re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

quote:

---

CLEMSON - ATH Quarvaris Crouch

here are plenty of players that Clemson would like to have - and the Tigers do have a need at safety - but Crouch falls into the “can’t-miss” category for Clemson. It would be awfully impressive for the Tigers to land the No. 1 player in the Rivals100 in back-to-back years (something that has never happened), and Clemson has a very good chance of doing so. If Crouch were to play running back, he would add an element of power to the Clemson running game that hasn’t been present for a long time. If Crouch ended up on the defensive side of the ball, it would be easy to see how he could be a star among the stars of the defensive front because of his versatility and nose for the ball.

---

quote:

---

There are many college football stars headed off to the NFL as we saw at the NFL Combine. Who will replace these stars? Here is Part I of Replacing The Stars, led by the heir apparent to a certain Penn State running back.

---

quote:

---

The 2019 class is officially on the clock and with the early Signing Period just about nine months away and the first opportunity for prospects to take official visits coming this spring, it’s time for recruiting fans from across the country to start familiarizing themselves with the class of 2019.

We at Rivals.com are here to help. Over the course of two weeks, we will introduce the top five players at each position in the class. Today we take a look at weakside defensive end.

---

quote:

---

Nolan Smith

Early contenders: Georgia (committed), Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee, Ohio State, Oklahoma, among others

Breakdown: Smith has been committed to Georgia for more than a year, and as a native of the Peach State, he has always felt an affinity for the Dawgs. But it’s clear that he will take some visits before he signs, and he’s mentioned Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee and Oklahoma as being among the schools that are in the mix. The Tide recently got a visit from Smith and his trips to other campuses are still in the works. Like most prospects who commit early in their careers, Smith will want to take another look around just to make sure he made the right choice initially, but Georgia is still his most likely college destination.

---

quote:

---

The state of Mississippi is as strong and deep as it has been in the modern recruiting era. There are 10 prospects that are four-stars on Rivals.com right now and there could be another half a dozen added to that list before all is said and done.

Over the weekend, LSU had quite a few of those guys in Baton Rouge (La.). Before Saturday night ended, Jaren Handy and Zach Edwards committed to the Tigers.

Not once, but twice did LSU head coach Ed Orgeron tweet out Hold that Tiger!.

When he tweets that out, those that follow LSU or recruiting in general know what that means — a new Tiger commitment.

Handy is a 6-foot-4, 260 pound defensive end out of New Augusta (Miss.) Perry Central and many thought just a few days prior to his visit to LSU that he was on the verge of committing to Ole Miss. He was in Oxford a week before he pledged to Orgeron.

His commitment was a surprise, but maybe not as much as the one that came from the No. 10-ranked prospect in Mississippi, Starkville linebacker Edwards.

Shortly after announcing his decision, Edwards said, “I had a top six coming into the LSU visit and I was not planning to commit, but it was in the back of my head. The visit just confirmed everything for me, so I did it.”

Orgeron hopes he can tweet out a few more “Hold that Tiger” after receiving the word from talent in Mississippi.

Nathan Pickering is a top three prospect in the state, and like Handy, he is a versatile defensive lineman. The star out of Seminary is leaning towards the Tigers according to some of his colleagues as you can read here.

Byron Young is another four-star defensive lineman out of West Jones and he was in Baton Rouge over the weekend too. Young has been following Tiger football for years.

What about Jarrian Jones? The Northwest Rankin athlete picked up an offer from LSU during his visit Saturday and the Tigers instantly shot up his list to the top. Auburn and the in-state schools will be strong competition for LSU here.

Enough defense. Lets move over to offense.

LSU is a school Sumrall wide receiver Dannis Jackson has had his eye on for some time. He got the offer from the Tigers very early in the process, he took in a game there last fall and he returned over the weekend. They are right in the thick of the race for Jackson and he is taking the recruiting process slow, so look for him to return to Baton Rouge.

How about a Mississippi State commitment?

Charles Moore is a defensive end out of Louisville that has been committed to the in-state Bulldogs since August. He is taking a look at LSU too and he posted a tweet that opened some eyes on Monday.

