Surprised? No.
The three hot teams from the Orlando edition of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas were Miami, Florida, and Florida State.
These big three schools battle over prospects year after year. Here is an update on how each is doing with the players from this past weekend’s camp.
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MIAMI
The Hurricanes aren’t just one of the hot teams from this camp; the No. 2 program in the 2018 Rivals.com team rankings is one of the hottest teams in the country right now.
Five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard, Miami’s highest-rated 2018 commit, put on a show and won an unprecedented third-straight running back MVP award and was invited to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge. Defensive back Avantae Williams, Miami’s lone class of 2020 commitment, had a stellar performance as well and will be attracting many more schools in the future.
Plenty of highly rated uncommitted prospects are taking serious looks at Miami. Offensive lineman Ed Montilus has the Canes at the top of his list, along with North Carolina and Auburn. Defensive end Dennis Briggs has a number of schools coming after him, but Miami is clearly in the driver’s seat. Four-star linebacker David Reese’s recruitment is shaping up to be a fight between Miami and Florida State. Four-star defensive back Jamien Sherwood will likely stay in state, and the Canes hold a slight edge right now. Miami and Florida seem to be slightly ahead of the pack for Rivals250 offensive lineman John Campbell.
FLORIDA
The Gators are looking for a boost from their 2018 recruiting class, and they have the attention of a lot of big-time prospects. Perhaps the most important of those targets is Rivals250 quarterback Joe Milton. The Orlando native is physically imposing and very athletic with a rocket for an arm. Florida is his likely destination, and he could give Gators head coach Jim McElwain plenty of natural talent to work with.
Florida is also in very good position with a pair of four-star offensive linemen. Rivals100 prospect William Barnes and Rivals250 prospect John Campbell are very high on the Gators. Barnes is very close with the coaches at Florida and North Carolina, while Campbell is taking a hard look at Florida and Miami as well the other schools in his top 12. Barnes has visits to Florida State and Ohio State planned over the next couple months, and the Gators will need to work hard to stay close to the front of the pack.
Four-star defensive back Jamien Sherwood has a good feeling about Florida, along with Miami and Florida State. The Gators were able to get Florida State running back commit Charles Strong on campus the other day for a visit.
FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles are taking their time with this recruiting class, but are positioned well to land another highly-ranked recruiting class. Ranked No. 5 in the Rivals.com team rankings, Florida State’s only 2018 commitment scheduled to attend Sunday’s camp was Charles Strong. He seemed solid to Florida State despite a recent visit to Florida.
Rivals100 offensive lineman Williams Barnes is set for a visit to Tallahassee, and the Seminoles are primed for a move up his list. North Carolina and Florida are at the top right now. Florida State is very much in the mix for four-stars David Reese and Jamien Sherwood but they’ll have to fight off the other in-state programs for both.
Rivals100 linebacker Amari Gainer looks destined for Florida State. The Seminole legacy recruit isn’t the only linebacker from Sunday’s camp that holds Florida State in high esteem. Rivals100 linebacker Zakoby McClain grew up a Florida State fan and has the Seminoles very high on his list.
