West Spotlight: Biggest commitments since NSD
With more than a month since National Signing Day passed, schools from around the West are already hard at work building their 2020 class. Several schools have landed verbal commitments over the last month. Today, we take a look at five that caught our eye.
RELATED: Ten biggest 2020 Southeast commits since NSD | Midwest | Mid-Atlantic
Berry took a surprise visit to LSU last month and ended up making a commitment to the Tigers before leaving Baton Rouge. His recruitment was busy as the 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive tackle landed major offers from national programs. But his trip to LSU was sort of unknown before it happened and his pledge turned out to be the same way. Berry has been up-and-down in games and at events over the past couple years but he definitely has an impressive physical presence and he could be a tremendous asset for the Tigers’ defensive line if he can keep the motor going at all times.
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Bowens is an outstanding athlete who is a big-time gamer and he has a strong arm that can make all the throws, but sometimes struggles with accuracy. Doesn’t that sound a whole lot like Trace McSorley when he got to campus? Making that comparison is impossible since McSorley was one of the best quarterbacks in program history, but Bowens gives Penn State that dual-threat option that it likes in its offense.
After a visit to Happy Valley with a bunch of other Las Vegas prospects, Bowens was blown away by the coaching staff and how they would use him in the offense. Some schools have talked about using Bowens at defensive back – much like McSorley – but Bowens wants to play quarterback and the Nittany Lions are going to give him a shot.
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Earlier this offseason, Garbers said he was most interested in UCLA, Washington State, Boise State and Miami. But two days after that interview the four-star quarterback landed an offer from Washington and that quickly set off high interest in the Huskies and a commitment in recent weeks.
The Newport Beach (Calif.) Corona Del Mar standout threw for 4,135 yards with 55 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he also rushed for six scores. His brother, Chase, plays at Cal and he seemed to really like his UCLA visit, but Washington emerged as the frontrunner after it offered and he decided to commit to the Huskies.
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Keanaaina’s commitment to Notre Dame was one of the biggest this offseason – literally. The four-star defensive tackle is a massive prospect at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds and he is not only a run stuffer but he has the speed to get in the backfield and cause problems.
After his first visit to Notre Dame, it seemed like the Irish were going to be tough to beat. He raved about the coaching staff, their development of players on the line of scrimmage and he loved the academic offerings in South Bend as well. Florida and Ohio State were also in his top three but Notre Dame seemed to lead from the start.
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In late January, the three-star defensive lineman landed an offer during his visit to Cal. It was definitely a big one for Phillips. He then was offered by UCLA in early February. Another big one. But when Stanford offered a few days later it looked like the Cardinal would be tough to beat and that proved true when Phillips committed a few weeks later, shortly after Stanford’s junior day.
Phillips plays a position of need in this Stanford recruiting class and his commitment is especially important because he can play across the defensive line and give coach David Shaw’s defense a bunch of different looks. UCLA and Cal were coming on strong but once Stanford offered it looked like it would be the team to beat.
