The Rivals Camp Series hit the Bayou over the weekend for a stop in New Orleans and several of the region's best came out to compete. Each week following a camp weekend, Rivals.com's Woody Wommack will share his best social media moments from the camp, complete with thoughts and observations.
MORE RIVALS CAMP SERIES: WR vs. DB highlights Part 1 | Part 2 | More than 1,300 at New Orleans combine | Full coverage/schedule
PLAY OF THE DAY
MAASON SMITH IS THE REAL DEAL
This is was my first time seeing five-star defensive tackle Maason Smith and I have to say that he exceeded my expectations. In terms of physical comparisons, Smith's size and build reminds me of a couple of other former five-star defensive tackles in Derrick Brown and Daron Payne. Both of those players went on to have terrific college careers and it's easy to project Smith having a major impact at the next level as well.
Sometimes, prospects of his size get penalized in a camp setting because pure pass rushing isn't the strength of their games, but Smith showed a nice array of moves. There's a reason why college football's heavy-hitters are all involved here and one school is going to be getting a special prospect.
RIVALS CAMPS HAVE GONE INTERNATIONAL
Prospects come from all over the country to compete at Rivals Camps events on a weekly basis. Well now, we can say that prospects come from all over the world after TCU commit Alexander Honig came all the way from Germany just to participate in the event. The trip ended up being worthwhile for Honig, especially after he walked away with MVP honors.
I've always been dubious of international prospects, mainly because of how hard the game is to pick up later in life, especially for linemen. But Honig grew up playing in Germany, one of the few international countries with an American football subculture, and looked natural throwing the ball. The Horned Frogs are looking very smart for taking his commitment early in the process.
ANOTHER ETIENNE IMPRESSES
The Rivals Camps are full of family connections and now that the series is approaching a decade of events, some prospects who grew up watching on the sidelines now have their chance to compete. One of those is 2022 prospect Trevor Etienne, the younger brother of Clemson star running back Travis Etienne. Travis competed at the Rivals Camp in New Orleans back in 2016 and on Sunday it was Trevor who impressed with his performance. The younger Etienne has just one offer, but with the ball skills he showed at Sunday's camp, I wouldn't be surprised to see his list grow soon.
HIGH JUMP CELEBRATION
Just a funny clip I enjoyed of Casey Cain celebrating in style.
YOU MAKE THE CALL
Elite wide receiver Destyn Pazon had a great day the camp, but I'm convinced he didn't hang on for the catch here. Our videographer David Berry says he did. What do you think?
