ATLANTA – A bunch of heavily recruited prospects in the Southeast region and beyond came to the Rivals Camp Series stop in Atlanta last weekend. Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. takes a shot at making some early predictions on some of them here.
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The new Carrollton (Ga.) High School standout was one of the stars of the Rivals Camp in Atlanta, drawing audible reactions after some of his one-on-one wins Sunday. Arnoux has been somewhat quiet on the recruiting trail since he decommitted from Tennessee back in February. Even before that point, programs throughout SEC country had been steady on his trail, including in-state power Georgia. LSU and South Carolina are also worth watching in this one, and he’ll be in Colorado this weekend, but the local allure and fresh feel from the revamped secondary staff in Athens could be too much to pass up.
Prediction: Georgia
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Grady, a former Alabama commit, admits that Auburn, Tennessee, Miami and Florida State are separating themselves in the pursuit of the pass-rusher. He’ll take official visits to each, and could sprinkle in trips to Ohio State and Georgia, but it appears as if the push from Hugh Freeze and company is ramping up at the right time. The Tigers are also courting several of the four-star’s teammates at Enterprise (Ala.) High School, so there could be an under-the-radar push to get them all to the Plains for good.
Prediction: Auburn
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This one is more a process of elimination and circumstance than a gut feeling. Hill has been open to several programs since he backed off of an early commitment to Deion Sanders and Colorado around Thanksgiving. More than 30 programs have jumped into the mix at one point or another, but in SEC country only the Florida Gators remain in heavy pursuit despite communication with Alabama and Ole Miss, per Hill. Florida has hosted him plenty and an official visit to Gainesville is in the works. On the Gators’ side, the program has missed on its top few targets at the position, so the push for Hill could increase even more.
Prediction: Florida
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A riser over the last few months who nearly won MVP honors Sunday, Turner has become quite the commodity. It could shape up to become an in-state battle between Georgia and Georgia Tech, each of which Turner has become more familiar with of late. The Bulldogs get an official visit in about a month and, especially without a wideout on the current commitment list, we could see the Bulldogs beginning to build a lead for one of the fastest risers in the Peach State. BYU, Auburn and others are involved and more could jump in over the coming weeks of the spring evaluation period.
Prediction: Georgia
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Sporting Georgia gloves during his MVP performance, Winters was the talk of camp with his work as a safety despite being ranked as a linebacker and with his work on Friday nights coming primarily as a quarterback. On the recruiting front, Winters revealed the top two programs on his list have shifted their projection of him to the safety spot, with Georgia battling in-state Auburn for the blue-chipper. The Bulldogs have long held his attention but the Tigers have been pushing at full force. With a decision expected this offseason, that final Auburn push could be just enough to edge rival Georgia in the end.
Prediction: Auburn
