Players Coming off the Board
With a number of prospects already having committed, there are still a slew
of California natives who'd yet to make their college decision.
Two quarterbacks made commitment, one for the first time, and the other
flipping his commitment from one Pac-12 school to another.
Stockton (Calif.) Lincoln quarterback Zack Greenlee, who was the only Elite 11 passer from the region to be uncommitted, picked Fresno State on Friday,
giving the Bulldogs one of the top quarterbacks in the state.
A day later, Pasadena (Calif.) quarterback Brandon Cox committed to Utah.
Earlier in the week, Cox decommitted from Arizona, where he'd been a verbal
since the summer, after having taken an official visit to Utah last week.
Cox gives the Utes a second quarterback in this class, along with El Toro
(Calif.) passer Conner Manning.
On Saturday, Tennessee went into Los Angeles and grabbed a verbal from
Chauntez Jackson, a defensive end/tight end from Inglewood (Calif.).
"Tennessee is a great fit for him and he's really excited about playing in
the SEC. He's looking for a change and is excited to get out of state and
experience something new. He should do well and we're all very excited to see
how he develops," Inglewood assistant coach Khalid Ali told Scout.com.
Stanford, though, picked up the biggest verbal of the week when Tulare
(Calif.) Mission Oak linebacker Kevin Palma chose the Cardinal. The
four-star linebacker is the #2 middle linebacker in the West, and the Cardinal
already have a verbal from the top one, and he'll strengthen an already stout
linebacker corps.
"I just think it's the perfect for me. I love the school, the overall academic reputation and the football program. Plus the school is close to home so my friends and family can see me play so there were a lot of pluses,"
Palma told Scout.com.
Irish Impress Pac-12 Commits
Notre Dame has long been one of USC's fiercest rivals, while Stanford has
been a recent thorn-in-the-side to the Trojans.
All three factored in to visits take this past weekend to Notre Dame.
Two USC commits and one Stanford verbal got to see the Irish and Cardinal tangle
in South Bend, the trio visiting Notre Dame officially.
And each left impressed with what Notre Dame had to offer.
Four-star safety Max Redfield and four-star cornerback Chris Hawkins, both
committed to USC, and four-star linebacker Isaac Savaiinaea, a Cardinal pledge,
visited Notre Dame for a wild overtime win over Stanford.
“I just got back from my official visit to Notre Dame, it was great,” Savaiinaea
told Scout.com.
“The campus was beautiful and student life was great. The game was amazing.
I am definitely still committed to Stanford, I am just trying to see where I fit
best. At the end I will lay things out and pick the best place for me.”
Hawkins didn't comment on his visit, but his father, Armond, spoke on Chris'
behalf.
"All we can say is Notre Dame has a classy program," said Armond
Hawkins. "He
was very impressed with the coaching staff and the fans. We will probably
take an unofficial back there in the next couple of weeks. Now I will go with him on an unofficial to Notre Dame."
Meanwhile, Redfield said he was torn between the Irish and USC.
"It's just between USC and Notre Dame," Redfield said Scout.com. "Both obviously have great programs and great tradition, along with very good athletics and academics, and beautiful campuses as well. The thing that really separates Notre Dame, is other than athletics and academics, how much that degree really means and how meaningful it is to have a Notre Dame degree in the business world, once you're done with football."
Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey was well-represented in the inaugural Semper
Fidelis All-American Bowl in 2012, with two players, Jaydon Mickens and Jeremiah
Allison, being invited and Mickens earning MVP honors. The Dons will have two
players in the 2013 Semper Fidelis Bowl, which will be played in nearby Carson
at the Home Depot Center. Defensive backs Jayme Otomewo and Daquawn Brown
were both invited to this year's contest.
College of Sequoias (Calif.) lineman Claudell Louis committed to BYU.
El Cerrito (Calif.) cornerback Marcellus Pippins committed to Utah.
Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral receiver Torry McTyer committed to
California.
Fresno (Calif.) Central 2014 running back Nick Wilson got his first offer,
from Arizona.
Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne linebacker Keishawn Bierria was offered by
California.
Corona (Calif.) Roosevelt cornerback Elijah Mitchell got an offer from
Wyoming.
College of Sequoias (Calif.) quarterback Tyler Ferguson picked up his
first offer from Akron.
Fife (Wash.) 2014 offensive lineman Kaleb McGary got an offer from Washington.
El Cerrito (Calif.) 2014 linebacker D.J. Calhoun got a new offer from
Utah.
Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) 2014 running back/linebacker Devante Downs picked up his first offer from Washington.
Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) cornerback Armond Hawkins got his first offer
from Eastern Michigan.
National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins and Northwest Recruiting Analyst Jake Worthen contributed to this notebook