West Coast appeal for programs at Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge

The Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas is this weekend in Indianapolis with many of the nation’s top prospects set to participate. Here is a look at some schools with West Coast recruiting ties, mainly in the Pac-12, whose fans should be watching with the most interest.

RELATED: Big Ten teams tracking Five-Star Challenge | ACC | SEC | Roster

There might not be a Pac-12 team with more interest in the Five-Star Challenge. Some Trojan commits will be participating – especially pledges who are listening to some other schools – and a bunch of top targets will attend as well.

Five-star quarterback commit Matt Corral looked excellent at the recent Steve Clarkson QB Retreat, and he’ll be going up against some other fantastic quarterbacks all weekend. Georgia and Alabama are pushing for him. Four-star linebacker commit Raymond Scott is fresh off a visit to Oklahoma and he’s also going to see Georgia soon.

And then there are a bunch of serious USC targets coming to Indianapolis including the top wide receiver in this class, five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown, four-star cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart, four-star linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu and many others. There is a very real chance the Trojans could have a phenomenal recruiting class this cycle, and many of those top players will be competing at the Five-Star Challenge. Plus, 2019 four-star linebacker commit De’Gabriel Floyd will be tested against some of the nation’s best as well.

One of the biggest competitors to USC for St. Brown will be Stanford, mainly because the five-star receiver loves how the coaching staff has recruited and interacted with him. and it certainly helps that his brother, Osiris, signed with the Cardinal last recruiting cycle. Amon-Ra is almost without question the best of the three brothers, which also includes Equnaimeous, who plays for Notre Dame. He’s that special. Another top prospect for Stanford – among many other programs – is 2019 four-star defensive back and UCLA commit Chris Steele. The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout could really emerge as a national standout after this event, and there’s no doubt Stanford has targeted him early on.

Four-star quarterback Jack Tuttle proved at the Elite 11 this past weekend that he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country and an absolute steal for the Utes. Now the Pac-12 squad will be watching the Five-Star Challenge closely, especially to see if they can steal two talented in-state prospects who will be in attendance. Four-star offensive tackle Penei Sewell is one of the top offensive tackles in the country and might be under five-star consideration. He’s been that dominant this offseason. Then there is four-star linebacker Salua Masina, who is looking at numerous Pac-12 schools. It wouldn’t be a shock at all if both ended up playing at Utah since many top prospects from that state prefer to stay closer to home.

The Bruins don’t have a ton of targets heading to Indianapolis but certainly some important ones. Steele has been committed for a while, and his relationship with coach Jim Mora and position coach Demetrice Martin will go a long way in any final decisions, but Stanford, LSU, Alabama and others are pushing. Also, keep an eye out on four-star interior offensive lineman Justin Dedich. UCLA, USC and many others are involved for him. Is there any chance the Bruins could steal St. Brown? He’s open to all possibilities, but others have the edge at this point.

So many of the top West prospects along with many who will be at the Five-Star Challenge are seriously considering national programs outside of the Pac-12, so it would only be fair to mention those teams as well. Two programs active on the West Coast are Ohio State and LSU. Four-star defensive back Jaiden Woodbey, who could shine at cornerback or safety, is committed to Ohio State and is working on some other prospects who will be in Indianapolis as well. Tuliaupupu has already visited with the Buckeyes and is highly interested. Max Williams, a four-star cornerback in the 2019 class, is high on LSU and loves the defensive back tradition in Baton Rouge. Ohio State, LSU and Oregon are supposed to receive upcoming visit from Taylor-Stuart, one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. It won’t only be Pac-12 schools watching West prospects closely at the Five-Star Challenge.