Charlotte and Birmingham Nike football camps: Top talent competing

CHARLOTTE, NC -- One of the many prospects with something to prove at the Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp on Saturday at Ardrey Kell High School was Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek defensive end Joshua Brown, whose performance earned him defensive line MVP honors.

The 6’3, 212-pounder in the class of 2016 is still looking for his first offer, but has received mail from Clemson, Georgia, NC State, and Notre Dame.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Charlotte (N.C.) Christian quarterback Austin Kendall didn’t have to travel far to participate in the Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp last Saturday at Ardrey Kell High School, where he flashed the ability that has already earned him seven offers.

The 6’2, 205-pound pro-style quarterback is a 2016 prospect, but already has offers from Charlotte, Clemson, Kentucky, NC State, Tennessee, Wake Forest, and West Virginia.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- One of the top inside linebackers in the country made an appearance at the Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp at Ardrey Kell High School last Saturday, as Virginia Beach (Virg.) inside linebacker Jahvoni Simmons went through drills.

The 6’1, 225-pounder is a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 2 inside linebacker nationally and the No. 4 player in the state of Virginia, as well as the No. 98 player overall, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- In a talented group of defensive backs at the Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp last Saturday at Ardrey Kell High School, one of the most highly-recruited prospects was 2016 Virginia Beach (Virg.) Ocean Lake cornerback Levonta Taylor.

Considered a four-star prospect by Scout, Taylor already has offers from the likes of Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan State, NC State, North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virgnia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Find out which players won the highly-contested battles.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A member of the “Final Five” at the Charlotte Nike Football Camp, Durham (N.C.) Hillside offensive tackle Emanuel McGirt was one of the most talented offensive tackles in attendance among the more than 240 attendees at the event.

Ranked as a consensus three-star prospect, the 6’6, 270-pounder is considered the No. 75 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 25 player in the state of North Carolina in the 247Sports Composite rankings, but 247Sports has McGirt as a four-star prospect, the No. 34 tackle in the country, and the No. 14 player in North Carolina.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- The Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp was an opportunity for 2016 Dillon (S.C.) dual-threat quarterback Avery McCall to show why he’s already considered the top quarterback in the state for the 2016 recruiting cycle.

Even in warm ups, his arm strength was apparent as he threw passes with good velocity from his knees. When live drills started, the Dillon product also exhibited superior touch to allow wide receivers to run under the football.

A consensus four-star prospect rated as the No. 30 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 12 player in the state of Virginia by the 247Sports Composite rankings, Clark has 15 offers, including the opportunities to play at Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Viginia Tech, among others.

Clark told SB Nation Recruiting that he doesn’t have any schools standing out right now, as he wants to keep all of his options open at this time, but he does plan on narrowing his list to six or seven schools in about a month, then focus on those schools for the rest of his recruitment.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Even though the Charlotte Nike Football Training Camp featured more than 240 prospects and several offensive linemen who are highly recruited, it was hard to miss Charlotte (N.C.) Christian offensive tackle Phillip Walton at 6’7 and 265 pounds.

While most offensive linemen carry some bad weight, Walton is extremely lean for the position. His father spoke briefly with SB Nation Recruiting and indicated that while his son loves playing defense after picking up the game three years ago following his decision to give up competitive swimming, schools are recruiting him at offensive tackle.

About 300 college football recruits gathered at Spain Park High School for Sunday’s Nike Football Training Camp, for a round of testing, drills, and one-on-one competitions.

The following seven players were invited onward to Oregon’s The Opening on June 8, the year’s biggest recruiting camp:

The Birmingham regional of the Nike Football Training Camp Series is set to begin Sunday morning at Spain Park High School, featuring lots of elite talent among offensive linemen and front-seven defenders. Alabama five-star DT Daron Payne and a number of four-stars -- DT Fletcher Adams, OL Tyler Carr, OL Lester Cotton, WR Malik Dear, OL A.J. Harris, DB Kelvin Henry, QB Jauan Jennings, DB Xavier Lewis, LB Richard McBryde, CB Rico McGraw, OL Javon Patterson, and OL Drew Richmond -- are set to compete.

Prospects will go through SPARQ testing, position and one-on-one drills, position competitions and a seven-on-seven. The top players will receive invites to The Opening in Oregon, one of the top scouting camps in the country.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Numerous FBS prospects showed up at Ardrey Kell High School on a rainy Saturday to compete for a prestigious invite to The Opening, the Nike-sponsored summer event that features the top prospects in the country.

Unfortunately, the rain kept the more than 240 athletes from participating in SPARQ testing, as conditions on the field were not favorable when the camp began.