West Spotlight: Who is the next great …… ?
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney looks at five West prospects who are going to be the next big thing in college football.
THIS SERIES – THE NEXT GREAT …. Midwest | Southeast | Mid-South | Florida
DOUGLAS UTU: The next great offensive lineman to win the Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman every season and Utu is going to be in the running once he gets to Oregon.
The Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman standout is ranked as a five-star offensive tackle right now and he plays right tackle in high school. He could stay outside in college but it also would be no shock at all to see Utu move inside and dominate on the interior as well.
An early Tennessee commitment, Utu flipped his pledge to the Ducks in late September and he gives the Big Ten powerhouse another elite player on the offensive line who reminds us of a little leaner Penei Sewell.
Over the years, Utu has competed at numerous Rivals Camp Series events and he has looked outstanding at each one. Not a big trash talker, Utu goes out, stones defensive linemen and then moves on. It’s what he should do at Oregon and why he’s a five-star prospect.
JORDON DAVISON – The next 1,000-yard rusher at Oregon
Other than the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Oregon has had a 1,000-yard rusher in every season since 2016 and Jordan James is on pace this year to eclipse that mark again.
Over the summer, it looked like the five-star running back from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei would end up at Ohio State but after he and the Buckeyes parted ways, Davison locked in with Oregon. He could be the next big-time back there to follow in the footsteps of Royce Freeman, CJ Verdell, Travis Dye, Bucky Irving and now James.
Davison is not an explosive game-breaker back but there haven’t been many recently through the high school ranks that are as good in tight spaces, patient, smart and then have the ability to gain extra yards when it looks like there’s nothing there. The Oregon pledge is on pace to break 1,000 rushing yards with about 15 touchdowns this season again.
JARON SAGAPOLUTELE – The next great Hawaiian lefty QB
Whether the Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell four-star quarterback sticks with his Cal commitment or flips to Oregon, one West program is getting an elite playmaker following in the path of other Hawaiian lefties Tua Tagovailoa and Dillon Gabriel.
Tagovailoa had a phenomenal career at Alabama and Gabriel has put up numbers from UCF to Oklahoma and now to Oregon. Sagapolutele is next in line. Bigger than both of them, the four-star prospect has a live arm, phenomenal accuracy and he was one of the top handful of quarterbacks at the Elite 11 this summer.
A Cal commit since early July, the Ducks offered recently and they’re making a serious run at him. Now the question is will Sagapolutele book a trip to Eugene and if he does will the Ducks be able to flip him?
DIJON LEE – The next great Alabama DB from California
Five-star USC transfer Domani Jackson is tied for the team lead at Alabama with two interceptions and is tied for second in pass breakups so he’s having a great season in Tuscaloosa. Five-star freshman Zabien Brown had the huge interception against Georgia to seal the Crimson Tide’s win earlier this season.
Alabama has headed West for some elite cornerbacks in recent years and Lee could be the next one. From a physical standpoint, the four-star from Mission Viejo, Calif., is more impressive than Jackson and Brown although he might not be as physical as the former Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standouts.
From a standpoint of length, playmaking ability, speed and versatility, Lee is special. Now the only question is whether Alabama can keep him since Georgia is working to flip him and he visited Athens last weekend. Texas A&M will get him on campus in November but that one is a long shot right now.
MADDEN FARAIMO – The next great Polynesian LB at Notre Dame
USC, Notre Dame, Texas and Washington is the top four for Faraimo but for months the belief has been that the Irish are way ahead in his recruitment. After a visit back to South Bend earlier this season it would not have been a surprise if Faraimo committed. While it didn’t happen, it could only be a matter of time.
There is so much the San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic standout likes about Notre Dame from the academic and athletic challenge to the history of linebackers there and so much more.
Much in the line of Manti Te’o, Marist Liufau and now Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Faraimo could be the next star Polynesian linebacker in Irish lore. That fact is also not lost on the hard-hitting, Adonis four-star standout.
