It was a great recruiting weekend for the top teams in college football.
College football recruiting roundup: Alabama, Oregon, FSU, Ohio State impress
The weekend was not one for the lesser teams, as the big programs in college football stole the recruiting spotlight.
Starting in the early games, Alabama and Florida State hosted a lot of top recruits over the weekend. And they did not mess around on the field, putting their games away early with a combined score over Tennessee and NC State of 77-0 in the first half. That’s domination.
Alabama did it in front of the likes of top-20 prospects Da’Shawn Hand (5-star Virginia defensive end) and Marlon Humphrey (5-star Alabama cornerback), plus a bunch of other top recruits.
Alabama fans knew Hand would be there and showed their support for him.
— Da'shawn Hand (@TheHand54) October 26, 2013
Even recruits who didn't visit, like five-star Matt Elam, seemed to be into the action. Elam is a perfect nose guard prospect for Nick Saban's 3-4 defense.
— Matt Elam™6⃣9⃣ (@FballIsLife69) October 27, 2013
Florida State did its thing in front of five four- or five-star recruits. Maryland offensive tackle recruit Brock Ruble seemed to be enjoying himself during his official visit.
College is gonna be the best damn time of my life I swear!
— Brock Ruble (@pass_the_brock) October 27, 2013
Oregon
Oregon had a bit of a slow start against UCLA, but then turned on the jets and ran away with it. The top prospect in attendance was John “JuJu” Smith, a five-star safety out of California. Smith tweeted positive impressions of the Ducks.
One surprise visitor was Cordell Broadus, the son of rapper Snoop Dogg, and a talented 2015 player.
Eugene pic.twitter.com/RpLalT2Q8b
— Cordell Broadus (@C_Broadus21) October 27, 2013
Ohio State
Ohio State left its starters in and rolled over Penn State, becoming the first team to put 60 points on the Nittany Lions in more than a century. Yeah.
Here’s Jalyn Holmes (4-star Ohio State defensive commit) chatting with 5-star linebacker Raekwon McMillan. Ohio State has long been the favorite to land McMillan.
lileasy_35 @kwon_datruth we out here !!! TURN UP#BUCKEYENATION http://t.co/IU943Jl5D6
— Jalyn Holmes #⃣1⃣1⃣ (@JayHolmes_) October 27, 2013
And here is 2014 defensive lineman Malik McDowell, a four-star who is a heavy Michigan lean. Wolverine fans are probably not happy he made the trip.
On my way to the Ohio State vs Penn State game.
— BIG LEEK SOSA (@D1_LEEK) October 26, 2013
Here is 2015 running back Jacques Patrick, of Orlando. Seeing Carlos Hyde go beastmode all over Penn State probably didn’t hurt the Buckeyes’ chances at landing him next year.
Loving it up here so far at Ohio State ! #BuckeyeNation
— The Jacques Patrick™ (@jacques_patrick) October 26, 2013
And here is JUCO offensive tackle Avery Gennesy, a presumed battle between Ohio State and Texas A&M. With Ohio State not being a lock for JUCO tackle Chad Mavety, it needs to make sure it has other options to come in and contribute immediately.
On this early flight to Atlanta 😴😴😴😴😴✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈ had a amazing time in Columbus , Ohio , the game was live and the city was hype
— Avery T. Gennesy (@BigAvery67) October 27, 2013
Elsewhere
- Arizona State snagged 4-star linebacker Derik Calhoun away from USC. That is a major get for the Sun Devils.
- Penn State also added a linebacker: three-star Jason Cabinda.
- Texas A&M flipped JUCO offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor from Arkansas. A&M has been on quite the recruiting tear lately and is positioning itself to compete in the SEC West with the talents of Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Ole Miss. Arkansas and Mississippi State lag behind noticeably in the talent department.
- Despite that loss, Arkansas picked up three-star defensive end commitment Jake Hall.
- Despite getting crushed by Alabama, Tennessee added four-star defensive end Dewayne Hendrix.
- Wisconsin added powerful three-star OL/DL Jeremy Patterson.
- Maryland added a 2015 commitment in talented guard E.J. Donahue. At 6’5 and 330 pounds, that is a huge high school junior.
- Miami flipped JUCO defensive tackle Michael Wyche from USC. That’s a good get at a position of continued need.
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