RCS Miami: Prospects that earned their stripes

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

MIAMI - The 2018 Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas kicked off on Sunday in South Florida, with 200 of the area’s best college football prospects turning out to compete. With so much talent on hand, there were plenty impressive performances, but only a select few can win position MVPs or earn a much-coveted invite to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas. We run through the players who won awards and earned their stripes at Sunday’s event.

MORE RCS MIAMI: Stars shine in South Florida | Updates | Full 2018 schedule

The massive offensive lineman who recently transferred to IMG Academy came ready to play on Sunday. He had several highlight-worthy reps during the one-on-ones, using his strength and size to toss his opponents aside. Lucas has a national offer list already, with Miami among his early favorites. Once coaches get a chance to see him in the spring, his list is likely to grow from the teens in the 20s or higher.

The only player to earn a return invite to the Five-Star Challenge, Dunmore has only gotten better since shining at the Miami camp last spring. The one-time Florida commit looks more confident than ever and he wasn’t afraid to flash his swagger in front of opponents on Sunday. Schools like Florida State and Miami are now heavily involved in Dunmore’s recruitment and it could be a classic “Big Three” battle to land his signature.

At some positions there were heated battles for the MVP award but when it came to running back it was a clear consensus that Richards was the top man at the position. The all-purpose back has great speed and is elusive in space and he drew rave reviews from position coach and former NFL running back Priest Holmes. Richards was also invited to the Five-Star Challenge and his versatile skillset will play well at the elite event and he should be fun to watch against the nation’s best.

Dorceus edged out Rivals250 member Khris Bogle and Miami commit Cameron Williams to take home MVP honors. Dorceus arrived at the camp with an offer list that included NC State, Wake Forest, Southern Miss and others, but offers from other major programs could be in store.

Solomon first caught our eye at the Rivals Camp in South Florida in 2016 when he was just a rising sophomore and on Sunday he was impressive once again. Former NFL linebacker and event position coach Levon Kirkland had nothing but praise for Solomon and his play was consistently impressive from drills through the end of one-on-ones. Miami, Clemson, Michigan and several others are involved in Solomon’s recruitment.

Elam’s comes from a family known for producing elite defensive backs so it’s not much of a surprise that he came into Sunday’s event expecting to impress. Not only did he back up his Rivals250 ranking, he had no problem going toe-to-toe with some of the best competition in attendance. Schools like Auburn, Florida and Georgia have already offered and Notre Dame figures to be a major player in his recruitment as well.

The class of 2021 prospect from the state of Georgia made the trip down to South Florida for the event and ended up leaving with the event’s MVP award. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound prospect has great arm strength and showed quite a bit of improvement over his performance at last year’s Rivals Camp event. The crop of signal-callers was a little deeper than in year’s past so McLaughlin walking away with the honors is only that much more impressive.

The defensive line group wasn’t super deep at the event, but the top end of the position was terrific, with Bogle among the leaders. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound pass rusher was nearly impossible to block, using his speed and array of moves to blow by offensive linemen. Among Bogle’s early favorites are Clemson, Florida State and Miami and all three have comparable players to him on the roster and he will be a highly-pursued player in the class.

Ladson was one of three former Florida commits to earn an invite to the Five-Star Challenge. Ladson is one of the tallest wide receivers in the country. And while Sunday wasn’t his best day, he was definitely still in the upper echelon of receivers in attendance.

A junior at Homestead (Fla) South Dade High School, Ladson is a popular name in recruiting offices all over the country. He’s strongly considering Miami, Clemson and Georgia but also holds offers from schools such as Alabama, LSU, Florida State and others.

Stevenson, who plays alongside Ladson at South Dade, was once committed to the Gators and has plenty of college options on the table. Miami seems to lead the way for the time being, but there’s no way of telling where Stevenson may land at this early juncture. Stevenson’s calling card is his size and physicality, but he seems to be getting better in downfield coverage.

Stevenson joins Ladson as the first South Dade players to ever receive invites to the Five-Star Challenge.

Dent’s talent has never been in doubt, so the fact that he spent Sunday playing out of position at wide receiver didn’t hurt his chances of securing his Five-Star Challenge Invitation. One of the top prospects in the entire country, Dent will work at his natural position of defensive back at the Five-Star Challenge.

Dent is committed to Florida State and is expected to stay as such at least for the near future.

Britt turned his ankle in the final 20 minutes of the camp but did plenty to secure an invitation before injury struck. He was reduced to a seat on the training table, but there’s no reason to think his injury is severe in the slightest.

The only underclassmen to be invited at the Miami stop, Britt led his Champagnat Catholic team to a state title. On Sunday, he showed off his impressive length and explosiveness before being forced out of action. Britt will be one of the top-ranked receivers in the class, when Rivals.com ranks 2020 prospects and will be given an opportunity to earn five-star status when he takes the field against elite 2019 players from all over the country at the Five-Star Challenge.