Rivals Camp Series Charlotte: Thoughts from the sideline

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

RELATED: Prospects that earned their stripes at RCS Charlotte | Five teams that should be pleased

FORT MILL, S.C. – The Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas made a stop in the Charlotte area this past weekend, with top talent from the east coast descending on the city. Three members of the Rivals.com National Analyst Team were on hand and each provides their thoughts on the day’s proceedings.

RCS Charlotte has seen some really close MVP battles over the years and what we saw from the wide receivers and defensive backs ranks as two of the most competitive. On the offensive side, playmakers Rivals100 NC State commit Porter Rooks had a great day and so did former Tennessee commit Antonio Barber, South Carolina commit Da’Qon Stewart, freshman Jaleel Skinner, 2021 prospect Gavin Blackwell and freshman Shaleak Knotts. Rivals250 wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad was fantastic in the one-on-one portion of the event. It seemed like he was getting open and making difficult catches with ease. His performance earned him a well-deserved MVP award and an invitation to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas.

Picking the defensive back MVP wasn’t any easier. Rivals100 North Carolina commit Cameron Roseman-Sinclair won it at this event last year but faced stiff competition from NC State commit Aydan White, Christian Miller, Kamarro Edmonds, Jaidyn Denis and 2021 standouts Isaiah Johnson, Bralyn Oliver and Raneiria Dillworth. Roseman-Sinclair, a pure safety, excelled in coverage from depth and press coverage. He breaks so well on passes thrown to his man and has a knack for getting a hand on the ball. Quarterbacks picked up on that and tried to adjust but they just ended up overthrowing many of their passes.

You can’t talk about a camp in the Carolinas without bringing up the defensive linemen. This year three defensive linemen earned invitations to the Five-Star Challenge, Rivals250 prospects Jacolbe Cowan and Alex Huntley along with Rivals100 Clemson commit DeMonte Capehart (MVP), but they weren’t the only standouts. NC State commit Jaylen Smith, Derrell Bailey and freshman Kaevon Freshwater all turned in excellent performances.

Demonte Capehart is the real deal. I saw him last year at this same event, but this year, he was a different player and showed why he is a high four-star defensive tackle. He has a great frame, he competed hard each rep and he was very coachable. He seems like a very good fit for the Clemson Tigers. He was repping the Tigers and, once again, it looks like Dabo Swinney, Todd Bates and the Clemson staff hit a home run on a defensive lineman. Capehart earned his invite to the Five-Star Challenge, and he has made a strong push to be in the Rivals100 after this performance. It looked easy for him at times. As impressive as his performance was, what may have stood out to me most was his attitude, how humble he was and how he soaked up the coaching he was offered.

Players know about Mack Brown’s history. I talked to many three and four-star recruits Sunday and quite a few brought up North Carolina. There was a much different buzz around the Tar Heels this year compared to last year. There is a new coach is in charge in Chapel Hill, and while it has been over 20 years since Brown coached at North Carolina, these kids know what he did there and believe he can do it again. North Carolina really has momentum on the recruiting trail, so it will be interesting on how they perform on the field this season and how they close this recruiting cycle. Brown may be 67 years old, but he has given a jolt of energy on Tobacco Road.

South Carolina is loaded with quarterback talent in the 2020 class and beyond. Quarterback MVP Mason Garcia leads the way in 2020, as it’s clear based on his showing Sunday that he’s grossly under recruited at this point in the cycle. Following behind him in the class of 2021 is Marshall Skoloff, who also shined at times on Sunday. The real name to know is class of 2023 quarterback Raheim Jeter, who already looks like he could be a senior in high school despite still being in eighth grade. Jeter was in the discussion for position MVP honors and will likely start to collect major offers as soon as this summer. Other South Carolina quarterbacks that impressed me on Sunday included 2020 prospects Blair Garner and Ahmon Green.

It was another week of college coaches making their way to the Rivals Camp, with South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp coming to watch his son Jackson while North Carolina assistant Dre Bly was in attendance to watch his son Jordan. The competition at a regional Rivals 3 Stripe Camps is significantly better than on-campus camps schools host during the summer, so coaches that are able to come are given a chance to get an early scouting look in advance of the summer cycle. Muschamp joins Miami’s Manny Diaz as head coaches that have been at a Rivals 3 Stripe Camp this spring.