Alabama Crimson Tide

NORCROSS, Ga. -- ESPN 150 defensive end Lorenzo Carter seems to never stop grinning, even on the football field. His 100-megawatt smile calls to mind another affable defensive end, Michael Strahan, complete with the trademark gap. Even a shoving match with a teammate resulted in Carter falling down laughing about it later.

During the Norcross spring game on Friday, Carter and offensive tackle Horatio Walker tangled as they went at each other in the trenches. Walker held Carter’s jersey and was rewarded with a shot to the helmet.

“Well it was a run, and I don’t think Horatio respects me on the run yet, but it is all good,” Carter said between guffaws. “He tried to bully me around, but I was not having that so I had to hit him back. I was having fun out there.”

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It was a Thursday night in late April and Alex Bookser (Pittsburgh/Mount Lebanon) was watching the NFL draft. A 6-foot-6, 295-pound prospect, Bookser is being recruited as a lineman on both sides of the ball.

Bookser was an offensive lineman by the end of the night Thursday.

“Ever since I saw the draft I decided to go O-line,” said Bookser, referring to the run on tackles in the first round, including three among the first five picks. “That was the biggest draft I’ve ever seen, so I was like if I can get that far it’ll definitely pay off.”

With more than 20 offers to his name, Bookser was already being recruited mostly as an offensive tackle, where he is ranked No. 14 nationally. As a two-way player for Mount Lebanon, Bookser likes defense a little more because he can play with a little more emotion on the defensive line. He understands why coaches project him best on offense, though.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Viewers who tuned into last year’s SEC championship game were treated to an epic battle between Alabama and Georgia that was not decided until the last play of the game. It was the latest in a series of battles between schools that clash again and again on the recruiting trail, year after year. Both have targeted a sophomore defensive tackle from North Carolina. In fact, both programs offered Shy Tuttle (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) on the same day.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A month ago, Jonathan Hilliman released a top 10. He is slowly whittling his list to a final school.

“It’s coming down to seven. I dropped some schools,” Hilliman said. “We narrowed it down so we could go out and see these places and get a feel for who’s who and who’s interested and who’s not.”

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Recruiting has steadily picked up for four-star quarterback Brandon Harris (Bossier City, La./Parkway), and that trend continued Monday.

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It's been a busy week for running back Jonathan Hilliman (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter's). Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Pittsburgh are all among the schools who have been by to evaluate him.

What are the coaches looking for when they visit the 6-foot-1, 202-pound back?

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Thomas Holley’s recruitment has been a lot like his most recent visit.

The ESPN 150 defensive tackle out of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Abraham Lincoln was at Penn State for the annual spring game, which was hampered by every weather condition imaginable.

“It did a little bit of everything -- rain, snow, everything -- it was crazy,” Holley said.

The first few months of his recruitment have been the same. Holley, No. 93 in the ESPN 150, has seen it all in a short time. He went from basketball prospect to first-year football player to playing just a handful of games to landing his first offer. Now he is an Under Armour All-American with more than 20 offers.

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Holding more than 40 offers, running back Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) is arguably the most sought-after recruit in the West region. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound, four-star back is the top running back in the West and the No. 135 player in the country. His offer sheet has seemingly grown by the minute this spring, but he isn't in any hurry to narrow it down.

Despite tweeting out a list of 16 programs several weeks ago, Mixon said Sunday that he only did that to highlight the schools recruiting him the hardest, not anything to be taken as a group of finalists.

"I'm still talking to a lot of people," Mixon said. "The recruiting thing has been crazy the past couple of weeks. I've pretty much been taking it well. I talk to them before school, during lunch and after school. I'm not to the stressful part yet, but the hard part has been staying in contact with everybody."

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It’s early in the process for sophomore athlete Eric Glover-Williams (Canton, Ohio/McKinley), but some schools are starting sticking out.

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In the few times he has found reprieve from his busy track season, ESPN 150 cornerback Tony Brown has managed to get out of town for two big spring game visits.

Things are moving so fast, though, that Brown has had little time to sit down and think things through. His grand plan is being made up on the fly right now.

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ASHBURN, Va. -- Cornerback Jalen Tabor (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate), the No. 19 overall player in the ESPN 150, is in no rush to commit.

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ASHBURN, Va. -- At an event that featured three of the top 11 defensive prospects in the ESPN 150, third-rated offensive tackle Damian Prince of Forestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara impressed every bit as much as any of them Sunday at the Nike Football Training Camp outside of Washington, D.C.

Prince showed off a slimmed down frame -- he’s lost more than 30 pounds, he said, to reach about 285 -- and dominated in blocking drills against a stout group of defensive linemen.

Prince, No. 33 in the ESPN 150, put himself in position to rise over the upcoming months.

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The RN Top 10 will appear throughout the camp and combine season and rank prospects based strictly on their on-field performance at that particular event. It does not reflect their overall prospect ranking.

ASHBURN, Va. – The East Coast and mid-Atlantic states represented well on Sunday as eight players earned invites to The Opening at the Nike Football Training Camp outside of Washington, D.C. Defense ruled the day, led by two five-star prospects from Virginia.

10. Nick Scott
Fairfax (Va.) Fairfax |RB| 5-11, 180

Scott stood out among a field of backs who were overshadowed by the prospects at nearly every other position. He earned the attention of coaches for his strong play and versatility but missed the MVP award, which went to Vincent Lowe (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield), who also posted the top SPARQ score.

Scott committed to Penn State in February over an offer from Boston College.

ESPN national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert’s take: “He’s got a great frame, and what I like about him as a Penn State verbal, he’s a versatile player. He may not run by you, but he does a good job in route-running.”

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