The dead period is here but recruiting never stops. There’s still several players on the board who are set to make their commitments over the next couple of weeks.
Washington looks good to score big on the Rivals Summer Signing Day Show July1, Oregon State has a lot of momentum on two key targets and Texas could be trending for one of the top lineman out West.
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Oregon State looking good for QB of the future
For months I had my commit prediction for Las Vegas (Nev.) Arbor View quarterback Thaddeus Thatcher on Michigan. The Wolverines offered Thatcher during his unofficial visit to campus back in April and there was a feeling a commitment was imminent.
The longer things dragged on, the more time it gave other schools to jump in to the picture. Thatcher ended up taking official visits to Oregon State, UCF and UNLV. The visit to Corvallis was impactful and I’ve now joined colleague Steve Wiltfong in moving my prediction over to the Beavers.
Thatcher along with his teammate and adopted brother Damani Warren officially visited Michigan over the weekend and the Wolverines were pushing for a package deal. It now looks like both players will head elsewhere.
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On Tuesday, I put in a prediction for Warren to land at Texas A&M. The Aggies have been leading this race for some time and were recruiting Warren harder than anyone. We did think Michigan had a shot since they were the only school recruiting both players but it now appears the two will head their separate ways.
The two are set to commit late this week on June 26.
Beavers look good for fastest man in Cali
I also put in a commit prediction for Oregon State to land Anaheim (Calif.) Servite athlete Benjamin Harris. Harris is one of the fastest football players in America and won the 100-meters at the CA State Track and Field Championship with a personal best 10.14 time.
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He’s more than just a track guy and has the ability to be a difference maker at running back and receiver. He officially visited Oregon State over the weekend and the Beaver coaches did a great job on selling Harris on scheme fit and comped him to former Oregon State athlete James Rodgers.
Washington set to rally in the trenches
It was the biggest recruiting shocker of the year out West when four-star offensive lineman Rashaun Lavata’i committed to Washington State over Washington on Tuesday.
The Huskies are well positioned to rally and could go 2-2 when a pair of key OL targets announce on the Rivals Summer Signing Day show July 1.
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I’ve joined colleague Brandon Huffman in putting in commit predictions for Washingto to land four-star guard Gecova Doyal and high three-star tackle Tye Kennedy.
Both wins would be significant. There was a time when Oregon looked like the team to beat for Doyal. We still see the Ducks as the main competition for the Huskies but after his weekend visit to Seattle, we’re betting on Doyal to stay in-state.
Kennedy also visited UW over the weekend and his ties to the program are well documented. He’s the son of former Husky All-American OL Lincoln Kennedy and Washington has always been his dream school. Utah has made a strong push here as well but we think Washington is in a good spot for both linemen.
Texas trending for standout California OL
Orange Lutheran (Calif.) offensive lineman Lucas Rhoa took his final official visit to Texas last weekend and the Longhorns have the momentum right now. He has also visited UCLA, Penn State and Oregon and the feeling is the Bruins and Horns are leading.
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UCLA was probably the team to beat going in to his visit to Texas but it sounds like the Longhorns moved to the front of his list following his trip. Rhoa has always raved about Texas, the big stage the Horns play on and his relationship with OL coach Kyle Flood.
UCLA offers early playing time, a chance to stay close to home and a program he believes is on the rise. No decision date has been set but it sounds like we could be just a week or so away.
Woodard sets commitment date
Earlier today, we reported four-star wide out Eli Woodard set his commitment for June 30. This is a three-team race between Cal, Miami and UCLA. The Bruins got his most recent visit over the weekend and although UCLA made up ground, we still feel this will come down to the Bears and Canes.
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That’s where things get tricky and I’ve waffled back and forth on where I think Woodard ends up. Earlier in the week, I thought Cal had the edge. My gut said if he was going to commit to Miami, he would have done so already.
Often times in recruiting, the longer things drag out, the more you lean towards the safer choice and the school closer to home. That had been thinking Cal had moved to the top of his board, mainly because of his relationship with the Cal coaches, a less crowded WR room and the opportunity to play closer to home.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, I’m hearing Miami is still leading this one. Several commit predictions went in for the Canes immediately following Woodard’s USC de-commitment including one for me. At the time, the vibe was Woodard could commit soon after his official visit to Miami, which took place back on May 29.
Woodard recently said he knows the talent on the Miami roster is loaded but he’s not afraid to compete. He loves the big stage Miami is playing on, is close with Miami DB commit Donte Wright and said the vibes he had at Miami were unlike any he has seen before. This has been a fluid recruitment so far with several ebbs and flows but it sounds like if he had to choose today, it would be Miami.
