4/14/2016 football Edit

Where will they go? Predictions on prospects from RCS Columbus

Josh Helmholdt, Woody Wommack, Adam Friedman

Rivals.com

The 10th stop on the Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour was in central Ohio, where prospects from the Midwest, Northeast and even the Southeast came out to participate. Many are amid heated recruitments, and the Rivals.com analyst team takes a shot at where seven notable prospects will end up committing.

Recruiting wrap: Stevens recently named a top seven, but at the Rivals Camp Series in Columbus, he said Georgia and LSU are his top two in order. The Bulldogs have made a hard charge as of late behind the efforts of Mel Tucker, who has been enamored with Stevens since he was on the staff at Alabama. Stevens will be back on campus in Athens this weekend for the spring and it looks like the Bulldogs will be the team to beat. Stevens has already committed and de-committed from LSU and even if he commits to a school again, this battle will lately wage deep into the fall.

Prediction: Georgia

Recruiting wrap: Hamler came away with the Wide Receiver MVP award in a talented field. The explosive slot receiver has an offer list that surpassed two dozen schools with the most recent coming from Kentucky last week. Hamler has recently said he does not have a timetable for a decision and he has not listed a set group of favorites. He has said Michigan State and Penn State stand out, though, and the two Big Ten schools should be considered the top programs on his list. The Spartans have been in that spot longer, and there are a lot of connections for him in East Lansing.

Prediction: Michigan State

Recruiting wrap: The recruiting process started very early for Jurkovec and the Western Pennsylvania native holds more than a dozen offers despite not even being halfway through with his high school career. Many of those offers are from very tradition-rich programs, including in-state schools Penn State and Pittsburgh, where he has visited several times. Jurkovec told us on Saturday he remains open and is in no rush to make a decision, but a visit to Notre Dame obviously resonated with the class of 2018 quarterback and many feel that is the team to beat early in this recruitment.

Prediction: Notre Dame

Recruiting wrap: There may not be a class of 2018 prospect in Ohio who has more offers than Gill’s 18, and the rising junior is taking a diplomatic approach to his process at this stage. He just returned from a visit to the West Coast during his high school spring break where he was able to visit UCLA and USC, landing an offer from the Trojans. The four-star all-purpose back, though, lives in a suburb of Columbus and many of his close friends, like Brendon White and Marcus Williamson, are committed to the Buckeyes. Gill is going to enjoy the process, but at the end of the day, we expect he stays at home.

Prediction: Ohio State

Recruiting wrap: Wills has declined to cut down his list but Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Notre Dame appear to be the four schools in the best position to reel him in. The Wildcats have the early edge, not only because of proximity, but Wills has been a regular on campus over the past year and his former teammate, Landon Young, signed with the school in February. The longer his recruitment goes the better it bodes for the other school chasing Wills, but if Kentucky has a good season on the field, expect Wills to end up staying close to home.

Prediction: Kentucky

Recruiting wrap: Phillips is another without a true top list, but Oklahoma, Oregon, Kentucky and Ole Miss seem like the schools in the best position to land his commitment. Unlike most players in the Southeast, Phillips isn't locked in on playing in the SEC, which is a good sign for the Ducks and Sooners. Phillips has already visited Norman this year and will likely return for an official visit in the fall. While Ole Miss and Kentucky seem like the more realistic options, the Sooners remain the sneaky favorite.

Prediction: Oklahoma

Recruiting wrap: The 6-foot-4, 258-pound Gregory had a strong showing Saturday, landing among the top 15 defensive performers. The class of 2018 prospect has the size, and shows the potential, to be a double-digit offer guy and possibly a national recruit. He holds just one offer at this stage, however, that came through from the home-state Maryland Terrapins. That offer list will certainly grow over the next year. Maryland has a great track record recruiting DeMatha, including signing four prospects from the school in February, and it is likely to keep Gregory in-state as well.

Prediction: Maryland