MORE RCS NEW ORLEANS: Prospects that earned their stripes in New Orleans
HARVEY, La. -- Elite prospects from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee flocked to the Crescent City on Sunday for the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas. Louisiana, in particular, naturally draws interest from college coaches all across the Southeast and the country. Here are five programs that were buzzing among the elite prospects in attendance on Sunday.
ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks had a pretty good day on Sunday, all things considered. First, three-star Arkansas commit Jamie Vance turned in a stellar performance, doing well enough to earn defensive back MVP honors over several other highly-ranked players. But even before the camp started the Razorbacks were on the lips of several top participants in the event, including the Rivals250 trio of offensive tackle Chris Morris and linebackers Bryson Eason and Martavius French. French and Eason were recently on campus in Fayetteville and continue to speak highly of the program, while Morris also Arkansas near the top of his list. After pulling players from Tennessee like Trey Knox, Shamar Nash and Eric Gregory in the 2019 class, it looks like the Hogs could be poised for another big year in the Volunteer State.
GEORGIA
Georgia is set for a huge recruiting weekend and is expecting Rivals250 standouts Joel Williams and Jaquelin Roy in Athens before the end of the month. The Dawgs are poised to build off the 2019 class that featured four-star athlete Makiya Tongue and -- at one point -- Rivals100 running back John Emery with a potentially larger 2020 haul out of The Boot.
Besides Roy and Williams, Georgia is making a hard push for several Louisiana prospects. That includes Ashaad Clayton, who has long mentioned a visit to campus, as well as his teammate Sedrick Van Pran, who is high on the Dawgs’ offensive line big board.
Georgia is also trying to make a reunited effort for Koy Moore, a Rivals100 receiver, who camped in Athens two summers ago. Cortez Hankton, who recruits receivers and originally hails from New Orleans, is a key component in the push. It seems very likely Georgia walks away with one, if not more, signees out of Louisiana again this recruiting cycle.
LSU
You can’t come to New Orleans without hearing about LSU. The home-state school is in hot pursuit of several of the elite prospects who competed, namely Koy Moore, Ashaad Clayton, Joel Williams, Jaquelin Roy, McKinnley Jackson, Ja’Darius Clark and Sedrick Van Pran, among others.
Ed Orgeron has the Tigers in the lead group for nearly every elite prospect from the camp. That includes the likes of Moore, Clayton, Williams and Van Pran, ranked players that are aiming to wait until December or February’s signing period to make a decision. It also applies to Roy, who recently backed off his commitment to LSU but is still considering the Tigers as a final landing spot.
Additionally, Oregon’s attempt to lock down the state from rival programs is in full effect with the 2021s. Kaine WIlliams and Chris Hilton are two of the best from The Boot and hold early offers from LSU. Both raved about their recent junior day visits and have the Tigers in the mix early on.
TENNESSEE
Rivals250 defensive back Joel Williams walking in with an orange Tennessee hoodie on created some buzz before the camp even started Sunday morning. He recently visited Knoxville and the Vols are very much in play for one of the best in Louisiana. It just wasn’t prospects in Louisiana who spoke highly of Tennessee, but some in Alabama, Mississippi and of course, Tennessee did as well. Chris Morris is a top target at offensive tackle for the Vols and in the in-state talent is strongly considering Jeremy Pruitt’s program. McKinnley Jackson, the No. 1 prospect in Mississippi is not ruling out another visit to Knoxville. He has not visited there yet this year, but one in the spring or summer is possible. In Alabama, JaCobee Bryant and Jordan Mosley (2021) both have Tennessee at, or near the top of their lists. Mosely has the Vols No. 1 and Bryant has them in his top three, so there was a good bit of Tennessee chatter in New Orleans.
TEXAS A&M
Jimbo Fisher made a key hire to his staff last year in the form of Bradley Dale Peveto, a longtime assistant under Les Miles at LSU. Peveto has made a run at a number of different Louisiana prospects over the past two years and is poised to make a splash with some in the Class of 2020.
Texas A&M holds an early pledge from talented three-star defensive back Major Burns, who was in the mix as the secondary MVP of the camp. He’s also making a run with Burns’ teammate at Madison Prep, Williams, and fellow Baton Rouge four-star Jaquelin Roy.
Both Ashaad Clayton and Sedrick Van Pran made it a point to circle Aggieland as a “must-see” in terms of spring or summer visits, and both have Texas A&M in their lead groups early on. Texas A&M has landed a handful of Warren Easton High School prospects over the years and it would not be surprising to see that trend continue with one of these New Orleans studs.
