Rivals Camp Series St. Louis: Five teams that should be pleased
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EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – The regional tour of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas is now complete following the final stop on Sunday in St. Louis. Several college programs will be pleased with the results of the day’s competition.
ILLINOIS
Under head coach Lovie Smith, the Illini have made St. Louis their priority recruiting territory and it shows with the level of success the program is having. One of two four-star commitments for Illinois in this 2020 class is running back Reggie Love, who delivered an MVP performance and looked every bit the four-star prospect. Several more top performers from Sunday are also considering the Illini strongly, including Love’s four-star teammate, Mookie Cooper, who earned an invitation to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas. Offensive Line MVP Jalen St. John has been a regular visitor in Champaign and has the Illini among his top schools, as does the Defensive Back MVP, Antonio Johnson, and the Gatorade MVP winner Denver Warren.
KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Wildcats have started to show more of a presence in the St. Louis area, but their spot on this list has to do with the in-state and neighboring state prospects who made the drive over to the banks of the Mississippi to compete in Sunday’s event. That group included their four-star quarterback commit Beau Allen, who was part of a strong contingent at the top of that position, along with class of 2021 tight end Jordan Dingle. Tennessee defensive tackle Dallas Walker was among the best defensive linemen at Sunday’s event and said he expects the Wildcats to get one of his official visits.
MISSOURI
In doing research for our commitment check-up feature, which will release later this week, we asked each prospect at the camp committed to a school about the strength of their commitments. Missouri fans have nothing to worry about with the two commitments who were in St. Louis Sunday – quarterback Brady Cook and offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer. Both prospects professed 100 percent confidence in their commitments to the Tigers. Cook, in particular, had a strong day and was in contention until the end for position MVP honors. Meanwhile, top targets like Antonio Johnson and Kevon Billingsley confirmed strong interest in the program, with Billingsley planning an official visit to Columbia later this spring.
NEBRASKA
Nebraska did not have any commitments working out at Sunday’s event, but several of the program's top targets had standout performances. The first prospect to mention in that category is class of 2021 offensive tackle Teddy Prochazka out of the Omaha area. Prochazka has seven early offers, including one from Nebraska, and showed the talent to be a national prospect. another 2021 in-state prospect who had a strong performance was linebacker Drew Christo. The Cornhuskers have yet to offer Christo, but he is firmly on their radar. Outside of the state, St. Louis-area defensive linemen Gabriel Rubio and Travion Ford both confirmed their interest in the Huskers after early unofficial visits to Lincoln.
NOTRE DAME
One of Notre Dame’s highest-ranked commitments in the 2020 class is Rivals100 wide receiver Jordan Johnson, who looked every bit as good as his lofty rating suggests. The four-star prospect took home MVP honors at his position after a performance that showcased all of his skills, from route-running to explosiveness to the ability to make the acrobatic catch. Another MVP winner will also resonate with Notre Dame fans, and that is class of 2021 quarterback Ron Powlus III, whose father starred for the Fighting Irish in the 1990s. Notre Dame has also offered and is in contention for a pair of in-state guys who had good days in defensive back Daylan Carnell and linebacker Yanni Karlaftis.
