST: Big Ten's June recruiting winners and losers
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Davis-Swain committed to Colorado during his official visit weekend in June. The one-time Notre Dame commit was a great addition to the Colorado class that needs to keep adding talent in the trenches.
Like everyone else, recruits will keep an eye out for how things go in year one for coach Deion Sanders in Boulder. If things go poorly, other teams will push hard for the defensive lineman. He can play many spots along the line.
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Benjamin has had an interesting recruitment. He was the first player to commit to Stanford’s 2024 class. Once former coach David Shaw left, he opened up his recruitment and this summer he committed to Northwestern.
The high three-star defensive back has a lot of potential. He could be a prospect that powerhouse programs circle back to. Michigan and Penn State were in the running before he committed to Pat Fitzgerald’s program.
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Gray pulled a surprise when he flipped from Missouri to Oregon following a visit to Eugene. Gray is a very unique player within the Rivals 250. He could excel at either offensive or defensive line in college. That will keep him as a coveted player on many teams’ big boards.
Could a team closer to home emerge for the Missouri standout? Or could the Tigers get involved again if they have a good season that cools Eli Drinkwitz’ hot seat. We’ll see.
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Minnesota has a strong history of finding running backs that fit its system under coach PJ Fleck. The Gophers did it again quietly in February with Illinois running back Jaydon Wright. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder has a reported 4.54 40-yard dash time.
That mix of size and speed will not go unnoticed the entire cycle. I’m expecting other programs to come calling for the Bishop McNamara standout. The question is if Wright will listen to the coaches fighting for his signature or stick with the Gophers.
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Lightfoot is the most recent commitment of anyone on this list. He publicly committed to Miami on July 3 so it might seem odd to put him here but hear me out. For weeks the common thought was that he would end up at Ohio State. He decided to go another route and try to help the rebuilding Hurricanes under Mario Cristobal.
Will the feelings for helping a rebuild stay there if the Canes struggle this season? Ohio State is not going away in this recruitment. The Buckeyes are building an incredible defensive class.