Southeast spotlight: Biggest June commits
June has seen a wave of commitments across the country. Here we look at the five biggest Southeast pledges, not just from a rankings standpoint but also based on their impact on their respective classes.
MORE: Farrell's Three-Point Stance | Biggest Midwest commits in June
Armstrong chose Florida State over offers from Auburn, Florida, Penn State and many others. Jimbo Fisher, Rick Trickett and the Seminole coaching staff targeted Armstrong over a year ago and on Sunday, June 25, they received the news of his commitment. Armstrong is a big offensive lineman with strength, versatility and smarts. He is the second offensive lineman from Georgia to commit to Florida State in the 2018 class, joining Christian Meadows.
What a win this was for the Clemson Tigers. McMichael chose Clemson over Alabama and Georgia, so Dabo Swinney went head to head with the school he has played for the national title the last two seasons and McMichael's in-state school — and won. The atmosphere Swinney has created at Clemson is what won McMichael and his family over. The staff did a great job of recruiting him hard, but not over-doing it. McMichael is a Rivals100 prospect who could shine on either side of the ball for the Tigers, but his home is likely to be in the defensive backfield.
The timing of Walker's commitment to Alabama surprised some, but his decision did not. If you had been following Walker's recruitment, then you knew Alabama held a comfortable lead for a few months. Auburn was the main competition for Walker, but the Crimson Tide hosted the four-star linebacker a few times in 2017 and, by the end of spring practice, Walker knew he wanted to call Tuscaloosa home.
South Carolina had been the favorite for Joyner for a while and, in the middle of June, the four-star prospect acted on his feelings and committed to the in-state school. The Gamecocks landed a big-time player who has been the starting quarterback at Fort Dorchester High School since his freshman year. He is an elite athlete and he will be a home run threat for the Gamecocks regardless of where he lines up at on the field. He would love to play quarterback and he may get a shot at it, but if that doesn't work, he will be scary at wide receiver.
Out of this group, Ericson was the biggest surprise. Not that his choice was Georgia, an in-state school for him, but the timing caught some off guard. Ericson is a quiet young man and he did not share a lot of his recruitment with the media, so when he chose the Dawgs early in June, not many saw it coming. While he is very quiet off the field, he is loud on it. Ericson is a physical player who lines up at offensive tackle in high school, but is expected to slide down to guard in Athens. He chose Georgia over Alabama and South Carolina.
