ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

One look at safety Payton Hendrix (Dallas/Bishop Dunne) makes college coaches want to instantly inquire. He’s 6-foot-3, 187 pounds and plays with a punisher’s mindset in the secondary. Hendrix and Bishop Dunne are in the middle of 7-on-7 season, but he’s looking forward to putting the pads on again and hitting individuals.

“I’ve got that dog mentality when I’m on the field,” Hendrix said. “It’s a no-prisoners mentality.”

That mentality has helped Hendrix earn nearly 20 offers.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- While bigger-name prospects come and go on unofficial visits to Florida's summer camp, 2014 defensive end Justus Reed (Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic) stood out on Thursday by actually participating.

Reed showed up for the afternoon session, warmed up with a couple hundred other campers and did position drills under the watchful eyes of Florida head coach Will Muschamp and defensive line coach Brad Lawing.

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Recruiting is the lifeblood of every program in the country, and every conference has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to landing top prospects. This week, we are examining the BCS conferences plus Notre Dame to find each one's strength, the biggest obstacle each faces and the overall view of the conference. The ACC is up today.

Biggest obstacle: Getting out from under the SEC's shadow. This conference shares the same player pool and it needs every matchup versus the SEC to count. Clemson beating LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in 2012 was big, but over the course of the past few years Clemson, Virginia Tech and FSU haven't always fared as well, and South Carolina has been a thorn in the side of Clemson. This conference needs a resurgence from Miami and North Carolina as well as NC State. The middle- and bottom-tier teams in these two conferences are very comparable. The ACC needs its powers to consistently dominate on and off the field, and for recruiting classes from the likes of FSU, Clemson and Miami to produce double-digit wins.

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A week ago, four-star athlete Kiy Hester (Montvale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional) named a top seven. A few days later, he took his first visit since releasing that lead group.

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AUBURN, Ala. -- It was a busy week for 2015 quarterback Tyler Queen (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb), who probably feels as if his arm is ready to fall off. In five days, he camped at Alabama, Auburn and Georgia where he threw for the coaches at all three schools.

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MESQUITE, Texas -- Class of 2015 quarterback Kyler Murray (Allen, Texas/Allen) has five offers so far, and his list of interested schools continues to grow.

Murray took in a satellite camp hosted by Sam Houston State and assisted by Arizona State, one of the schools to have offered, on Thursday afternoon. While he chose to watch the camp and not participate, Murray said he was a fan of what he saw from the Arizona State coaches.

"I've been talking to [offensive coordinator] Coach [Mike] Norvell, and he told me they liked me," Murray said. "I like what they're doing over there. I'm definitely interested."

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Larry Fedora and his staff at North Carolina continue to build recruiting momentum in the 2014 class. After picking up four commitments in April, including ESPN 150 quarterback Caleb Henderson (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock), the Tar Heels have reeled in one of the top offensive playmakers in the Sunshine State, running back D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee).

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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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For quarterback Brandon Harris (Bossier City, La./Parkway), the schedule book is starting to fill.

The first day to mark off the calendar is Thursday, when his Parkway team scrimmages Alexandria (La.) Senior High to conclude spring drills. He'll play in front of coaches from several major colleges. At the end of the scrimmage, sometime around 7 p.m, he'll announce which six schools he plans on visiting this summer.

"It's going to be a big day," he said. "I can't wait."

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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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ACWORTH, GA – The evaluation period is intended for assistant coaches to hit the road to check out potential future additions for their program. While sometimes the stops can be more about being seen than actual evaluation, that was not the case for safety Cameron Albright (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) on Thursday.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound defensive back looked over his shoulder during warmups to see University of Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and secondary coach Scott Lakatos. The two assistants eyed Albright’s every move for over an hour.

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Georgia Tech assistant Andy McCollum was at Brooks County on Wednesday to check on ESPN 150 athlete Malkom Parrish (Quitman, Ga./Brooks County).

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- ESPN 150 offensive tackle David Sharpe (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence School) has only played one full year of high school football, but the 6-foot-6, 288-pound athlete has already caught the attention of everyone in the college football recruiting world.

The No. 2-ranked tackle and No. 12 player overall said his football success has come as a surprise.

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BUFORD, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List defensive end Lorenzo Carter (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) credits his blindingly pink socks and highlighter yellow shoelaces with helping him win the defensive lineman MVP award at the Atlanta NFTC on Saturday.

The award came with a brilliant gold dog tag that complemented his outfit. But what really caught Carter’s eye, and fashion sense, was the big gold box that he was handed that contained his invitation to The Opening.

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