Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge: Texas predictions

Texas has seen its share of high-profile commitments before and after the Rivals Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas, but there were a number of prospects from the Lone Star state at this month’s event that have yet to make a decision. Here is a look at five top targets from Texas with predictions of where they will commit.

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The situation: The state’s only current five-star prospect has a top 10, but said at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge that he is planning on visiting Clemson and Ohio State this summer. Cook added that he plans on taking all of his official visits, but has yet to decide which schools will be included in that group. Texas is also hanging around, though, and will put up a fight for him.

Prediction: Ohio State. Cook is close friends with 2017 signee Jeffrey Okudah and he might take a look at how crowded the Texas secondary is becoming and simply choose to go to a situation where he would be more of the focus. His relationship with Clemson is worth keeping a close eye on as well.

The situation: Eagles has made the decision not to do any more interviews about his recruitment going forward. More smoke has been coming from Texas’ direction, and after originally suggesting that he wanted to take his recruitment into the fall, he recently chose to fast track his announcement to next month. He was at Texas’ latest recruiting event, but the Longhorns have been upping their interest in other receivers.

Prediction: Texas. Too many factors have been trending toward the Longhorns in relation to Eagles, who is trying to keep a little mystery in regards to his upcoming commitment. Now that Texas has widened its scope to focus on a couple of other receivers, it looks like Eagles is gearing up to secure his spot in the class.

The situation: Jamison, who took defensive back MVP honors at the Five-Star Challenge, is down to a top five of Michigan, Oregon, TCU, Texas and USC. The Horned Frogs and Longhorns are thought to be heavy favorites, and Jamison joined Eagles last weekend for the event in Austin. He hasn’t been entirely clear about when a final decision will be made, but he too might feel compelled to secure his spot in the Longhorns’ class with three defensive backs already included.

Prediction: Texas. After he said at the Five-Star Challenge that he had been to the in-state schools enough and didn’t feel the need to visit again, he was right back in Austin the following weekend. He and Jalen Green have discussed committing to the same program and if there is any significance to that, Texas would also be the likely beneficiary.

The situation: Getting Green to open up about his recruitment isn’t easy, but Ohio State has quickly captured his interest, and it seems USC has an opportunity as an out-of-state option as well. Otherwise, Texas is the lead in-state contender. Clemson, LSU and Penn State somewhere in the picture.

The Pick: Texas. Green has expressed serious interest in seeing all of the out-of-state schools in his final group, and wants to take official visits. However, there seems to be a growing interest between Texas and Georgia defensive back Trey Dean. If he and Jamison are inclined to play together, Green could just be content to stick to what he knows and lock himself in with the Longhorns’ other DB commits.

The situation: McKinley is considering a number of non-Texas programs, and is looking at Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, UCLA and Washington. He was in Oregon for the Ducks’ spring game, the Huskers have been on his summer itinerary and he is in Washington this weekend. McKinley has had an eye for the West Coast for some time, so those schools may have some added appeal.

The Pick: Oregon. This pick is taking a little bit of a flyer, but the Ducks will likely stay aggressive while recruiting him as they continue to try and create a footprint in Texas. With the new staff bringing some energy back to a program that many recruits want to see be successful again, McKinley should like the idea of being one in the first class out to reclaim Oregon’s reputation as a dominant Pac-12 team.