West Spotlight: Commits that should make an instant impact in 2024
As with any recruiting cycle, there are players all over the 2024 class that will make an immediate impact as freshmen. Today, Rivals.com national analyst Adam Gorney highlights a handful of prospects from the West that have the ability to make an immediate impact as true freshmen.
RELATED: Mid-South commits that should make an instant impact in 2024 | Midwest | Southeast | East
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After Christian Jones’ eligibility runs out, there should be a spot at right tackle and Baker is going to come in as prepared as anyone can be. He plays that exact spot at powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, arguably the best program in the country, and he’s been phenomenal.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Texas commit is currently the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2024 class. He’s not overly physical, where he’s just going to grind defensive linemen into the ground, but no one gets around him. No one. With his athleticism, great hands and technique, Baker could see early playing time as the Longhorns head to the SEC.
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An early USC commitment, Butler backed off that pledge and was planning to commit to Georgia – but then Colorado happened. He believes in the vision of first-year coach Deion Sanders and especially the offensive firepower Sanders has brought to Boulder as well with quarterback Shedeur Sanders and offensive coordinator Sean Lewis.
So far this season, Colorado has run 288 offensive plays, and 171 of them have been passes. The Buffaloes haven’t run the ball all that well and have relied on the passing game. It’s one reason why Butler chose the Buffaloes in the first place, and he has the big-play ability to be a major weapon in Colorado’s pass-happy offense.
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After four games this season, only one player on the Arizona roster has more than one sack, and it’s Michigan transfer Taylor Upshaw. He won’t be around for long, so the Wildcats need a big-time playmaker coming off the edge and it could definitely be the Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe standout.
Rushing, who chose Arizona over Oregon, Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee and many others, has incredible length and athleticism to come off the edge and make plays. Arizona will be looking for players at that position in the coming years and Rushing is one of the best-looking defensive ends in the class.
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Alabama clearly has a quarterback problem. The Crimson Tide have experimented with Jalen Milroe, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson this season, all with questionable results. Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan came in the 2023 class but haven’t had an opportunity to play yet.
Enter Sayin, the five-star quarterback from Carlsbad, Calif., who is having a phenomenal senior season. The Alabama commit is so talented, so prepared and so mature, Sayin is someone who will come to Tuscaloosa as ready as possible to get on the field and compete for early playing time. He’s also someone coach Nick Saban should gravitate toward immediately.
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Notre Dame is loaded at linebacker for years to come, but Viliamu-Asa didn’t choose the Irish over Ohio State and USC to stand on the sidelines. Plus, the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout is extremely talented, advanced and physical, and he's always around the ball and making plays.
Some people around the Bosco program say that Viliamu-Asa is the best defensive player to come through the program and it’s believable. Viliamu-Asa has tremendous instincts, he’s fearless and ball carriers have to watch out to see where the high four-star linebacker is coming from because he can close in a hurry.