National Signing Day is barely in the rearview mirror, and everything in the recruiting world has already moved toward the future.
This move forward continues in a big way this Saturday as the 2012 MDHigh Five-Star Showcase presented by Next Level Nation hits the Landover Soccer Dome in Hyattsville, Maryland. Headlining the event will be an extremely strong group of offensive and defensive linemen, headlined by Greg Webb of Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek.
Webb is a dominating presence on the inside at defensive tackle, and recently was named a four-star prospect and the No. 78 recruit in the country. He was able to showcase his abilities at the recent Army All-American Combine last month and did not disappoint. Joining him on the inside will be Darius Commissiong of Forrestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara and Justin Moody from Philadelphia (Pa.) George Washington. Headlining the defensive end position will be 2014 Andrew Brown of Chesapeake (Va.) Indian River. Brown is a freak of an athlete, who has the potential to become one of the top recruits in the country next year. Also participating at the end position will be Kevin Robbins of Forrrestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara and Marvin Gross of Baltimore (Md.) Dunbar, who both hold early offers, and DeAndre Kelly of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha, who is a 2015 prospect with a great deal of early hype.
Just as the defensive line position is deep and talented, so is the offensive line, which should bring plenty of excitement during individual and one-on-one drills. On the offensive side, leading the way will be Na'ty Rodgers of Pomfret (Md.) McDonough and Derwin Gray of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy. Rodgers was one of the top offensive line prospects at the recent U.S. Army All-American Combine and hopes to carry over his impressive play here, while Gray is one of the more athletic linemen in the region, with the ability to also make an impression at defensive end. At 6 feet 6 and 260 pounds, Malik Jones of Baltimore (Md.) Dunbar has the potential and athleticism to also stand out during this event. Potentially the star of the group could be sophomore Damian Prince, who has impressed everywhere he has gone. Prince has already positioned himself as one of the top players to watch in his class.
Leading the way in the defensive secondary will be sophomores Jalen Tabor of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy, D'Andre Payne of Washington (D.C.) H.D. Woodson and Quin Blanding of Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside. Tabor excelled at a number of camps and combines last year, and as a result already holds offers from programs such as Alabama, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Miami. Payne has also started to reel in early offers and a good showing on Saturday should speed up his recruiting process even more. Blanding is a huge safety at 6-2 and 198 pounds and has early offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State and others.
At running back, the top prospect will be four-star Taquan Mizzell of Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside, who is the No. 87 recruit in the country. Mizzell is a powerful back, who is also quick and shifty in the open field. Also hoping to solidify their positions as top running backs in the region will be Richie Anderson of Frederick (Md.) Thomas Johnson, Dontea Ayres of Salisbury (Md.) Wicomico and Darius Victor of Hyattsville (Md.) Northwestern. Looking to slow down the running backs will be a group of talented linebackers. Buddy Brown of Williamstown, N.J. and Yannick Ngakoue of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy headline this position. Both players have picked up several offers recently, and Brown was one of the more athletic linebackers at the Army All-American Combine last month. Another junior linebacker to keep an eye on is Brandon Chatmon of Springfield (Pa.) Cardinal O'Hara, who holds an early offer from Pittsburgh. The Class of 2014 will also be well represented at linebacker with Devin Williams of Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High, who has already committed to Stanford, and Aaron Glover of Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne, who is one of the more athletic players in his class in the Virginia Beach area.
At quarterback, Corwin Cutler of Virginia Beach (Va.) Ocean Lakes and Milan Collins of Forrestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara are both athletic, strong-armed signal callers, who have developed their game nicely over the last year. Pushing them will be sophomore William Crest of Baltimore (Md.) Dunbar, who has seen his recruiting process explode recently with early offers from Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and UTEP.
The quarterbacks will be looking to a strong group of receivers, led by juniors Devin Butler of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga and Delando Johnson of Towson (Md.) Calvert Hall. Butler has picked up five quick offers, while Johnson also has a few early offers and is receiving serious interest from schools throughout the region. A couple of younger receivers to keep an eye on will be sophomores Omar Truitt of Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High and Chigozie Onyekwere of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy. Truitt already holds an early offer from Syracuse, while Onyekwere has an early offer from N.C. State.
Finally, what potentially may really take this event to the next level is the inclusion of the prospects from Our Lady of Good Counsel. At this time, recruits such as five-star cornerback Kendall Fuller and four-star linebacker Dorian O'Daniel will be in attendance on Saturday, but it is still not know if they will be participating.