West Spotlight: Commitment predictions for top prospects
Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney makes his predictions for the top uncommitted prospects in the West region.
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The No. 1 offensive tackle in the country plans to take an official visit to Nebraska for the Northern Illinois game Sept. 16 and then plans to announce his decision Sept. 24. It’s still a tough call with Oregon and Texas up top, but Ohio State is also in there and Florida State’s success could have the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei prospect thinking even more.
However, Texas offensive line coach/OC Kyle Flood has done a great job the past couple of months, and it now looks like the Longhorns have the edge.
Prediction: Texas
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Breland is another tough read as he’s planning to release a top four soon and then he could make his commitment at any time. Nothing is official but Oregon, Georgia, Miami and Texas A&M have all been very involved recently, so this could still go in a number of ways. The Ducks have been involved for a long time and he loves the coaching staff there.
Prediction: Oregon
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The Fairfield (Calif.) Armijo four-star defensive tackle has a top list of Washington, Oregon, USC and Utah, and while Johnson has been really quiet about his recruitment it still seems like the Huskies look best.
Oregon can never be counted out, his personality would fit well at Utah and he’s been intrigued by the Trojans. But if Washington continues to play well and could make a run to a Pac-12 title, the Huskies still look best.
Prediction: Washington
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For a long time, it felt like Oregon was the team to beat for the four-star running back from Seattle O’Dea, with Washington also very involved since Brown trains with some former Huskies. But now it looks like Michigan State has taken a big lead in his recruitment.
A strong, compact runner, Brown and four-star commit Anthony Carrie could provide a great one-two punch for the Spartans if it comes together.
Prediction: Michigan State
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There could be a chance Mitchell waits to make his commitment. The planned date is Sept. 16, but because the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout hasn’t been able to take visits and he’s been sidelined because of transfer rules so far Mitchell could wait until later in the season to make his choice.
USC has been a frontrunner but the Trojans have also loaded up on defensive backs. Oregon and LSU would be the two other standouts at this point as visits could be coming first.
Prediction: USC
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There is not a lot of confidence yet on where Rubin is going to end up, and this could still go in many directions with USC, Oregon, Utah and UNLV involved with a commitment coming up on his birthday, Oct. 20.
Some think with Dakoda Fields flipping to Oregon that the Trojans have made a bigger push to land Rubin, while the Huskies have still been a big-time player, along with the Ducks.
Prediction: USC
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The four-star tight end took a big round of visits this offseason to UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Miami, and while Saleapaga is pretty reserved about his frontrunners, there’s a good chance the Orem, Utah, standout stays close to home and picks the Utes.
Many others are involved – especially across the Pac-12 landscape – but playing with four-star QB Isaac Wilson and other friends from his 7on7 team might prove to be too much to turn down.
Prediction: Utah
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The high three-star quarterback from Northern California has been unusually quiet about his recruitment, so it’s often difficult to figure out which schools have made the biggest impression on him.
Oklahoma State is a school that has been talked about but so has Michigan State at length, and then other programs closer to home have been in the mix as well for the San Mateo (Calif.) Serra standout.
Prediction: Oklahoma State
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The three-star defensive end from El Cajon (Calif.) Granite Hills had planned to make a summer commitment with Arizona, Oregon State and Washington as his top three. But White didn’t feel ready and wanted to see if more programs got involved through the fall. That could still definitely happen, but he’s really close with Arizona position coach Jason Kaufusi and that could go a long way.
Prediction: Arizona
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The high three-star receiver from Gardena (Calif.) Serra is off to a great start in his senior season, and UCLA, Arizona and Utah have emerged as the three schools to watch in his recruitment.
A bunch of top Serra prospects have stayed home over the years - whether at UCLA or USC - and that might not change.
Prediction: UCLA