Rivals Camp Series prepares to hit Texas

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The Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Amour hits the Southwest in a big way on March 16 with a stop in Houston before heading north to Dallas on March 17.

The free, invitation-only camps feature top prospects at top-notch facilities, being coached by some of the best coaches around.

Rivals.com regional analysts will be in attendance and all athletes who attend will receive Under Armour apparel. However, the perks do not end there. The camps also serve as an opportunity to earn a coveted invitation to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in June or, for underclassmen, the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge in July.

At this early point in the registration process, many of the region's top prospects have already jumped at the opportunity to compete, with several Louisiana and Texas talents leading the way for the Houston camp at Spring Westfield High School on March 16.

LSU Rivals250 commitment Jacory Washington comes in as the nation's No. 1 tight end prospect. The Westlake (La.) talent held offers from the likes of Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and UCLA before committing to LSU in January. The 6-5, 210-pound talent is ranked 110th in the Rivals250.

Washington is joined by fellow Louisiana Rivals250 standout Davon Godchaux of Plaquemine (La.). The defensive end already holds a Big 12 offer from Texas Tech and is ranked No. 208 in the Rivals250.

Pflugerville (Texas) Hendrickson running back Samaje Perine leads the way for Lone Star talent. Coming in at No. 188 in the Rivals250, Perine rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a junior and already holds offers from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Purdue, and Houston.

Texas wide receiver commitment Roderick Bernard of Houston (Texas) Sharpstown, Baylor wide receiver commitment Chris Platt of Willis (Texas), and SMU quarterback commitment Darrell Colbert of Houston (Texas) Lamar have also registered. Colbert led his team to the 5A state championship game and Platt is a two-time 400m state champion while Bernard was offered by the Longhorns as quickly as possible.

San Antonio (Texas) Warren defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao is one of the hottest prospects, adding offers from Missouri, Ole Miss, and Baylor over the last two weeks. Lealaimatafao, San Antonio (Texas) Roosevelt defensive back Arrion Springs, and San Antonio (Texas) Churchill athlete Dimitri Flowers lead a strong San Antonio crew headed to the Houston camp.

HOW TO GET INVITED

Would you like to compete in Houston or Dallas?

If you are a prospect with FBS offers or likely to receive FBS offers, or the coach or the parent of such a prospect, contact Rivals.com Southwest analyst Jason Howell (jhowell@yahoo-inc.com) as well as Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell (mike@rivals.com) and Rivals Camp Series Director of Player Personnel Brian Mohr (rivalsfootballcamps@yahoo.com).

They will help you through the process from there. Also, check out the Rivals Camp Series FAQ page for more information.

Quarterbacks Aaron Sharp of Humble (Texas) Summer Creek and Ronald Monroe of Richmond (Texas) Fort Bend Bush headline a strong group of signal-callers. In the trenches, defensive tackle Garrald McDowell of Covington (La.) and offensive lineman Jacob Bragg of Nacogdoches (Texas) add to a strong group. Then skill guys such as Austin Walter and Aston Walter of Crosby (Texas), Richmond (Texas) Fort Bend Bush receiver Donald Monroe, and New Orleans defensive back Jermaine Roberts bring highlight-reel reputations to the table.

There are standout 2015s such as Orange (Texas) West Orange-Stark safety Deionte Thompson and Houston (Texas) Clear Lake tight end Jordan Davis who are already capturing the attention of college coaches.

Like Houston, the Dallas camp at Cedar Hill High School is off to an impressive start to registration with several Rivals250 prospects and standouts from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas already signed up and ready to go.

Rivals250 standouts Steven Parker of Jenks (Okla.), Dylan Sumner-Gardner of Mesquite (Texas) West Mesquite, and Armani Watts of Forney (Texas) North Forney are just the tip of the iceberg for a strong defensive back class.

Also filling out the group are Dallas (Texas) Skyline safety Derrick Dixon, who already holds offers from West Virginia, Texas Tech, TCU, and Washington; and Cedar Hill (Texas) cornerback Marcus Green, who holds Missouri and Ole Miss offers.

