Rivals Recap: RCS Ohio brings talent despite weather woes

COLUMBUS, OHIO – A little snow wasn’t enough to slow down the participants in Saturday’s Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour stop in the Midwest, as some of the region’s top talent turned out. Here’s a rundown of the day’s most notable items.

Five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones didn’t take as many reps as he might have in a normal camp setting, but when he did line up he showed why he’s one of the nation’s top pass-catches. He’s so smooth running downfield that it looks effortless and his always-consistent hands were on full display as well. It’s a fairly deep year at wide receiver and the top-end talent continues to impress on this year’s camp series. For his efforts, Peoples-Jones earned an invitation to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour.

Class of 2017 running back Morgan Ellison outdid a number of talented running backs at the position to take home MVP honors at the position. Ellison is a big-bodied back who moves surprisingly well in space and despite the slippery conditions he had no problems changing direction in a hurry. What makes him even more intriguing as a prospect is the fact that he has no offers; something that will surely change down the road.

A number of prospects from the Nashville area made the trip north for the camp and several impressed with their performances. Rivals250 linebacker Jacob Phillips led the way, earning an invite to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour after a strong showing during both drills and one-on-ones. Another Volunteer State native who earned an invite was JaCoby Stevens, who was very impressive in both drills and one-on-ones as well.

Class of 2018 linebacker DeAndre Square came out on top of a loaded group at the position to win the MVP, narrowly edging out Phillips and a trio of other prospects at the position. Square was very good in coverage, but he’s a bit undersized and that might have helped him deal with some of the smaller backs during the one-on-one period. Either way, Square is very athletic and looks like a player to watch in the future.

You know the wide receiver group was talented when Peoples-Jones makes the event and doesn’t walk away as an MVP. The prize ultimately went to three-star Kahlee Hamler, who was electric in open space. The small, shifty wide receiver looked like he was shot out of a cannon every time he came off the line and he was almost unguardable one-on-one.

The windy conditions bothered some quarterbacks in attendance but Penn State commit Sean Clifford had no problem letting it fly and getting the ball where it needed to be on Saturday. Clifford walked away with MVP honors after showing good arm strength and accuracy. He was one of the wide receivers’ favorite quarterbacks as well, with several of them jockeying to line up with Clifford during one-on-ones.

A pair of five-stars lived up to their billing as both Lamont Wade and Jedrick Wills earned invites to the Five-Star Challenge as well. Wade earned MVP honors at the defensive back position, while Wills was his typical dominant self during one-on-ones. It’s rare to have three five-stars at one regional event, but the trio of Wade, Wills and Peoples-Jones all came out and showed why they are among the nation’s best.

Three-star Ohio prospect Michael Miranda took home offensive line MVP honors after edging out Wills with a strong showing during the final rounds of one-on-ones. Miranda is an interior guy for sure, but he already knows that’s his position and he does an excellent job of using his strong lower body to anchor down and hold his ground against bigger defensive linemen.

The defensive line group didn’t have much success against the talent-heavy offensive line group but Derrius Mullins was the exception when it came to that rule on Saturday. The big-bodied defensive tackle looks like a future run-stuffer, but he showed that his pass-rushing skills aren’t anything to discount either. He won rep after rep and was far and away the most impressive defensive lineman.