Decision Day
Some recruits aren't waiting until National Signing Day. Three prominent players in play will end up deciding tonight.
Tyree and Tyrell Robinson: This will happen tonight.
Tyree Robinson just informed me he and his brother WILL announce their decision "later tonight" #SigningDay #Oregon #Washington
— Justin Hopkins (@JHopkins247) February 5, 2013
There are conflicting reports on the situation. There was one report that had both Robinson twins going to different schools because of the various possibilities of playing football and basketball at either school. But it's probably likely that they'll end up at the same school.
My guess is they stick with Oregon.
Kylie Fitts: Fitts is also a bit all over the place. It's quite possible he ends up back at USC despite the way they jerked him around, but UCLA has come on strong with their pitch as has Notre Dame. Fitts also has Washington and Utah in the mix. I'd guess UCLA is the leader though and I'll stick with the Bruins as his eventual suitor of choice.
Fitts will make his decision at 7 p.m. tonight. For instructions on how to watch, click here.
Commitments
Riley Sorenson committed to Washington State. Sorenson reported interest from Washington and Cal but eventually stuck with the Cougars. Here's Kyle Rancourt of CougCenter with the story.
As we've talked about seemingly ad nauseum, Mike Leach and his staff are focusing on guys with elite traits. Whether it's speed, size, or freakish athleticism, the point is simple: bring in guys who excel at one thing and worry about the rest when he gets to campus. You still evaluate talent, but you look at someone who might be less polished overall, but excels at pass blocking. Bring him in, let him do his thing, and coach him up in the other areas.
Coug fans shouldn't have to wait long to see Sorenson on the field. At 6'5 and 320 pounds, he's absolutely massive. He played every position, save Center, on the offensive line this past season, and helped lead Santa Margarita Catholic to a State Championship. Speaking of SMC, Sorenson is one of six players who are playing for BCS conference schools. That's a pretty impressive feat, and if we're starting to develop a pipeline, I'm 100% behind that.
Center/defensive tackle David Maka ended up signing with Arizona over Kentucky. No, this isn't hoops, this is football.
The UA offered Maka early Monday morning and he committed right away. He is ranked as a three-star recruit by Scout.com recruiting service and is listed at 6-feet-5-inches and 330 pounds.
“It feels really great to get it out of the way,” said Maka, who officially visited the UA in October for the USC game. “I knew as soon as they offered me that I wanted to play there.”
Flips
Arizona State was on the good side of a flip. They managed to pull athlete Tre'vell Dixon from Nebraska.
After the Ducks switched up their recruitment, RB Dontre Wilson has changed from Oregon to Ohio State.
The 5-10, 170-pound Wilson had been committed to Oregon since last May, but decided to open up his recruitment after Chip Kelly left for the NFL. The hiring of Mark Helfrich was expected to help keep him committed to the Ducks, but after official visits to Ohio State and Texas, with the persuasions of Urban Meyer helping to win out.
Wilson revealed during his announcement that Kelly's departure had played a big role in his decision.
"To me, it was wrong, it kind of hurt me a little bit," Wilson acknowledged when asked about the incident. "But I'm over it."
DE Jason Hatcher has changed up his commitment once more. Hatcher has reopened his recruitment one day before Signing Day after seemingly firming up with USC. He's expected to pick Kentucky.
Defensive end Jason Hatcher has decommitted from USC, and will attend Kentucky, according to 247sports.com. Hatcher, a four-star recruit from Louisville (Ky.) Trinity, has had an up-and-down recruitment with the Trojans, who he originally committed to last July. He decommitted on Jan. 22, then recommitted two days later before decommitting again one day before National Signing Day.
CB Jalen Ramsey is also out the door. Ramsey will end up closer to home at Florida State.
Ramsey has been a tenuous commitment to the Trojans -- at best -- for months, and was heavily considering the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles as well. Florida State's coaching staff has been told that Ramsey will sign with the Seminoles, and the coaches for the Trojans and Gators have also been informed of such.
And there goes DE Torrodney Prevot. All indications are Texas A&M.
A consensus four-star prospect, Prevot is a 6-3, 200-pounder who has taken official visits to Texas A&M and Oregon in recent weeks after committing to USC back in July. At this point, it would be a major surprise to see him choose any school other than those two, with the Aggies looming as the favorite because of his connections to current A&M commits like Reggie Chevis and Hardreck Walker, who are all good friends having known each other growing up in Houston.
Cameron Hunt will presumably flip from Cal to Oregon. California Golden Blogs has more.
There is no denying that having Hunt migrate over to the Ducks is a major blow. Many recruiting services had him as the best player in Cal's 2013 class, and the Bears will likely tumble a spot or two simply for losing him. Still, Hunt's decommitment should not invalidate an otherwise solid group of linemen that Sonny Dykes recruited this year, a group that still contains the massive Aaron Cochran - among others. While Hunt would've undoubtedly helped, no one player makes or breaks a recruiting class, and the Bears will still bring in five other cubs to play up front.
USC scrambles the jets
With Ramsey and Prevot out, USC now has plenty of room on their list for potential targets. Who will they look at?
Two targets? CB Jermaine Kelly, who's been sitting in the backyard of the Trojans and only received an offer the day before Signing Day.
USC has now officially offered L.A (Calif) Salesian DB Jermaine Kelly, had been in contact for the last month but had yet to offer
— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) February 5, 2013
And current UCLA safety Priest Willis is receiving some attention too. He's actually delaying his signing bid too.
USC is also making a late-push at four-star DB Priest Willis (UCLA commit). This is going to get mighty interesting. #RivalsNSD
— Robert Cassidy (@Cassidy_Rob) February 5, 2013
Ultimately, USC will have plenty of talent in the class, but this last minute scrambling is pretty wild.
Done
Darren Carrington has firmed up with Oregon and will sign as a Duck. Could that bode well for the recruiting status of the Robinson twins?
Carrington is a 4-star rated receiver from the San Diego area and he's reportedly tied to the Robinson twins, Terrell and Tyree, who visited Washington over the weekend. They are both verbally committed to Oregon but said they'll announce on signing day. They are the highest-rated (known) players left for Oregon to get make an announcement on signing day.
Johnny Ragin stuck with Cal. Here's blueandgold15 with a writeup.
A closer look at what Cal fans are getting with the 3 star linebacker can be found here.
With Ragin's re-commitment, Cal fans can rest easy - there is not likely to be anymore changes in recruitment for any of the remaining players in the 2013 class, so Wednesday should come and go without too much trouble.
RB Lavon Coleman will stick with Washington.
OL Kenny Lacy is sticking with UCLA.