Quarterback is filling out nicely with Texas Rivals100 commitment Jerrod Heard of Denton (Texas) Guyer leading the way. He is joined by fellow Rivals250 member Justice Hansen of Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe, and Foster Sawyer of Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints, Greenwood (Ark.) signal-caller Jabe Burgess, and Mesquite (Texas) West Mesquite 2015 standout Chason Virgil, all of whom already hold BCS offers.

Those quarterbacks will be throwing to several top targets. Lancaster (Texas) receiver Nick Alexander enters with Oklahoma, SMU, and Washington offers. Jalen Adams of Moore (Okla.) Southmoore holds offers from Tulsa and San Diego State. McKinney (Texas) speedster T.V. Williams has received offers from Cal, Houston, Nebraska, and SMU. Marble Falls (Texas) receiver Garrett Gray makes his way from Central Texas with offers from Iowa, Minnesota, Rice, and Tulsa. Then there are 2015 prospects DeMarkus Lodge from Cedar Hill (Texas), and Dallas (Texas) Prime Prep's James Proche adding solid depth at receiver, and Will Gragg of Pine Bluff (Ark.) leading the way at tight end.

Running back also comes in strong with Rivals250 standout and Oklahoma State commitment Devon Thomas of Broken Arrow (Okla.) making his way to Dallas to compete. He will be joined by Arkansas commitment Juan Day of North Little Rock (Ark.) and Texas commitment Daniel Gresham of Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints. Then there is Plano (Texas) West's Auston Anderson who has picked up offers from Northwestern, Rice, and Navy recently. Rounding out the running backs is an outstanding group of 2015 prospects led by Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch's Rawleigh Williams and Marquiz Simpkins of Clinton (Okla.).

On the defensive side, linebacker is also led by a couple of Rivals250 prospects. Gyasi Akem of Broken Arrow (Okla.) and T'Kevian Rockwell of Wylie (Texas) headline a group. However, watch out for Allen (Texas) linebacker Christian Sam who already holds offers from Baylor, Boise State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, SMU, and San Diego State. Then there are Anthony Wheeler of Dallas (Texas) Skyline, Malik Jefferson of Mesquite (Texas) Poteet, and R.J. Williams of Hooks, who pack a powerful punch in the 2015 class.

No camp would be complete without the big boys in the trenches and both the offensive line and defensive line groups should provide for some big time matchups.

Rivals100 Texas offensive line commitment Demetrius Knox will be joined by a group that includes Dallas (Texas) Skyline's Ty Barrett, Arlington (Texas) Bowie's Kristopher Thigpen, and Argyle (Texas) Liberty Christian's Brad Lundblade in the 2014 class, and Arlington (Texas) Bowie's Madison Akamnonu in the 2015 class.

On the defensive front, Rivals250 Arkansas defensive tackle commitment Bijhon Jackson will be joined by one of the strongest groups at the camp. Zaycoven Henderson of Longview (Texas) has picked up offers from Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, and TCU and will be in attendance. The Colony (Texas) defensive end Grant Blankenship enters with offers from Texas Tech, Ole Miss, TCU, SMU, North Texas, and Tulsa, and Munday (Texas) defender L.J. Collier has already given his verbal pledge to Texas Tech.

One of the biggest of the big, though, is Gladewater (Texas) 2015 defensive tackle Daylon Mack. He stands in at 6-2 and 300 pounds, and already holds offers from Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, and Oklahoma. DeSoto (Texas) defensive tackle Bryce English is also drawing plenty of college attention and Ennis (Texas) defensive end James Lockhart already holds an offer from Baylor.

The camps in Houston and Dallas are preceded by camps in Phoenix and Los Angeles on March 9 and 10. Following the stops in Texas, the Rivals.com Camp Series presented by Under Armour heads to Florida for stops in Orlando on March 23 and Miami on March 24.

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