Southeast spotlight: Five summer surprises

This summer has already brought a lot of big commitments and developing storylines throughout the country, but especially in the Southeast. From performances we did not expect to commitment changes we did not foresee, here is a run down of five summer surprises from the Southeast region.

MORE: Midwest summer surprises

The summer started with Rivals250 wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase naming a final three of Tennessee, TCU and LSU in advance of an early July announcement. Chase was set to announce his decision on NFL Network, and all signs pointed to him committing to TCU. But thanks to poor planning on the part of the network, Chase was bumped from broadcast and wasn't able to make his commitment. After initially planning on announcing again shortly thereafter, Chase elected delay his decision indefinitely. It seemed like the delay in the announcement would benefit LSU, as the Tigers were making up ground in their efforts to keep Chase close to home. But over the weekend Chase made a surprise visit to Florida and the Gators impressed him so much that by the time Sunday night rolled around, he was committed to Florida. Neither LSU nor TCU is likely to give up on Chase, who was once committed to Kansas as well, so it will be worth watching to see if he has any more surprises up his sleeve before it's all said and done.

When the month of June started, five-star quarterback Justin Fields was committed to Penn State. Now the calendar is about to turn to August, and Fields has every recruiting fan and analyst guessing about where he will end up committed. Georgia, Florida State and Auburn appear to be the three schools left battling for Fields, especially after Florida nabbed a commitment from five-star quarterback Matt Corral over the weekend. Unlike some prospects in high profile positions, Fields has continued to do interviews following his trips, only stirring more speculation about where he will commit. Most thought that when he opened up his recruitment he might end the summer as a commit somewhere else. But so far it's been surprising to see him keep his future destination under such tight wraps.

This is not a surprise in terms of a new prospect emerging and impressing, but when he committed to Auburn July 11, that was a surprise. Monday was at one time an Auburn lean, but after visiting Clemson in mid June, those Tigers grabbed the lead. He was set to visit Clemson this weekend for the cookout and he planned to commit to the Tigers during the visit. A couple of talks with Auburn coaches, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele in particular, changed his plan.

Zion Puckett is a 2019 athlete out of Griffin (Ga.) Spalding who is coming off a leg injury that caused him to miss most of the 2016 season. Some like him as a wide receiver, but he could project as a safety. Either way, he has shown this spring and summer that he is definitely among the best in Georgia. He is an explosive player, he has gotten his confidence back and he will be fun to watch in pads this fall. Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Tennessee and a few others have come through with offers in the last few months. His name is still new to many, but it won't be for long.

It's nearly the end of July, and a look at the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings shows that Alabama continues to lag behind its usual pace on the recruiting trail. As of today, the Tide have just seven commits. Since the calendar turned to June they have picked up the pace, adding five commits including Rivals250 offensive lineman Tommy Brown over the weekend. But make no mistake, Alabama sitting at No. 47 in the nation with just five months until the first point prospects can official sign letters of intent (Dec. 22) and it's not just a surprise, it's a shock. As the summer moves along expect the Tide to keep adding pieces, but with several key staff changes following the conclusion of last season, it's worth noting that for now, Alabama isn't recruiting at its typical level, at least not yet.