FSU Seminoles

Several days ago, safety Mattrell McGraw (River Ridge, La./John Curtis Christian) was perusing Facebook when he decided to get in touch with Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

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Now that spring ball has started, ESPN 150 defensive tackle Gerald Willis III has been inundated with interest from college recruiters visiting New Orleans Edna Karr High School. He expected that.

That’s why, even if he’s comfortable with naming his top four schools, his list remains a fluid one. New schools are working hard to get in the mix, and Willis is ready to hit the road for more visits this summer.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It had been nearly two months since Elisha Shaw (Tucker, Ga./Tucker) last visited the University of Alabama, but the ESPN 150 defensive tackle felt right at home this weekend when he was in town for the Crimson Tide’s spring game.

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The IMG 7v7 Southeast Regional Championship in Bradenton, Fla., on Saturday and Sunday will feature several ESPN 150 players. This star-studded event will feature the South Florida Express, one of the top 7-on-7 teams in the country, and Team Tampa, which won the IMG 7v7 National Championships last year. Here's a look at five things to watch at this weekends events.

1. Wide receiver position is loaded
There will be a plethora of top wide receivers in Bradenton this weekend. Ermon Lane (Homestead, Fla./Homestead), the No. 1-ranked wide receiver in the country, will have a chance to showcase his abilities against some elite talent. Additionally, Travis Rudolph (West Palm Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman), Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake), Moral Stephens (Perry, Fla./Taylor County), Kenric Young (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville), Isaiah Ford (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian), Garrett Johnson (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) and 2015 wideout Da'Vante Phillips (Miami/Central) are scheduled to participate.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Defensive end Derek Barnett (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) looked forward to a meeting this offseason with Drew Richmond (Memphis, Tenn./Memphis University School).

After all, Richmond’s team ended the season for Barnett last November with a one-point win the state-playoff semifinal round.

Barnett said he thought he earned a victory over Richmond on Sunday at the Nike Football Training Camp on the home turf of the coveted 2015 offensive tackle.

“I want to go up against the best,” Barnett said, “so I was like, ‘Come on, let’s battle.’ It went well. I got the best of him. He got me a few times, but I think I won that one.”

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BUFORD, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List defensive tackle Elisha Shaw (Tucker, Ga./Tucker) attended the Atlanta NFTC on Saturday but could not compete due to leg injury. Instead, he watched the defensive lineman compete against the offensive linemen and yelled out instructions and criticisms to the delight -- and sometimes embarrassment -- of the other attendees.

Shaw might have been sidelined for the camp, but his recruitment is progressing full-speed. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound junior has double-digit offers, with Alabama and Georgia tied atop his list. Recently a new name has made a strong push.

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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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Here are five storylines for the Miami NFTC.

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ESPN Watch List selection Rod Taylor (Jackson, Miss./Callaway) is one of the most coveted interior linemen in the Southeast. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound mauler received his first scholarship offer very early in the process.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Outside linebacker Jacob Pugh (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) isn’t exactly sure of how many offers he has. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior has not counted them. Once he had received over 30 offers to the top programs in the nation, there really seemed no point in doing so. Pugh is more concerned about the five that he has on top.

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Thomas Holley (Brooklyn, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) grew tired of the questions after every basketball game.

Inevitably, someone would stroll up to him on the hardwood and ask if he played football. Underclassmen weren't supposed to be so big, they'd say. And at about 250 pounds, they sure weren't supposed to move that fast.

"I kept saying no, that I didn't play football, and they'd just look at me funny," Holley said with a laugh. "They're like, 'Stop playing with me.' That's always how it's been for me, everywhere I go. So when I started thinking about it, people were all like, 'You should play football.' "

Football was always a lingering curiosity for the ESPN Watch List prospect, who took up the sport less than a year ago. The defensive tackle played basketball since third grade, and he always wondered about the sport. But his mother wasn't a fan of him playing such a rough-and-tumble game.

Holley didn't press the issue because he was over the league's weight limit in middle school anyway. He couldn't play football if he was over 185 pounds -- and he towered over most of his classmates at 6-foot, 230. But when fan after fan kept approaching him after those high school games, Holley couldn't resist.

He had to try it out. He wasn't even sure if he'd like it -- but what did he have to lose? He recruited his uncle to help persuade his mother into allowing him to play toward the end of his sophomore year. Scholarship offers weren't on his mind at that point, so he just focused on maintaining his weight by shedding fat and adding muscle.

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ATLANTA -- With a wind-chill factor in the low 20s and occasional snow flurries blowing through the air, outside linebacker Petera Wilson (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) had a hard time staying warm Saturday. The cold kept his legs tight and he was not happy with his 40-yard dash or agility shuttle times. After having driven from Memphis, Tenn., to Atlanta to compete in the Nike SPARQ Combine, the talented junior left Lakewood Stadium cold and disappointed.

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As ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Andy Bauer (St. Louis/ De Smet) creeps up on 40 offers, he is reminded of two important yet unofficial rules to the recruiting game.

Network, first of all; and second, have fun.

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