Smith's Takeaways: Linemen, quarterbacks impress in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS – The Rivals Camp Series spent the weekend in the Indianapolis area and the hungry athletes in the Midwest took advantage of the opportunity. Let’s look into some of the takeaways from the camp:
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THE BEEF WAS IN TOWN
The prospects in the trenches passed the eye test on Sunday. There were several comments from other people at the camp about how many good looking linemen there were at the camp. When you come to the Midwest there should be some beef up front and Indianapolis showed out there.
There were several good matchups during one-on-ones. Louisiana 2026 defensive tackle Dylan Berymon against 2025 Louisville offensive line commit Jake Cook was terrific. It's tough for Interior lineman to shine at these events but once again Isaac Sowells showed his skills and had a lot of good moments earning a gold ball.
There were many linemen that didn’t earn MVP honors or Gold Balls who turned a lot of heads. That includes Triston Abram and Drayden Pavey on the defensive line. Plus Chauncey Gooden, Adam Guthie and Rico Schrieber on the offensive line.
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YOUNG TALENT ON THE RISE
There were a lot of good seniors-to-be representing the 2025 class on Sunday. But one thing that stood out to me was the amount of talent in the 2026 class and beyond that came out to compete in Indianapolis.
Tommy Tofi, Ben Nichols, Maxwell Robinson, Adam Guthrie and Rico Schrieber are all 2026 prospects who popped on the offensive line. The defensive line featured a pair of 2027 prospects that we’ll be keeping tabs on. Defensive ends Roy Price and Jaylen Mercer showed real pass rush skills for being so young.
Rashaud Holland, Amari Sabb, Zyntreacs Otey, Kyndrick Williams and Chaston Smith were just some of the 2026 defensive back to shine at camp. Carson Sneed and Tyreek King were two outstanding 2026 pass catchers. Cam Thomas and Keenan Harris took home linebacker awards and both are 2026 prospects.
There is a lot of young talent in the Midwest to keep an eye on.
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DEEP CROP OF QUARTERBACKS
One thing that I’ve consistently said the Midwest gets overlooked about is how good the quarterbacks are in the region. Four-star Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair showed why he’s one of the best signal-callers in the country. But the camp was very deep at the position.
At one point Mid-South analyst Marshall Levenson turned to me and said “is it just me or are there are lot of good arms here?”
It wasn’t just him.
Illinois commit Carson Boyd was impressive all day. So was Ohio 2026 four-star Nathan Bernhard. Colton Gumino has become a name to watch this summer and is having a big offseason. Rocco WIlliams is a crafty lefty quarterback out of Ohio. Class of 2027 quarterback Trae Taylor has a bright future ahead.
Jamison Kitna, Ethan Plumb, Emile Picarella and Cooper Kmet also had good moments during camp.