One of the country's premier recruiting camps was back in Ohio as Nike's The Opening returned to Columbus. Here are some of the key storylines from the talent-rich camp.
We ran down the list of Ohio State commitments and some thoughts on their performances Saturday. There are also some videos and a general recap from the event, if you're interested in the big picture stuff.
Let's get to some of the other notes and news from The Opening Columbus.
TOP TARGETS PUTTING ON A SHOW
Seven different participants in Saturday's camp earned an invitation to The Opening this July, including one Ohio State commit (Antjuan Simmons) and four other prospects with an offer from the Buckeyes. Let's examine how those players, as well as a few more of Ohio State's top targets, fared.
Alongside Buckeyes' commit Josh Myers, the single biggest name at the event was Detroit's Donovan Peoples-Jones, and the five-star wide receiver didn't disappoint. The nation's top-ranked wide receiver – who earned his second straight invitation to The Opening – had no reason to show up other than to compete and he did just that.
DPJ went head-to-head most of the day with another two-time invitee, Georgia four-star cornerback Jamyest Williams. Upon first glance, it could be easy to overlook Williams because he's not the new, prototypical 6-foot-1 cornerback, but between the lines, he's an absolute beast.
Williams visited Ohio State at the camp's conclusion and he'll get a visit from Kerry Coombs at Grayson High School this coming week.
Cincinnati Moeller tight end Matt Dotson becomes the second straight Crusader tight end to earn an invite to The Opening, following in the footsteps of his former teammate Jake Hausmann. Dotson missed almost half of his junior season with a wrist injury and finally looks like he's 100 percent. He moved well – he actually ran much "better" than I expected him to – and although he was a bit inconsistent catching the ball early in the afternoon, he was certainly the top tight end at the event. Talking to Dotson, it seems the Buckeyes' uncertainty about taking a tight end in 2017 seems to have the Moeller tight end trending towards two of their biggest rivals: Michigan and Michigan State.
Another Detroit star, Martin Luther King defensive back Ambry Thomas also stood out. Thomas exceptionally aggressive and was without question one of the premier defensive backs at the event.
Clairton, Pennsylvania's Lamont Wade had a good day, as you'd expect from a consensus top-10 cornerback. Wade did not earn an invitation to The Opening, which was a bit of surprise, but he cemented his national ranking with excellent man-coverage skills and the times he did get beat he has the speed to make up any deficit. If there's a "knock" on Wade, it's that he could have walked away with three or four interceptions but instead left with nothing but pass breakups.
Cincinnati Colerain's Amir Riep did not make the trip, focusing instead on college placement tests. He'll head to Chicago next weekend and take part in the Windy City regional.
MICHIGAN – THE STATE – BLOWING UP
It's getting harder and harder to ignore it: the state of Michigan is producing some major talent.
Five of the seven invitees Saturday come from up north, including two players – offensive lineman Jordan Reid and KJ Hamler – who are three-star prospects that earned a chance to perform on the summer's biggest recruiting stage. Hamler continues to be a demon in camp settings: he was almost impossible to cover one-on-one and if he can get a little bit stronger, he's a guy that should be a top-20 wide receiver. He can run, he catches everything and can't be covered one-on-one.
Another Michigan defensive back, Cass Tech 2017 Donovan Johnson, was named the MVP at defensive back, quite an accomplishment with all the talented competitors he was up against. He also earned the title of "fastest man" at the event, ripping off a blazing 4.45, laser-timed, 40-yard-dash.
Jaylen Kelly-Powell was his usual steady self, he was constantly fighting for reps and played physical all day against the best receivers he could find. He remains one of my favorite players in the class simply because he works his butt off and is as classy as any kid in the country. He didn't test Saturday because of a sore hamstring but went and competed as hard as he could and that speaks volumes about him.
Blessing to compete with and against the best. Battled all day against an absolute beast @therealestbw0
— Jaylen Kelly-Powell (@JKellypowell) May 8, 2016
When Kerry Coombs made Michigan a priority a few years ago, it should Ohio State picked a good time to get involved in recruiting the state up north.
TALENTED OFFENSIVE LINE GROUP DOESN'T DISAPPOINT
Josh Myers, Jake Moretti, Jedrick Wills, Matt Bockhorst and Jordan Reid were so good that Todd Huber, who handles the offensive lineman for The Opening, told me following the event it was the single best group he's ever had at one regional camp.
Huber said there was a lot of discussion about potentially announcing all five offensive lineman today as finalists for The Opening, but with four regional camps left the decision was made to not completely handcuff themselves numbers-wise over the next few weeks.
Garaway, Ohio's Joel Honigford performed well, but didn't make the Final 10 along the offensive line. Honigford is raw, but the ability and frame are there. I still believe that Ohio State is going to come calling for him if he can come to their camp next month and impress Urban Meyer as much as he's impressed the assistant coaches.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PROSPECTS GETTING BIG-TIME ACCOLADES
One of the real enjoyable elements of these national camps (even when they're of the regional variety) is that you're regularly reminded that while recruiting rankings are an excellent guide, they're hardly the final word on a recruit's ability. Prospects that have no offers or are just not getting the recognition they should often come out and just blow people away, which is what Pickerington Central 2017 running back Morgan Ellison has done at every camp he's been to this spring — he did it again.
Ellison brought home the top overall SPARQ score at the event.
Got some good work Today @TheOpening MVP #Getopen #blessed pic.twitter.com/2OqdB9M5vZ
— Morgan-Ellison (@MorganEllisonFB) May 7, 2016
Ellison has one offer – from Toledo – and continues to impress at camp after camp but a lack of film and a history of injury has some schools holding back. If you look at the Top 20 SPARQ performers, there are actually a number of names that will be completely unknown to even the most hardcore recruiting fans.
Sure, there are some guys on there, Josh Myers and Jaelen Gill (he ran 4.55, which he was visibly disappointed with) for example, that you know, but the big testers are guys that working very hard to make a name for themselves. These are the players that will be working all summer at college camps all around the region to become the next wave of big-timers and it's great to get to see them evolve from an unknown into a household name.
