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New Year's Day is pretty much heaven for a college football fan and this year just went to This Is The End levels of heaven with the first ever college football playoff kicking off.
The three high school all-star games this weekend aren't quite at that level for recruiting junkies, but it's still going to be pretty fun to watch over a hundred blue chip recruits that are going to be the future stars of college football compete against each other. But let's be honest, most fans will be watching the games and constantly checking Twitter to see if player X chooses their school more than anything else that happens during the actual game.
Seven recruits who will be announcing their college destination during the games this weekend will have hats from Pac-12 programs on the table. It could end up being a huge weekend for USC with four possible commitments coming their way starting Friday with the Under Armour game.
2015 Under Armour All-America High School Football Game (Friday, Jan. 2 at 1pm P.S.T on ESPN2)
Players announcing Friday:
The big time running back from Texas is choosing between USC and Notre Dame after previously being committed to Oklahoma State. If Buck Allen chooses to leave for the NFL, Jones would be a huge get for the Trojans because he's talented enough to be an immediate contributor. There have been predictions for both schools from recruiting experts, but there were rumors that Jones was pretty much set to commit to USC before this week.
Settle is a beast at around 340 pounds already. A lot of that isn't good weight and he'll have to reshape his body once he gets to college, but he has elite quickness for a young man that size and could develop into a dominating force in the middle of someone's defense. Once again, USC is the Pac-12 hat on the table with the Trojans having a legitimate shot at landing Settle.
The Viriginia native could also choose to stay closer to home and play for Virginia Tech and Louisville is also seen as a possible destination.
2015 US Army All-American Bowl (Saturday, Jan. 3 at 10am P.S.T. on NBC)
Players announcing Saturday:
Athlete Stanley "Scrappy" Norman
Norman could be a very good receiver on offense, but he has the skills to be a fantastic player at corner at the next level. Louisville is an option for him, but he is also considering Arizona State and Washington State. It would be a surprise to many if Wazzu landed him, but considering how hot they've been on the recruiting trail the last month, maybe it shouldn't surprise anyone. Arizona State is the likely pick though as they look to turn a really good recruiting class into a great one.
Ross is showing people this week how he probably deserves to be a top 50 player in the nation and that he could be a star at wide receiver at the next level if that's where his future college program chooses to play him. There might be other hats on the table in front of Ross, but it sounds like a slam dunk he'll put on a USC hat.
Tell might be the best safety prospect on the west coast. He's considering Texas A&M in addition to Oregon and USC. Yes, USC has the chance to land another top player this weekend! I don't have a preference normally, but I'll root for Oregon to land him only because it's just not fair if USC lands everyone. (Who am I kidding? He's likely going to choose USC)
4th Annual Semper Fidelis All American Bowl (Sunday, January 4th at 6pm P.S.T on Foxsports 1)
Players announcing on Sunday:
Joyner was Washington State's top commit before opening up his recruitment again. He's an explosive athlete that will likely end up at corner at the next level. At this point it would be a shock if he didn't put on a Washington hat and choose the Huskies on Sunday.
The former Stanford commit would have been a perfect fit as a physical inside linebacker in the Cardinal defense, but couldn't get a high enough test score to stick with his commitment. Now he's ready to commit again this weekend with Utah and Oregon State as possibilities in addition to Oklahoma State. It would be huge for the Beavers to land a player like Folau and it would be Gary Andersen's first big win in recruiting at his new gig.
Update: Folau decided not to announce his decision this weekend