Top prospects at Rivals 3 Stripe Camp events in Houston & Dallas

The Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas has concluded and the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge will highlight the summer at the end of June in Atlanta. This week, Rivals analysts are reflecting on the best performances at the camps in their regions. Today’s review features the camps in Dallas and Houston.

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The tight ends don’t often get the recognition they deserve at the Rivals camps because the position is included with wide receiver for MVP honors. But Gonzalez had one of the most impressive pass-catching performances at either camp. He’s certainly built to be more effective as a receiving option than a hulking blocker, but that’s exactly why he was able to show off so much in one-on-one reps against linebackers.

Gonzalez is a natural pass-catcher and a smooth route-runner, and that’s helped him pick up some steam on the recruiting trail this spring. His most recent offers have come from Boise State and SMU and he has a number of other Group of Five offers while also garnering plenty of Power Five interest.

Manuel has been a star on the camp circuit this spring, and he has picked up MVP honors at several events. At the Houston event, there wasn’t a linebacker that was safe from being made to look foolish by him either in the open-field tackle simulation one-on-ones or when he was going up against them as a receiver.

He’s a mighty-mite for sure, but there is no questioning his quickness, agility and consistency as a pass-catcher. Since his appearance at the Rivals camp, Kansas became the first program to take a chance on him and offered him near the end of April.

Much has already been said about how deep the talent level has been at wide receiver at both Texas camps, but not a lot has been said about Higgins specifically. Not many receivers are built as powerfully as Higgins is, and he showed a better ability to create separation from defensive backs than he seemed to at other events during this off-season. When it comes to going up and winning a jump-ball battle with a defender, Higgins is as safe a bet as can be found and his ability to make tough catches in one-on-ones helped earn him an invitation to the Five-Star Challenge next month.

Jackson took defensive line MVP honors at the Dallas camp, but there is plenty more that could be said about how decisively he dominated one-on-one reps against some very strong offensive linemen. With all due respect to Jackson, one would likely think his teammate and fellow camper, Taurean Carter, would be the more probable of the pair to take top honors, but Jackson’s surprising quickness and explosiveness was the story of the day. Over the course of the spring, Jackson’s recruitment has really taken off and after releasing a top eight, he picked up offers from Georgia and Ole Miss.

Perhaps no name is better-suited for a quarterback than McIvor’s, and after making the trip out to Dallas to put his talents on display, his recruitment has since received a nice boost. Although he isn’t quite as tall as most highly ranked, pro-style prospects, he has a snappy, tight delivery and throws well-paced, catchable passes.

McIvor also has the cool demeanor of a quarterback who is in control of what’s going on around him, and that has resonated with programs that have focused on him this spring. He’s picked up recent offers from Arizona State, Iowa, Texas Tech and North Carolina just in the month of May.