West Coast spotlight: Five summer surprises

This summer has already brought a lot of big commitments and developing storylines throughout the country, but especially in the West. From performances we did not expect to commitment changes we did not foresee, here is a rundown of five summer surprises from the West region.

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Matt Corral is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and he was a longtime USC commit, but the two sides decided to part ways earlier this summer. It’s Florida’s gain. The five-star quarterback, who transferred to Long Beach (Calif.) Poly for his senior season, seemed to be leaning toward Georgia, but a visit to Florida for Friday Night Lights sold him on the Gators and he committed this past weekend. The situation could set up perfectly because Florida is far from settled at the quarterback position and Corral has the ability and the moxie to come in and lead a proud SEC East squad. There are some questions as to why the USC situation did not work out, but if Corral stays focused in Gainesville, he has the talent to be special in the SEC – and to help reboot a struggling Florida offense.

Early in his recruitment, four-star quarterback Adrian Martinez made a commitment to Cal and it seemed like the perfect fit. The Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West standout loved the offense, loved the academics, and Berkeley is close to home. But then coach Sonny Dykes was fired, the Golden Bears hired Justin Wilcox, and it seemed like Martinez wanted to investigate some other options. The four-star ended up committing to Tennessee. That’s not really the surprising part, though. After Corral backed off his USC pledge, the Trojans came calling for Martinez, who really didn’t show that much interest. USC is a Pac-12 power - they're the Rose Bowl champs and could be making a run to the College Football Playoff. But Martinez found what he wanted in Knoxville, didn’t want to keep flipping to other schools and surprisingly did not give USC’s overtures much consideration.

It’s not surprising that 2019 four-star defensive back Chris Steele is landing more offers. He’s a really talented prospect. But it has been an incredible summer for the UCLA commit who’s ready for a big junior season at powerhouse Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. He remains committed to the Bruins – mainly because of his great relationship with head coach Jim Mora and position coach Demetrice Martin – but offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma, Stanford, Alabama, LSU and many others will make things interesting. If UCLA has another poor season, then it could be tough to keep Steele in the fold. The 2019 prospect was also one of the best defensive backs at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas and proved he’s athletic and skilled enough to play cornerback for the long term.

Four top 2019 West quarterbacks wrapped up their recruitments in the last few weeks and shockingly three picked schools outside the Pac-12. Top-rated Arizona quarterback Spencer Rattler picked Oklahoma, Monument (Colo.) Palmer Ridge’s Ty Evans is headed to Arkansas, and Reno (Nev.) Damonte Ranch’s Cade McNamara committed to Notre Dame. Only Graham (Wash.) Graham-Kapowsin’s Dylan Morris stayed in the Pac-12 by pledging to Washington. The big fish among this group is 2019 five-star JT Daniels, who has USC, Stanford, Michigan and others high on his list. But there’s no question a bevy of regional talent is leaving the West among 2019 quarterbacks, and that has to be a concern for Pac-12 schools. If history is any guide, there’s no guarantee those pledges will stick, but it’s surprising to see so many quality quarterbacks going elsewhere.

Possibly the biggest surprise camp performance this summer is the showing Jarrett Bell turned in at the Alabama camp. The 6-foot-4, 287-pound offensive lineman from Norco, Calif., did not attend any major camps this offseason, so he’s been somewhat off the radar, but he emerged as a national prospect after dominating in Tuscaloosa. According to sources, the Crimson Tide loved him at camp, and those coaches know a thing or two about targeting top talent and developing those players for the NFL. After Alabama offered Bell, he heard more from USC and UCLA along with Oregon and Oregon State. It wouldn’t be surprising if Bell had two dozen offers by the time his senior season starts.