Top prospects lining up for Underclassmen Challenge
The Rivals250 Underclassmen Challenge presented by Under Armour is the premier high school football camp in America for juniors, sophomores and freshmen. This year's event will take place July 7 at DeSoto High School near Dallas, and many of the top underclassmen have confirmed their attendance.
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The quarterback position has early registrations from top players including rising juniors Ross Trail of Olive Branch, Miss., Drew Lock of Lee's Summit (Mo.), and Kevin Johnson of Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy, along with rising sophomore Shea Patterson of Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist. Trail, who has offers from Louisville and Memphis, and Lock, who has an early offer from Missouri, will bring their pro-style skills to the camp. Johnson, who has an offer from South Carolina, and Patterson, who is committed to Arizona, will showcase dual-threat abilities. Another quarterback to watch will be rising junior Tyler Hilinski of Upland, Calif., who has excelled at several camps this spring.
At running back, the class of 2016 should shine with top prospects making their way to Texas. Devin White of Springhill, La., has an offer from LSU, Robert Washington of Huntersville (N.C.) Southlake Christian Academy is committed to Mississippi State, and Kameron Martin of Port Arthur, Texas, has picked up early offers from Baylor and Texas Tech. The class of 2015 will be well represented by top prospects in Rawleigh Williams, who is committed to Ole Miss; and Joshua Thomas of Buford, Ga., who has early offers from schools that include Tennessee, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
The quality at the tight end position will be impressive, with Garrett Williams of Orlando (Fla.) First Academy, Will Gragg of Pine Bluff, Ark., and Kyle Penniston of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei registered. Williams has one of the more impressive early offer lists in the class of 2015, with Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee and Ohio State leading the charge. Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss have offered Gragg, while Penniston picked up an early offer from Florida State.
Mykel Jones of Patterson, La. and Conner O'Donnell of Huntersville (N.C.) Southlake Christian Academy are 2016 wide receiver prospects who are making plenty of early recruiting noise. Jones has offers from LSU, Florida State, Tennessee and Arizona State, while O'Donnell is a Mississippi State commitment. Three other top athlete-type players who have registered should have a chance to showcase their skills at wide receiver. Malik Miller of Madison (Ala.) Madison County is another class of 2016 recruit who has found early recruiting success with offers from Auburn and Vanderbilt. Trying to make a statement for the class of 2015 will be Jaylond Woods of Lenoir City, Tenn., and Stanley Norman of Culver City, Calif. Woods recently committed to Tennessee, while Stanley holds offers from UCLA, Utah and Washington State.
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There will be plenty of talent on the offensive line in Texas. Making the short drive from Louisiana, Jerry Tillery of Shreveport, La., and Garrett Thomas of Many, La., have positioned themselves as top recruits next recruiting season. Tillery has offers from Notre Dame, Arkansas, Stanford and Ole Miss, while Thomas has an offer from Michigan. Also from SEC country, Tyler Carr of Southside, Ala., has an in-state offer from Auburn, as well as one from Vanderbilt, and Jack Jones of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland is a recent Tennessee commitment. Making longer trips to Texas will be Quarvez Boulware of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy and Keenan Walker of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral. Boulware has offers from Florida State, Maryland and N.C. State, while Walker has them from Nebraska, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Washington.
The defensive side of the ball will have a ton of young talent, with the defensive back position especially loaded. Three committed recruits will look to lead the way with Deionte Thompson of Orange (Texas) West Orange-Stark committed to Alabama, Donovan Sheffield of Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth committed to Vanderbilt and Avery Anderson of Colorado Springs (Colo.) Pine Creek committed to Arizona State. While these three have made a decision, plenty of other top recruits will come into the event with open minds. DuWayne Johnson of Washington (D.C.) H.D. Woodson has offers from Georgia, Clemson and Miami. Kaleb Chalmers of Greenwood, S.C., has offers from Clemson and North Carolina. Ashton White of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy has offers from Ohio State and Virginia Tech, and Kareem Ali of Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek has offers from Clemson, Virginia, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. The class of 2016 will be represented at the position, with Dorian Banks of Sevierville, Tenn., leading the way. Banks recently picked up his first offer from the Volunteers.
At linebacker, Cameron Townsend of Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point will represent the Lone Star State at the position. Townsend has offers from Texas, Michigan, Baylor and Houston. Looking to prove that their early offers are warranted will be Darrell Williams of Hoover, Ala., with offers from Florida State, Tennessee and Mississippi State; Josh Smith of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland, with offers from Tennessee and Vanderbilt; and Roquan Smith of Montezuma (Ga.) Macon County, with an offer from UCLA. From the class of 2016, Jonathan Pollock will make his way from Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips. Pollock is the third class of 2016 prospect at the camp who is committed to Mississippi State.
Finally, on the defensive line, the tackle and end position will be loaded. Bryce English of DeSoto, Texas, is committed to the Longhorns. T.D. Moton of Shreveport (La.) Calvary Academy has an impressive offer list with Florida State, Georgia, LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Ole Miss pulling the trigger, and the class of 2016's Austin Capps of Star City, Ark., has an early offer from the in-state Razorbacks. At end, another in-state recruit with an early offer from the Longhorns is James Lockhart of Ennis, Texas. Pushing Lockhart in his home state will be Byron Cowart of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood, who has impressive offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Auburn and South Carolina; Adam McLean of North Potomac (Md.) Quince Orchard, who has offers from Florida State, Nebraska and Virginia Tech; Christian Bell of Hoover, Ala., who has offers from South Carolina and Mississippi State; and Breiden Fehoko of Honolulu (Hawaii) Farrington, who has an impressive early offer list that includes Clemson and Oklahoma.
Prospects from the classes of 2015, 2016 and 2017 with BCS offers who are interested in attending the Rivals250 Underclassmen Challenge presented by Under Armour can e-mail Player Personnel Director Brian Mohr at rivalsfootballcamps@yahoo.com for more information.
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