HILLIARD, Ohio – There were several top performances from prospects who were already well-known coming into Sunday’s Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas, but there were several more from players who are still flying under the college football recruiting radar. We highlight those prospects here.
MORE RCS COLUMBUS: The Helmholdt Awards | Five teams with buzz | Helmholdt's takeaways | Prospects earning their stripes | Full Rivals Camp Series schedule
Gipson provided the highlight of the day with a outstanding one-handed catch, but he had other impressive moments. He was one of the more elusive receivers during the open field tackling drill. His quickness showed itself in his route running as he was able to create a lot of separation. Only Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Howard have offered Gipson but Power Five schools should come calling soon enough.
Making the trip from Ontario, Dava was one of the better interior defensive linemen on Sunday. He played with reckless abandon and knocked plenty of offensive linemen backward with his initial burst off the line of scrimmage. Dava's technique is still a bit raw but he has a good understanding of how to attack offensive linemen and has all the physical tools to be successful. Kent State is his lone offer.
McGaughy has already made a college commitment, pledging to Northern Illinois in March, but he’s still under-the-radar and the primary reason is because he missed all of his junior season with a knee injury. The big receiver is back now, though, and is an eye-catching prospect when he takes the field. He did drop a few passes, but McGaughy was still among the prospects who created the most buzz with his play and potential at Sunday’s event.
Thompson was one of the day’s most pleasant surprises. He was in the running for MVP honors and won most of his one-on-one reps. Thompson has decent size, but his calling card is his explosiveness. He forced highly ranked defensive backs to respect his speed, as they began to give him 10-yard cushions toward the end of camp. A relative unknown, Thompson is as sudden as he is fast. He should have a scholarship offer or two at this juncture, as it’s clear he can help a Division I program.
Boone has six scholarship offers, so it’s not as though he’s a total unknown. Still, his build and quickness are a rare combination, so his offer list doesn’t quite reflect his upside st this juncture. A 2020 prospect, Boone bounced back from an early injury scare to nearly win MVP honors and did so while boasting one of the bigger builds of any tailback in attendance. Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana and Kansas have offered Boone and new schools should join that group as he progresses.
Moreland worked a little at defensive end, but it’s clear that he’ll play defensive tackle at the college level. The 314-pound Moreland has incredibly quick feet for a prospect of his size and won most of his reps with finesse rather than his obvious power.
Moreland currently holds offers from Ball State and Howard but has the skill to expand that offer list in the year ahead. Moreland has had some contact with Pitt, but is still awaiting an official offer from the Panthers.
Swanigan is a relative unknown because he spends the fall on a crowded Detroit Cass Tech depth chart that includes some other highly-rated running backs. He showed he belongs to be mentioned alongside the others, however, as he took home MVP honors in a crowded field. Swanigan looked shifty in the cat-and-mouse drill and shined against the event’s top linebackers during one-on-one work, getting separation on a number of different routes.
Every time we looked up, Jones was making another interception. Perhaps no defensive back in the entire event recorded more interceptions than Jones in on-on-one play. There was one that came because of an underthrown football, but most were just great plays in coverage by the southeast Michigan cornerback. A couple of Mid-American Conference offers have already found their way to Jones, but coaches like to recruit cornerbacks, especially cornerbacks with size, late into the process.
The day’s linebacker MVP, Robinson has very little going on when it comes to recruiting but he has a solid frame and showed that he can run downfield with smaller backs and jam larger ones at the line of scrimmage. The linebacker group wasn’t overly touted or star-studded, but Robinson managed to stand out nevertheless. Robinson needs to add size, but he does a number of things pretty well. He should land an offer in the year ahead.
There are two players by this name at Detroit King, and the other one is a Rivals100 prospect in the 2020 class. So, maybe the older RayShawn Williams gets overlooked or confused with the younger, but on Sunday he was making a name for himself.
A prospect the defensive back coaches also raved about, Williams was constantly testing himself against the best wide receivers at the event, and winning those reps. He’s 5-foot-9, 183 pounds with long arms and a great feel for the position, but no offers at this time.
