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Published Jun 27, 2018
Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge: Five teams with key commits
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Nick Krueger  •  Rivals.com
Recruiting Analyst

ATLANTA -- The Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas goes off tomorrow in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and has assembled a group of some of the best players in the country to square off in one-on-one and team competition.

Likewise, there should be no shortage of college football fans checking in to see how players committed to numerous top programs are going to perform when the lights are brightest. Here is a look at which teams have the most to keep an eye on.

MORE FIVE-STAR CHALLENGE: Top matchups | MVP predictions | Offensive roster | Defensive roster | Farrell's storylines | Best Five-Star Challenge performance ever? | Which QB will shine brightest? | Who will raise stock? | Full Rivals Camp Series coverage

CLEMSON

Of the players committed to the Tigers that will be at the Five-Star Challenge, 2020 defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart is the youngest and most recent. Only three of the defensive linemen set to compete in the camp are true defensive tackles, so there should be plenty of reps on the table for Capehart to take and show his stuff.

All three tight ends at the event come from the Atlanta area, and though 2020 prospect Arik Gilbert is an early five-star, Jaelyn Lay looks every bit the part of an uber-athletic tight end that should be able to make some impressive plays in 7-on-7 competition. Every year, there always seems to be one linebacker that ends up stealing the show, whether it’s from being in the right place at the right time or showing up in big moments and Bryton Constantin could certainly be that guy this year.

FLORIDA STATE

The Seminoles are enjoying a successful early recruiting effort under new head coach Willie Taggart and have a little something for everyone in terms of watchability. The conversation has to start with quarterback Sam Howell, who committed in early April. He’s not the highest-ranked quarterback at the event, but this week is going to play a big role in how things shake out for the entire quarterback position in 2019.

The offensive line group has a couple of really nasty guys that are expected to make things miserable for the defensive linemen, and Dontae Lucas is certainly one of those. He plays like a junkyard dog, but he’s six times the size of one. Many of the players at the event will be looking to improve their rankings, but Akeem Dent will be looking to showcase why he’s deserving of his five-star status.

GEORGIA

After the past few recruiting classes, it should come as no surprise that Georgia has a vested interest in an event where so much national talent is competing. The Bulldogs also have a nice variety of players set to make cases for themselves in various ways. Wide receiver Jadon Haselwood will be looking to steal back the title of tops at his position from Theo Wease, who is always motivated to show why he sits stop the group.

Xavier Truss is likely going to be the biggest player there, physically, so seeing how he can take advantage of that will be an interesting thing to keep in mind. Jalen Perry checks-in as a near Rivals100-level prospect, but of course is on the bubble to show that he deserves a place in that group this week.

LSU

The Tigers will get a nice look at the next generation of punishing offensive linemen, with Kardell Thomas and Anthony Bradford both set to line it up. Going back to last year, Thomas has provided a wealth of viral video clips that have led to him having a reputation as one of the meanest and most ruthless offensive linemen in the country. In his appearance at the Atlanta event of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camps presented by adidas, he showed off a decidedly more controlled element to his game and he’ll be looking to climb even higher among the five-star prospects in 2019 this week.

Naturally, all eyes will be locked on Derek Stingley all week long as he will look to show why he was named as the top overall player in 2019 after this past spring. The talent at wide receiver is deep and every single player at that position will be looking to win reps against him.

MIAMI

The Hurricanes have been among the most successful teams in the nation recruiting in both 2019 and 2020 to this point and will have representatives from each class in attendance. Te’Cory Couch is the highest-ranked player that Miami will have in this class after he just committed to 'The U' a little less than two weeks ago.

Anthony Solomon joined the class a little earlier in the spring and is a rangy and athletic linebacker prospect that should be able to show well for himself, given the camp format. Class of 2020 Rivals100 wide receiver Marc Britt could end up being the most fun player to watch of the bunch and is a top-50 player nationally in his class.

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