Rivals Camp Series L.A.: Predictions for five prospects

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The first stop of the Rivals Camp Series is in the books and many top uncommitted prospects were in attendance. Today, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analysts Clint Cosgrove and Adam Friedman focus on five players and make their predictions on where the prospects could end up.

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RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series

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Cosgrove: Rumor says the SEC is a major draw for Iamaleava, but I believe that rumor is based on the assumption that top QBs belong in the top conference. However, this decision is going to come down to more than football in the end. Iamaleava comes from a large and close-knit family that also happens to reside on the West Coast. In theory, going to Alabama or Tennessee makes sense from a football perspective, but at the end of the day he is a West Coast kid. The opportunity to play close to family and thrive in a similar environment to home will trump what the SEC has to offer in the end. By choosing Oregon, Iamaleava will have less of a social transition, he will get a fresh start under a new head coach and he can potentially be the catalyst to make Oregon football great again. I think he will choose Oregon – and it won't even be close.

Friedman: Iamaleava has his pick of whichever school he wants to attend, but it seems like the SEC is getting more attention than the other teams involved in his recruitment. Tennessee is my pick for where he'll end up but keep an eye out for Alabama and Georgia, depending on how the rest of the quarterback dominoes fall. Oregon is in the conversation as well. The Ducks are trying to ramp up with new head coach Dan Lanning at the helm.

Gorney: This is still a difficult call because there are a lot of quarterback dominoes to fall, and coaching staffs are trying to juggle the top players at that position. But it still feels like Iamaleava wants to play somewhere in the SEC. I absolutely would also consider Oregon a main contender in his recruitment, and Miami seems to be intriguing him as well. His personality would definitely fit in well with the Hurricanes. Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are the three SEC programs standing out most. If I had to pick today, I still think it’s somewhere in the SEC and my best guess is Iamaleava goes to one program and Arch Manning goes to the other. I’ll take Alabama right now.

Cosgrove: Lyons is a tough one to pick because there are so many reasons for him to end up at so many different places. The academics at Stanford are an obvious pull. He is LDS, so BYU and Utah also make sense. I’ve heard he loves Southern California and would love to play for Lincoln Riley at USC, but at the same time wants to visit Alabama and Ohio State. This one is a toss-up for me, but I am going to go with my intuition and say Lyons ends up at BYU.

Friedman: Lyons has done a good job making his recruitment a little bit tougher to read, but Stanford, Utah, BYU and USC just appear to be doing better than the rest. Alabama and Ohio State are both getting visits from Lyons when things open up this month, so his recruitment could take some twists and turns as the spring goes on. For now I expect him to stay out West with Stanford but we'll see how those upcoming visits go.

Gorney: Another tough one. With his intelligence and football-playing ability I have to think Stanford is in a very strong position when it comes to Lyons, who has a top six with the Cardinal in it. But he loved Southern California this weekend and playing in Riley’s offense could be very appealing. I wouldn’t be shocked if Utah or BYU lands him, since he likes both programs and is a Mormon as well, but Lyons has said that won’t be a final factor in his thinking. Alabama and Ohio State are also up there, and after upcoming visits there things could change. Stanford looks the best right now, but it’s a guess.

Cosgrove: It almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that Moore would end up at USC along with his teammates and a burning desire to play in Lincoln Riley’s offense. But, I am not so sure that is what we will see in the end. After talking to Moore at RCS L.A., I am going to go out on a limb and pick Louisville as his landing spot. He loved his trip out there, loved the town, the coaches and already has Louisville’s QB of the future recruiting him.

Friedman: I agree that it almost seems like a foregone conclusion that USC will end up landing Moore. How close he is with five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson and four-star receiver Makai Lemon is carrying a lot of the recruiting weight here for the Trojans. The way he fits into Riley's offense is really impressive, and coming in with connections to Nelson like he already has could go a long way. Louisville and a few other schools are in the mix, but in the end it will be the Trojans that end up with his commitment

Gorney: It would make complete sense if Moore ends up at USC since his two high school teammates - Nelson and Lemon - are already committed to the Trojans. The pull there will be significant. But the Los Alamitos, Calif., four-star receiver is also very intrigued by the opportunity at Louisville and playing with four-star QB Pierce Clarkson there. A lot of movement could still happen as the former Oklahoma pledge looks through his recruitment.

Cosgrove: Robinson is a tough one for me to predict. He is a big back, so I think offensive fit is extremely important when it comes to his decision. On one hand, you have Oregon, where two of his teammates signed this past year. The Ducks also have a defensive-minded head coach in place, and we are all familiar with the premium defensive coaches put on pounding the rock and controlling the clock. Then you have Arizona, which I have heard Robinson is extremely high on as well. The recruiting job that Jedd Fisch and staff did in 2022 makes me believe that they can sell the vision of success as well as anybody in the country. When you combine that vision with a bunch of NFL-experienced coaches, I believe Arizona will be too hard for Robinson to pass up in the end.

Friedman: Oregon has a lot going for it and Robinson's recruitment. With two of his former teammates on the roster, the Ducks will know what buttons to press in Robinson's recruitment. That's a big leg up for a new coaching staff. Keep an eye out for Arizona, though. The Wildcats had a fantastic recruiting class in the 2022 cycle, and Robinson is close with many of those recruits as well. They may not be done getting highly rated Californians in this cycle, either. For now, the pick is Oregon.

Gorney: Two former San Diego Lincoln teammates signed with Oregon last recruiting cycle and that could be a significant factor as Robinson looks at his own recruitment because he also likes the Ducks a lot. Arizona has appealed greatly to the big running back, and then Cal and other Pac-12 schools remain in the mix. The Wildcats definitely have his attention, but I’d say Oregon will be the pick right now.

Cosgrove: Everything I have heard about and seen from Sayin screams Notre Dame. Nearly every prospect that I talked with at RCS L.A. said that Sayin was going to Notre Dame, and they spoke with so much conviction that I took it as fact. While Notre Dame is my pick, I do think Georgia could be a wild card here and may have an outside chance of landing him in the end.

Friedman: Sayin seems like he's leaning heavily toward Notre Dame. That relationship that he's built with quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees really goes a long way. The Longhorns are his dream school and his childhood favorite so there's a reason to keep an eye on Texas as his recruitment unfolds. In the end, I do expect him to pick Notre Dame.

Gorney: Notre Dame is the team to beat for Sayin, and he’s visiting there again soon. His relationship with Rees is definitely a huge factor for the Carlsbad, Calif., standout and that’s not going to change over the next couple years. Georgia, Texas and Florida are definitely others in the running, but I like the Irish here.