4/29/2017 football Edit

RCS Charlotte: Talent impresses at New Speed Combine

Adam Friedman, Chad Simmons, Woody Wommack

Rivals.com

CORNELIUS, N.C. – More than 1,200 athletes turned out for the Charlotte stop of the Rivals New Speed Combine presented by adidas. Several players impressed, earning invites to Sunday’s Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest news and notes.

A handful of top prospects that are competing in the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp on Sunday were at the combine today. Standout 2020 defensive back Sheridan Jones and 2019 Rivals100 athlete Quavaris Crouch have impressive offer sheets and provided support for their teammates as they tried to put up good times from the combine. Jones, who has offers from Florida, Alabama, LSU and others, has a long time before he starts to seriously consider his options. Crouch just added an offer from Ohio State and is looking into all the schools that have offered. Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Alabama and many others are pushing for his commitment.

Class of 2020 standout Jordon Simmons is only a freshman, but he turned in an impressive time of 4.7 seconds in the 40 yard dash and he also had a 32-inch vertical. He saw his brother Tyler Simmons go through the recruiting process and sign with Georgia in 2016. The younger Simmons grew up watching Auburn and Georgia because of Cam Newton and Todd Gurley. He has already camped at Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech. He is one to watch in the coming years.

Louisville has been on the look out for bigger wide receivers that can stretch the field and 2018 prospect Jarett Garner, with his 4.67 second 40-yard dash and 4.22 second 5-10-5, fits that mold. The Cardinals are his first offer but Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, East Carolina and a few other schools are very interested. Garner will go to Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina for camps.

Class of 2018 athlete Shamari Wingard has been generating a lot of interest over the last few months and he is close to picking up his first offer. N.C. State or Virginia Tech are the likeliest candidates to be his first offer but Wake Forest and North Carolina have been showing a lot of interest as well. Most schools are looking at Wingard to play somewhere in the secondary.

Class of 2020 Keontae Jenkins is well known on the 7-on-7 circuit. He's been a big time prospect for a long time and the early offer from Virginia Tech really put on the recruiting radar. Jenkins, brother of former five-star Levonta Taylor, recently visited schools like Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia. He plans on camping at Auburn and Florida State and thinks he will get offers from those two schools next. Jenkins ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash and a 4.1 second 5-10-5.

Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park offensive linemen Jaylen Nichols and Juwan Truesdale have a future in college football. These 2019 prospects don't have any offers yet but a lot of schools are interested. Truesdale, a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, plans on going to camps at North Carolina and Virginia Tech and has interest from Maryland, Penn State, and Clemson. Nichols, also 6-foot-5, plays on the offensive and defensive lines. Clemson, North Carolina, Wake Forest, South Carolina, and Louisville will get Nichols on campus for camps this offseason. Pittsburgh and Penn State are also showing interest.

Class of 2020 Hilton Head, S.C. cornerback Christian Miller earned an invite to Sunday’s event after posting some of the most impressive times for a player in his class. Miller, who has an early offer from FCS program South Carolina State, was a middle school all-American and is on the radar of several FBS programs early in his career.

Class of 2019 linebacker/defensive end Shamar McCollum earned an invite after testing incredibly well. McCollum plays for a high school program with a history of producing talent and is already getting recruiting interest from South Carolina, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and others. McCollum looks the part of a high-level prospect and put up the numbers to match.

Class of 2018 Somerset, Ky. linebacker/safety Patric Edwards also earned an invite to Sunday's 3 Stripe Camp. He clocked in at 4.43 in the 40-yard dash, one of the fastest times of the entire camp. Also invited was class of 2019 Greer, S.C. wide receiver Braxton Collins, who measured in at 6-foot-5 and 175 pounds. Collins posted impressive numbers as well and looks like he could be a future Power Five player.