Winners and Losers from The Opening 2013

The nation’s top college football prospects descended upon Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon to compete against one another in The Opening.

With players taking part in activities such as SPARQ testing, one-on-one position drills and a seven-on-seven tournament, the action has produced several noteworthy nuggets surrounding some of 2014’s top recruits. 

So who were the winners and losers from The Opening 2013?

Winner: Speedy Noil

New Orleans (Edna Karr HS) 5-star wide receiver Speedy Noil blew away the field by posting a winning score of 153.51 in the SPARQ testing, according to Brian Perroni of 247 Sports.

Noil’s score was the second-best mark ever posted in the event, falling just short of Ohio State 2013 linebacker signee Mike Mitchell’s record of 154.47. 

Noil’s blazing 4.40 40-yard dash time was mildly impressive when compared to his astounding 45.3" vertical jump (h/t Barton Simmons 247 Sports). 

After posting those freakish numbers, Noil took those skills to the field and flashed the ability that makes him one of the most dangerous playmakers available in the class of 2014. 

Loser: RB Group

Seven-on-seven sessions are generally glorified passing skeleton practices for offenses, and as such, running backs are not able to show their full skill sets in these settings. 

However, despite the presence of standout backs such as Leonard Fournette, Joe Mixon, Dalvin Cook and Racean Thomas, the running backs were relatively quiet for most of the tournament. 

While this event gives backs a chance to work on their pass-catching skills, postseason all-star games such as the US Army All-American game are a better showcase for the nation’s top rushers.

Winner: Florida State

Several players made their college choices known during the festivities at The Opening. 

On the final day, Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State Seminoles continued their torrid start on the recruiting trail by picking up another pair of commitments. 

Lake City, Fla. (Columbia HS) 4-star safety Trey Marshall and Tampa (Catholic HS) 4-star offensive lineman Corey Martinez both announced their intention to stay in state and play for the Seminoles next season. 

Both players enjoyed solid weeks at The Opening, and their verbals will give the ‘Noles class a significant boost.  

Loser: Auburn

Although Auburn’s 2014 recruiting class has gotten off to a solid start, Gus Malzahn’s Tigers suffered a hit when Atlanta (Marist HS) offensive lineman Kendall Baker committed to Georgia over the Tigers. 

The Tigers dispatched former Georgia assistant Rodney Garner and current ace recruiter Dameyune Craig as Baker’s main recruiters in an effort to lure him away from his home state. 

With the offensive line a need in this cycle, the Tigers will have to regroup and refocus their efforts in landing some top-notch talent in the trenches. 

Winner: Sean White

Hollywood, Fla. (University HS) 3-star quarterback Sean White entered The Opening with his most notable scholarship offers coming from Boston College and Cincinnati. 

Compared to most of his peers at this event, his offer list is relatively modest. 

However, White enjoyed a spectacular week, which resulted in the 6’2”, 204-pounder being named the seven-on-seven tournament MVP. 

To cap it off, White was named the MVP of the Elite 11 competition, according to ESPN's Recruiting Nation via Twitter.  

Considering that White earned one of the final invitations to the camp, his remarkable journey is certainly one of the top storylines to emerge from this camp.

Loser: Recruiting Rankings

Fans love recruiting services such as Rivals, Scout, ESPN and 247Sports.  However, their ratings on players such as White and David Blough, who are both 3-stars, are an illustration of why early rankings can sometimes be misleading. 

Blough (29th) and White (34th) are modestly rated amongst 2014’s top pro-style quarterbacks by 247Sports.

Meanwhile, signal-callers such as David Cornwell and Keller Chryst, who are the nation’s top two pro-style quarterbacks according to 247 Sports, did not fare as well in this setting..

Although each of those quarterbacks are promising talents,  players such as White and Blough used The Opening as a proving ground in staking their claim as two of the better quarterbacks in the class of 2014.

Winner: Field Generals

With White leading the way, the Field Generals won three games on the final day of seven-on-seven play to capture the tournament title .  

They defeated Alpha Pro for the second time on the day, winning 21-14 in the decisive title game. 

The Field Generals posted a 5-1 record overall and cruised to the championship behind the play of White, receivers Malachi Dupre and Austin Roberts, and corner Adarius Pickett.

White captured the tourney MVP and Dupre, Roberts and Pickett were named to the All-Tournament team, according to Brandon Huffman of Fox Sports via Twitter. 

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