West Spotlight: Prospects under the summer microscope
This week, Rivals is taking a look at specific recruits from each region who we want to see this summer to help determine how the rankings should play out. We move to five players from the West region.
THIS SERIES: Midwest prospects under the summer microscope | Mid-South
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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The No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class has not done many things recently, even through a busy camp and 7on7 offseason, but that should change in the coming weeks with two huge quarterback events. Raiola was at the Steve Clarkson QB Retreat last spring and could be back in Southern California for it in a couple weeks, and then he’s expected at the Elite 11 in June.
The Phoenix Pinnacle standout has been busy training in California and working through his recruitment with a commitment to Georgia on Monday. Now it could be time to hit the field again and show off his incredible arm talent as he tries to keep that top spot in the 2024 rankings.
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The wide receiver class in California’s 2024 class is really interesting because there is going to be a lot of movement after seeing many of the top players at recent events, including four-star Kwazi Gilmer, USC commit Xavier Jordan and others.
Butler was impressive at the Under Armour camp in recent weeks, but we just need to see more of him on the biggest stage. The four-star from Calabasas, Calif., had a big junior season as Oregon and Georgia mainly battle over the former USC commit.
He is lean and has a different physical makeup than other receivers in the class. Still, he’s wiry, athletic, super bouncy and he’s a big-time playmaker who hopefully pops up at some big events coming up.
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Some of the best junior film in California comes from Waters, who plays both sides of the ball and makes a tremendous impact all over the field. He was supposed to be at the SUP7R tournament awhile back and that would have been a great evaluation opportunity but his unofficial visit to USC ran long and he didn’t make it.
The Lake Balboa (Calif.) Birmingham standout should have some opportunities in the coming months to participate in some team 7on7s or at the very least catch passes at the Elite 11. Waters is very good on tape, but an in-person evaluation is crucial this summer.
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The Gardena (Calif.) Serra four-star cornerback has been busy running track this offseason, which has limited his ability to play in numerous 7on7 tournaments across the region or to compete in a plethora of camps. That’s fine, since there is still plenty left – and Serra is a regular in the team 7on7 tournaments coming up – but Fields was also limited at the recent Serra showcase in front of numerous college coaches.
Fields missed some time during his junior season with injury, and while he is an electric prospect who can play both ways (but projects as a defensive back in college), getting on the field and showing your abilities is most important. A big summer could be ahead for those opportunities.
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The same weekend as the lauded OT7 tournament in Phoenix was the Pylon event in Los Angeles. I went to OT7 and missed Wyatt working out with California Power during the linemen event back in Southern California. He did not attend the Rivals Camp or the Under Armour camp in Los Angeles.
The big-time 2025 four-star can play outside linebacker, he can play edge rusher and he’s super productive in games. Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei is a regular at some of the big summer passing tournaments, so Wyatt should be seen plenty in the coming weeks and it will be worthwhile to see him play in space and move around to determine his future ranking.