Florida Gators

Spend enough time on the high school basketball circuit and you’ll find there are certain players you gravitate toward because you know exactly what you’re getting when you go watch them. ESPN 60 forward Kevon Looney (Milwaukee/Hamilton) is one of those guys.

Duke, Michigan State, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Kansas are among a big pack of programs that will vie for his signature.

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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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Paramus (N.J.) Catholic lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty was not guaranteed a starting spot entering his junior season. His football career began only two years prior, and there was only hope from the coaching staff he would lock down the left tackle spot during preseason camp.

A breakout junior campaign followed, and the ESPN 150 lineman now has double-digit offers.

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By mid-July, one of the top players in the country will have a pretty good idea as to where he will be playing his college football in 2014.

Paramus (N.J.) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers, No. 2 in the ESPN 150, will visit Stanford in July. Following that trip, he will have his future program in mind.

“Definitely after I visit Stanford I should have it pretty clear where I want to go,” Peppers said.

The five-star cornerback is coming off April trips to LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, and while Peppers did not tip his hand, people close to the dynamic two-way athlete say Michigan has a sizeable lead of those three. He has listed Stanford as his No. 1 for several months and will visit Palo Alto before officially dropping them from the top of his list.

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BRADENTON, Fla. -- On the fields of the IMG Academy Southeast Regional 7-on-7 Tournament, George Campbell (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) stood off to the side with a sling hanging off his shoulder and covering his broken wrist.

That injury, suffered a few weeks back, will keep him out of East Lake's spring practices starting at the beginning of May. But fortunately for him, he's already got a ton of offers to begin with and won't be reliant on coaches coming by for the evaluation period.

That doesn't mean he isn't frustrated, though.

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BRADENTON, Fla. -- For the 2015 cycle, there isn't another prospect with more FBS offers than Jacques Patrick (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek). And Florida State was fortunate enough to have him on campus again recently.

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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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BRADENTON, Fla. -- ESPN 150 wide receiver Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake), as expected, was one of the top wideouts in attendance at the IMG 7v7 Southeast regional championships over the weekend.

The four-star wide receiver visited Michigan recently and said he enjoyed his experience in Ann Arbor.

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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 what their overall prospect ranking will be when the 2014 rankings are unveiled this spring.

BUFORD, Ga. – With 276 players taking part in the Atlanta Nike Football Training Camp on Saturday, there were dozens of prospects in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 classes who had already been offered by FBS programs. Six of the participants were awarded invitations to the The Opening later the summer.

10. Terronne Prescod
Lithonia (Ga.) Columbia |OG|6-foot-4, 320 pounds

The offensive linemen at the Atlanta NFTC were not an overly impressive group, but Prescod stood out, not just because of his hairstyle. He locked up and drove back multiple defensive tackles and showed an impressive base.

Prescod is approaching 10 offers, and has scholarship opportunities with Missouri, Ole Miss and Virginia. At the moment, Prescod says Missouri is standing out. Watch out for Auburn if they offer, as they seem to be the school he feels most at home with right now.

Craig Haubert’s take: “Prescod did a nice job in the offensive line group that was not among the strongest at the NFTC this year. He showed good bend and strong punch and he has outstanding size, both in height and bulk.”

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Daniel Helm (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) spent his spring break in Florida. He went to all of the typical vacation spots in Orlando and the Disney theme parks. For most teenagers, especially from the Midwest, that would have been the highlight of his spring break. But for a top football prospect, it was actually a visit to a college that left the lasting impression.

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This year’s NCAA tournament has been full of great stories, from Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run to La Salle going from First Four to Sweet 16 to the Big Ten placing four teams in the final 16.

But what about the stories behind the stories -- the tales of how some of this year’s March Madness stars ended up at their eventual schools and helped shape this year’s tourney? To delve into those, this week’s top 10 looks at the 10 best recruiting stories from players and teams in the Sweet 16.

Top 10 Recruiting Stories From the Sweet 16

1. Trey Burke, Michigan
Mick Cronin is not going to want to hear this again, but it’s true. Burke was going to Cincinnati. It was nearly a done deal. But one last call to Michigan’s staff changed the fate of two programs. According to recruiting lore, Burke’s father called a final time asking Michigan if it was interested in Burke. If the answer was no, then Burke was going to Cincinnati. This was in late July of Burke’s pre-senior summer. Remember, it wasn’t like the now All-American was hot stuff then. He was good -- a late top-100 player -- but he wasn’t the player then that he has become. Ultimately, Michigan said it wanted Burke and the Wolverines landed him a few days later.

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Editor's note: Finding the Future is a RecruitingNation feature that will appear throughout camps and combine season, ranking prospects strictly on their on-field performance at the particular event. It does not reflect where each will land when the class is ranked by ESPN.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Most of the prospects in attendance Saturday at the Nike Football Training Camp here were rising seniors, but a handful of underclassmen also took advantage of an invitation to the event, several of whom compared well against their older counterparts.

1. 2015 WR George Campbell
6-foot-4, 178 pounds
Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake

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Watch List offensive tackle Andy Bauer (St. Louis/De Smet) works hard for everything he gets, but he doesn’t ask for much in return. There are only a couple of things he wants before he graduates next year.

A state championship would be nice. All-state recognition would serve as an added bonus. A college scholarship also would be a dream come true -- even though, with a list nearing 40 offers, that dream will become a reality in time.

One thing that Bauer has wanted is an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-America Game, and on Tuesday, the 6-foot-6, 304-pound tackle had his wish granted. Bauer received the invitation and happily accepted, and he’ll be a part of the 2014 edition of the prestigious all-star game.

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