West Spotlight: Five who will decide before visits resume
A week ago, the NCAA confirmed that the dead period for college football recruiting will last until at least Aug. 31, meaning the earliest college visits can take place will be September. Prospects are locking up spots in classes at a historically early juncture and that trend now figures to continue. Here’s a look at five prospects in the West who will make commitments before visits resume.
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Leading up to his decision on Friday, Johnson is simply not talking. He’s not giving hints on his true favorites or where he’s going. People close to him are not saying much either. It looks like Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and Texas are the frontrunners and it’s a little surprising that USC is probably out with Ohio State and Nebraska – the other schools in his top seven – as big-time stretches.
MORE ON JOHNSON: Ranking the contenders
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Lamson has seen his recruitment take off in the last few months without visits as quarterbacks have come off the board and others have emerged. The three-star prospect from Northern California will make his commitment on Friday and this looks like a battle between Syracuse and Louisville.
Lamson is excellent throwing on the run, finding receivers downfield when the pocket collapses and making something out of nothing. The Orange look to have the edge in his recruitment and he could fit very well into Dino Babers’ offense. He can throw it around the field and it wouldn’t be a surprise if some designed runs were implemented into the offense as well.
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UCLA, Colorado, Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington made up the final five for Olsen, who desperately wanted to take visits before making a decision. But with the travel ban in place, he also admitted that he did not want to lose out on his spot because so many other players were making their commitments.
Over the last few weeks, Olsen decided July 4 would be the best time to make his decision and down the stretch this looks like a battle between UCLA and Colorado. If he picks the Buffaloes, it would be a huge early pledge for Karl Dorrell and his staff. If he goes to UCLA, coach Chip Kelly could use the big tight end in a lot of ways.
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Rosas will also be committing on July 3 and this one could get interesting. The three-star interior offensive lineman visited Colorado before the coronavirus travel ban and he absolutely loved Boulder and the Buffaloes’ coaching staff. Arizona State is also a serious contender as the Sun Devils continue to push more into Southern California.
But UNLV should also be seriously watched here. Rosas has developed good relationships there, he sees immediate playing time as a draw and first-year coach Marcus Arroyo has been aggressive on the recruiting trail. Rosas has Pac-12 talent, so if UNLV lands his commitment, it would be a big deal for that new coaching staff.
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The multifaceted defensive lineman has more than 20 offers, but his recruitment has taken a significant Pac-12 focus with Oregon, Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington playing the biggest role leading to decision day on July 11.
To no one’s surprise, the Ducks could be the leader in his recruitment because Williams has talked highly of that program for a while, plus coach Mario Cristobal has shown the ability to dip into California for virtually any top prospect. A massive defensive end who could also move inside in the Pac-12, Williams hasn’t been on the camp scene much but he’s still a very talented player who should stay close to home when he decides.