There is more.

Nakobe Dean, Raydarious Jones, De’Monte Russell and LaKenith Thompson hold offers from LSU, so they are ones to watch too. The state of Mississippi is strong, it is deep and LSU hopes to make a dent in it this cycle.

It is off to a good start with two verbal commitments early in March.

---

quote:

---

St. Louis (Mo.) Ladue Horton Watkins defensive end Moses Okpala came out of nowhere this past fall in his junior season, and has recently been riding a wave of new scholarship offers. Now with 12 offers in-hand, the three-star is starting to formulate his recruiting game plan.

THE LATEST

A native of Nigeria, Okpala did not put on a helmet until his freshman year of high school after the urging of friends and people in his community. He then had to miss his sophomore year after open-heart surgery to correct a coronary valve, but he came back to terrorize the St. Louis area with his combination of size and athleticism this past fall. Iowa State presented Okpala with his first scholarship offer on Jan. 30 of this year, and that opened the floodgates. The most recent offer came from Nebraska on March 5, which brought Okpala to an even dozen schools on his offer list.

IN HIS WORDS

“I know that Nebraska has a very good football culture and they now have the coaching staff from UCF so they are bound for success.

“I’m planning an unofficial (visit) with Minnesota. I talk with one of the Minnesota coaches every week. I look forward to seeing a school with good academic reputation, great coaching staff and overall chemistry.

“I’m going to visit Iowa State soon too. I’m impressed by their team chemistry and belief. They are both good academic schools and they communicate and they care.

“My (visit) list is not concrete yet, but I’ll be visiting some schools and praying to make the right decision for the next phase of my life.”

RIVALS’ REACTION

Besides Iowa State and Minnesota, Okpala said Illinois and Missouri are also priorities among his schools to visit this spring. Missouri has yet to offer, but Illinois offered on March 3 and Okpala already has a good relationship with tight ends coach Cory Patterson, who recently joined the staff after coaching in the St. Louis high school ranks the last few years. This is only the beginning for Okpala as his offer list should continue to grow weekly into the spring and beyond. His name is so new to the recruiting scene and once coaches are able to get into the schools this spring expect his recruitment to go national.

---

quote:

---

THE LATEST: February 21, 2018 is probably going to be a day Ga'Quincy McKinstry remembers for a very long time.

The 6-foot-1, 175 pound freshman athlete out of Pinson (Ala.) Pinson Valley picked up his first scholarship offer that day and it came from Ole Miss.

A week and a half later, on March 3, McKinstry took his first visit to Oxford (Miss.) and he liked what he saw.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: "The visit went great," said McKinstry. "Everything was nice and I got to meet a lot of great people.

"What I liked the most was the weight room and how they have everything together. Also I like how not only the position coach or area coach is the only person involved with recruiting me. All the coaches knew who I was and that made the visit even better. I wasn't with the same coach the entire visit and that was nice. They all knew me.

"I spent the most time with coach Nix and coach Peeler. They talked to me about how important my education is and what I need to do to stay eligible. We also talked about what they like to do offensively and all the things an athlete can do as an athlete at Ole Miss.

"The vibe up there is very exciting. They have a lot of fun at practice and all the guys are happy and really into practice. This was my first college unofficial visit and it was something I won't forget.

"I have a lot of interest in Ole Miss. They were the first school to offer me, so that is important, but to get to really see what Ole Miss is about was very interesting. The players that I met there helped me get more interested too. I really like Ole Miss."

RIVALS REACTION: McKinstry is a star athlete in Alabama. He played a role as a freshman in his team winning a state title. He could project as a wide receiver or cornerback. What he is right now is an elite athlete. UAB has already offered him as a basketball prospect too. Ole Miss was smart jumping on this young man early. They offered and got him on campus before anyone else and that will stay with McKinstry for a long time. Expect more offers to come much sooner than later.

---

quote:

---

Given our severe lack of depth in 2019, Pickering and Young are must haves.

---