Trio of four-star pledges highlight strength of Midwest WR class
RECRUITING 101: The calendar | The offer | The commitment | The ranking
The wide receiver position is particularly deep in the Midwest’s 2020 class, but last week three of the region’s top five prospects at the position all came off the board in the span of five days. First we take a look at the three four-stars who recently came off the board, before getting into the Midwest’s best remaining prospects at the position.
Zavier Betts of Omaha was the first four-star wide receiver from the Midwest to commit last week. Betts had candidly stated weeks before that Nebraska under Mike Riley did not interest him and he was looking to go out of state for college when his recruitment started. The No. 46 ranked prospect in the 2020 class decided to stay home and play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, however, and the change was Scott Frost’s arrival in Lincoln. Minnesota provided Nebraska its biggest competition, but ultimately could not overcome the home-state program. Betts had a smaller offer list than would be expected for a Rivals100 prospect, but his film undeniably shows elite potential from a big-bodied athlete who is a dynamic playmaker.
Three days after Betts committed to Nebraska, Notre Dame landed a similarly-talented prospect in St. Louis wide receiver Jordan Johnson. A prospect with that same type of dynamic playmaking ability, Johnson had made previous visits to South Bend and the Fighting Irish had started to establish itself as the team to beat for the Rivals100 receiver. However, an official visit had also been scheduled with Texas A&M for the April 12 weekend, so a commitment during his Notre Dame official visit this past weekend was not a foregone conclusion. The Fighting Irish were not taking chances, however, and sealed up Johnson’s commitment before he returned home to St. Louis.
The commitment of Chicago four-star Jadon Thompson technically took place earlier this week, but the dominoes started to fall during a junior day visit over the weekend. Illinois got off to a slow start to the 2020 class, but quickly made up for it with three big commitments in a two-day span, the highest-ranked of which was Thompson. The No. 4 player in the state of Illinois’ 2020 class and a Rivals250 prospect, Thompson will provide a vertical threat for future Illinois offenses.
FIVE BEST UNCOMMITTED MIDWEST RECEIVERS
The No. 1 ranked Midwest wide receiver in the 2020 class is still on the board, but probably not for long. Williams announced plans last month to announce in April, and still expects to have his decision late this month. A trip to Cincinnati is planned for this weekend, with Indiana, Purdue, Syracuse and West Virginia among the other schools that appear to be serious players right now. Many had Michigan as the likely destination for Williams just a few months ago, but contact with the Wolverines has fallen off in the last couple months.
The top-ranked player in the state of Oklahoma’s 2020 class is headed to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas after securing his invitation with a standout performance at the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas in Dallas. Two days later Hester dropped his first top 10, which consisted of Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Texas. Hester plans to narrow his list further after spring football, and could be part of a package deal with fellow Oklahoma natives and close friends Sevion Morrison and Myles Slusher.
The Detroit area is loaded with wide receiver talent in 2020, including two players on this list. Carr plays alongside four-star cornerback Enzo Jennings and five-star lineman Justin Rogers at Oak Park High. He released a top five last month that consisted of LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Purdue and Texas A&M, and has his first official visit scheduled for this weekend to College Station. Auburn and Georgia have recently offered, with the Bulldogs looking like a good bet to receive a spring official visit.
Washington dropped his top five on Tuesday and it consisted of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and West Virginia. The three-star prospect is ranked as the No. 59 wide receiver in the 2020 class and nearly made a commitment back in December after Michigan State had risen to the top of his list. Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio wanted Washington to take his time, though, and now Michigan and Purdue both seem like more realistic options as this recruitment heads into the spring.
Scott has not received as much publicity thus far in the recruiting process as the rest of the prospects on this list, but that could change when the Spring Evaluation Period opens next week. He holds 14 scholarship offers and is currently in the midst of a four-school visit week. That trip started with Cincinnati and Ohio State earlier this week, and will continue with stops at Kentucky and Pitt this weekend. All but the Buckeyes have offered.
There are several more top Midwest prospects listed as athletes who could end up at wide receiver or slot receiver in college, including St. Louis’ Mookie Cooper and Itayvion Brown, state of Ohio four-stars Terry Lockett and Qian Magwood and state of Michigan standouts Ian Stewart and Cameron Martinez.