The first of several Scout.com Regional Combines took place under beautiful Jacksonville skies on Wednesday afternoon. Over 150 athletes were measured, weighed, tested, and given the opportunity to compete in one-on-one drills and several players made a statement.
Blountstown's Cory Cox had an impressive day, as good as anyone there throwing the football. He has a big time arm, he's very accurate, and throws a catchable ball.
"He's the best quarterback out here," one tight end said after catching a well-thrown ball by Cox.
Desmond O'Neal of Gainesville Eastside had a strong day throwing the ball.
"I had a great time out here," he said. "There were some real good receivers, and I had fun throwing to them because it was something different."
The running back position was strong. FAMU's Richard Watson, who has several scholarship offers already, came and only did the 40 after being weighed and measured. The FAMU High standout checked in anywhere between 4.75 and 4.81 on the 40 on three separate watches.
Trinity Christian High in Jacksonville has two Division 1A running back prospects in Montel Harris and Jamie Harper. As Scout.com reported in recent days, Harris picked up his first offer from Duke while Harper is still waiting for his. That should change soon.
Harper, who's in the 5-10/200 range, ran the fastest time of the day. He was between 4.35 and 4.40 on the clock today. He didn't stop there, as he broad-jumped 9 feet, did 37 on the vertical, and then looked very smooth in drills. During 1 on 1 drills against the linebackers, Harper was one of the only guys who could match up against some of the top linebackers of the day. With his performance on Wednesday, Harper's offer list will likely grow in the coming weeks. He ran for over 1,200 yards as a junior last season.
Edgewater's Jeremiah Schwartz, perhaps the state's best fullback, had a very strong day. His 40-times were between 4.90 and 5.00 at nearly 250 pounds. However, during 1 on 1 drills he was very impressive and that's probably the third best part of his game behind his ability to run AND block. One of his new teammates, Lake Highland Prep transfer Ryan Middleton, had one of the fastest 40-times of the day at under 4.50 and looked very explosive catching the ball out of the backfield.
The wide receiver position was the strongest of the entire camp. There were at least a half-dozen players at this position who will be national recruits this year and sorting them 1-6 would be very difficult.
Those six players are A.J. Jenkins, Darius Morgan, Melvin Ray, Jeremy Brown, Daniel Bryant, and Darrius McQueen.
Jenkins was as good as any of them and showed everyone why he has so many offers. He ran anywhere between 4.38 and 4.47 in the 40 and showed tremendous explosion with a 9-11 in the broad jump.
"He's just real explosive and that's what made him the best guy out here today," one of the quarterbacks said.
Morgan, who checked in at 6-4 and 186, has long arms and is a tremendous red-zone weapon.
"He wins all the jump balls," that same quarterback said. "He's not as fast as some of the other guys, but you can make more mistakes throwing to him and not have to pay because he helps you so much with his ability to get up to the ball."
Ray, one of the state's top receiver prospects, had an excellent day. He was in the low 4.6's in the 40 and jumped 37 inches on his 6-2/190-ish frame. When the receivers coaches were asked to identify the top guys, Ray's name was the first one mentioned by both of them.
Bryant, a former teammate of Ray's at Chiles, did 35 on the vert and 9-3 on the broad jump and showed why he has over a dozen scholarship offers already. McQueen, a teammate of Ray's at North Florida Christian, isn't the biggest or fastest (high 4.6's to low 4.7's), but he runs tremendous routes and has excellent hands.
Boone's Jeremy Brown may be a better cornerback prospect, but he was outstanding at receiver on Wednesday. He ran in the low 4.5's and did a 4.12 on the shuttle with a 34-inch vert. His ability to shake people at the line is a thing of beauty, and he has great ball skills and showed why he has so many offers.
East Gadsden's Antwon Frost, Timber Creek's Quincy Quetant, Forrest's Cameron McKinnon, Pace's Riley Hawkins, Harmony's O'Neal Chambers, and Blountstown's Jon Lockhart were other standout receivers who proved why they'll be Division 1 recruits this coming season.
At tight end, a few kids seemed to stand out the most. Edgewater's Keiaron Jackson was probably the most impressive. However, Crescent City's Toshmon Stevens, who ran in the low 4.6's, might have the most upside because of his frame. He's a 6-5 kid with long arms and the frame to add a lot of weight.
Up front, there were several players who made an impact on both sides of the ball. The most impressive camper looked to be Madison County rising junior (class of 2009) defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel. His coaches say he's even better on offense, but he looked like a major Division 1A kid out there already on the defensive side of the ball. He was nearly unblockable the entire night. Georgia commitment B.J. Brand was there and looked impressive on offense. However, Forrest offensive lineman Byran Jones may have been the most impressive offensive lineman. Edgewater's Rafael Vasquez, Gainesville High's Earl Okine, and Boone's Jamarcus Allen all looked impressive as well. Okine is 6-6+ and ran in the high 4.8's to low 4.9's. He has long arms and pretty quick feet and is a major prospect.
Moving over to the linebackers, two players stole the show. Vincent Williams and Lerentee McCray were easily the two best out there, and they both showed why they're national recruits.
"They're both big time guys who will be able to play anywhere in the country," said former University of Florida linebackers coach and East Carolina defensive coordinator Jerry Odom, who is now the head coach at Coffee County High in Georgia. "(Vincent) is a will guy with great feet. I love his competitiveness. He just has that spark to him that you love to see in linebackers. He's always competing. He keeps his pads over his knees and just looks like a really good player. The other kid (McCray) was very impressive, too. He has more of a sam's body. He's long and will need time to grow into it. He's a great athlete who's still learning to play the position. They both have a lot of upside."
Williams ran in the low 4.7's while McCray was in the mid 4.5's. Other standout linebackers included Madison County's Travis Arnold, Ocoee's Tymiller Newton, Blountstown's Ryan Baker, and Okeechobee's Timmy Williams.
Finising up with the defensive backs, there were a few players who caught everyone's attention.
"The best kid out here was Victor Daniels," said defensive backs coach Don Cox. "He's gonna be playing big time college football one day. He's a pure lockdown cover corner, and he was great all day out here."
Hakeem Johnson, who ran a 4.40, was also very impressive.
"He has real quick hips and has good instincts," Cox said. "But he's still a little raw as a cover guy." (note: that's probably because Johnson's played a lot of wide receiver in H.S.)
Joshua Price, who has some offers already, looked impressive today as well. He ran in the low 4.5's and was impressive in drills.
"He's a physical corner who will end up being a real good free safety in college," Cox said.
Another standout performer in the secondary was Mainland's John Theodore, who came late but dominated in drills.
"He looked real good out here," he said. "He's very athletic and just knows how to cover people."
Seabreeze's Jerome Swinton, Okeechobee's LaShawn Henderson, Spruce Creek's David Howard and Demetrius Williamson, and Fletcher's Lacy McDougald also stood out Wednesday.
Stay tuned to Scout.com all week for more coverage on the event. All the official data will post on Friday as we gear up for Saturday's event in Miami.