12/15/2014 football Edit

UA Game: Top 10 Storylines

Adam Gorney and Mike Farrell

Staff

The week at Under Armour is always a perfect time for highly-rated four-stars to make a move up in the rankings and land that coveted fifth-star. It's a great opportunity to put up or shut up and plenty of top prospects will get their chance in Orlando.

Some names that will be closely watched include Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Central offensive guard Lester Cotton, Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake receiver George Campbell, Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga offensive guard Richie Petitbon and Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep quarterback Brandon Wimbush.

Or there could be a prospect that is underrated at this point who emerges with an outstanding week. However, with a large list of current five stars there will be many others looking to keep the coveted honor as well and need big weeks. A lot of movement occurs in the rankings after these all-star events and recruits will get their chance to shine in front of a national audience.

3. Intrigue at running back

There are two five-star running backs as ranked by Rivals.com in the game and they will be competing on opposing teams at the Under Armour game.

This will be Damien Harris' chance to firm up his No. 1 ranking at the position and there is no doubt that Florida State commit Jacques Patrick (pictured) could see this as his opportunity to leapfrog Harris as the top-rated running back in this class. With Harris ranked at No. 11 in the country and Patrick at No. 12, this will be a great battle.

However it plays out, both Harris and Patrick are phenomenally-talented prospects who could be immediate contributors in college. Harris, out of Berea (Ky.) Madison Southern has Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State and Texas A&M as his top five with a battle between the Tide and Wildcats brewing. Patrick, from Orlando (Fla.) Timber Creek, has been committed to the Seminoles since late October.

4. Gators have work to do

Florida recently hired coach Jim McElwain from Colorado State and there's no question he and his staff have a lot of work to do leading up to National Signing Day.

An example can be seen at the Under Armour game where only one Florida commit -- three-star offensive lineman Tyler Jordan -- is in the contest. As of this writing, the Gators have the lowest-rated class in the SEC by Rivals.com by a wide margin.

There is a positive spin, though. Plenty of top-rated prospects from the state of Florida remain open in their recruitment and McElwain is working diligently to keep the Gators in the mix. It has been a tough road for Florida and only having one commit in the Under Armour game - which is virtually down the road from Gainesville - says something about the uphill battle to come.

5. Wide receivers wide open

There is a glut of wide receivers who are expected to come to the Under Armour game uncommitted and the week in Orlando could be important as they spend time with players from around the country and sort of test drive the quarterbacks as well.

Big name receivers on Team Armour -- Soso Jamabo, Tyron Johnson (pictured), Brandon Martin, DaMarkus Lodge, Cordell Broadus and Paul Lucas -- are still uncommitted. A majority of players on Team Highlight have pledged but Da'Vante Phillips and Equanimeous St. Brown remain open.

VIDEO: Recruit of the week: Tyron Johnson

There is also some recruiting being done at these all-star events since the players are in such close quarters all week. With so many players still undecided, a lot of movement could happen behind the scenes.

6. Texas well-represented ... but Longhorns?

There are 14 players from the state of Texas in the Under Armour game but only two are committee to the Longhorns and that has to be a cause of concern for coach Charlie Strong as he looks to rebuild in Austin.

Four-star offensive guard Toby Weathersby and three-star safety DeShon Elliott are the two in-state prospects committed to the Longhorns and they also have a commitment from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln four-star receiver John Burt.

The other 12 players from Texas are committed to Texas Tech and Texas A&M and Baylor and Alabama and LSU and many remain uncommitted but this is just one example of the issues the Longhorns face with in-state recruiting.

In the Texas Postseason Top 100 of 2015, only one player in the top 20 (Weathersby) is committed to the Longhorns. On the other hand, Texas A&M has six.

7. Can Clemson keep the playmakers?

Clemson has a phenomenal group of playmakers committed, but will all their pledges stick now that former offensive coordinator Chad Morris is off to rebuild SMU?

Five-star [db McCloud II][Ray-Ray McCloud III[/db] (pictured) and four-star tight end Garrett Williams are both Clemson commits and both will be playing in the Under Armour Game. They've shown no real signs of backing off their pledges, but with the pressure especially on McCloud from the Florida schools (and UCLA), and the change with Morris, things might get interesting down the stretch.

Clemson assistant coaches Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott have been named co-offensive coordinators, and that will be their role in the bowl game. Commits could be watching closely to see how the transition works and how smoothly the offense runs with Morris gone.

8. Battle in the trenches

Sometimes, the most valuable evaluation opportunities come during the week of practice and there will be no shortage of intriguing matchups between the offensive and defensive lines. For Team Highlight, Cowart and [db Beckner Jr.][Terry Beckner Jr.[/db], will be on the same defensive line against Drew Richmond, Keenan Walker and others. The interior line play will be interesting both ways.

On Team Armour, defensive tackles Daron Payne, Jashon Cornell and Shy Tuttle will be facing off against offensive guard Maea Teuhema, Jalin Barnett and other big boys.

The linemen one-on-ones will be a chance for a lot of top prospects to make an even bigger statement.

9. Mismatch to be exploited?

From Ridley to Terry Godwin, from McCloud to Campbell, Team Highlight has an incredible collection of talent at wide receiver and that could be one of the biggest mismatches going into the game because Team Armour has a lot to prove at defensive back.

By no means is Team Armour weak at corner and safety -- far from it -- but they will have their hands full. Five-star cornerbacks Kevin Toliver II and Minkah Fitzpatrick along with a cadre of outstanding safeties could get the job done.

But there are numerous wide receivers and even running backs who can catch the ball coming out of the backfield for Team Highlight that there will be some interesting matchups to watch.

10. The Hawaii unknowns

The top three prospects in Hawaii according to Rivals.com will be participating at the Under Armour game and it will be insightful in more ways than one.

There have been times when the best players from Hawaii have participated in events and not exactly dominated, but there is no question -- let's take Marcus Mariota for example -- that since exposure is so limited there it could be a diamond-in-the-rough situation.

Defensive linemen Breiden Fehoko and Canton Kaumatule along with offensive lineman Fred Ulu-Perry will have the biggest tests of their lives in Orland and in St. Petersburg. The talent, the toughness, the physical ability look to all be there with those three.

Now it will be a question of whether they can compete with some of the best in the country consistently over an entire week.

VIDEO ARCHIVES: Mariota at the 2010 L.A. NIKE Camp