As the college sports world focused on five-star point guard Trevon Duval and NBA Draft decision, there were some big moves on the gridiron.
More than two dozen high school football recruits committed to FBS programs last week (May 7-13), headlined by four-star receiver Kenan Jones to LSU and four-star Caden Sterns to Texas. Though Jones and Sterns are worthy of the national headlines, many other intriguing prospects made verbal commitments.
MORE: Tennessee Has Made 300 More Offers to 2018 Prospects Than Stanford
Here are some notable commitments last week from 2018 prospects that you may have missed.
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Justin McGriff – UCF
Justin McGriff already feels like the "how did he fall through the Power Five cracks?" player.
The three-star receiver (Rivals) from Tampa, Fla., is a gigantic target (6-foot-6, 210 pounds) who could play tight end in college if bulks up enough. He averaged nearly 20 yards per catch as a junior and is a track and field star, jumping over 40 feet in the triple jump and running on Jefferson High School's 4×400-meter relay team.
“They told me how they spread the ball and how they spread their tight ends who are receivers and how they like to go deep, and that they need big receivers for it,” McGriff told the Orlando Sentinel. “I feel better suited as a wide receiver, but I’m very open to both, so I’ll be fine at either one.”
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Noah Shannon – Minnesota
Minnesota continues to recruit well in Illinois. The Gophers signed four players from the state in P.J. Fleck's first recruiting class and have already secured four more commitments in the 2018 class, most recently defensive tackle Noah Shannon from Oswego.
A three-star prospect and the nation's 32nd-ranked defensive tackle (Rivals), Shannon is 6-foot-2, 285-pounder who picked the Gophers over Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan State and others. He'll remind Minnesota fans of a taller Steven Richardson, an unheralded member of the Gophers' 2014 class who's developed into one of the Big Ten's most disruptive defensive tackles.
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Marquan McCall – Kentucky
Marquan McCall probably shouldn't be on this list because his commitment to Kentucky was widely publicized. However, because he pledged two days after five-star basketball recruit Kevin Knox also picked the Wildcats, the four-star offensive lineman did not get the attention the nation's 94th-ranked prospect (Rivals) deserves.
A 6-foot-3, 323-pounder from Oak Park, Mich., he passed on Michigan and Michigan State, along with Penn State, TCU and Wisconsin to become Kentucky's second four-star commit in the 2018 class.
"Flashes an explosive first step and has the power and pad level to overwhelm opponents in the run game," says ESPN's scouting report on McCall. "Possesses a strong punch and great balance in pass pro."
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Cameron Brown – Nebraska
Don't let receiver Cameron Brown's three-star Rivals' recruiting rating fool you; he's an elite athlete who could rocket up boards during his senior season at Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect picked Nebraska over Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin and others, saying he felt "at home" in Lincoln during an unofficial visit last fall. Brown is a two-way player with 4.5 speed and lightning-quick feet.
