College Football Recruiting Offers of the Week
Back in 2010, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio struck gold when he plucked a little known 3-star cornerback from the heart of Georgia named Darqueze Dennard.
Fast forward four years later, and Dantonio is once again heading south in looking for talented athletes to plug into his secondary unit.
The Spartans offered a trio of 2016 defensive backs last week in 4-star Georgia product Nigel Warrior, 4-star Florida native Trayvon Mullen and his teammate, 3-star corner Malek Young.
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The 6'2", 180-pound Warrior, who recorded 61 tackles and an interception as a sophomore last season, was pleased with his newest offer.
"It was a great feeling getting an offer from Michigan State," Warrior told Sean Scherer of SpartanTailgate (subscription required). "It feels good to get an offer from one of the best defensive programs in the nation."
The Spartans join the likes of Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson and Ohio State as contenders for one of the top defensive backs in the Peach State.
Meanwhile, Mullen and Young form of one of the nation's finest corner tandems at Coconut Creek High School in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Mullen, who is ranked as the nation's No. 6 corner and the No. 49 player overall in the 2016 class, landed offers from in-state powers Florida State and Florida last week. Among other schools in the chase for the 6'2", 175-pounder are Alabama, Clemson, Kentucky, LSU and Ohio State.
The 5'10", 175-pound Young also holds offers from FSU, Clemson and Cincinnati.
Given the Spartans' growing reputation for producing standout defensive backs, it's not surprising to see them gain traction in their pursuit of some of the top safeties and corners in the 2016 class.
Ohio State, Virginia Tech Offer 2017 Standout RB
Virginia Tech scored one of the young season's most surprising upsets of the season when they knocked off Ohio State on Sept. 6.
Last week, the Hokies and the Buckeyes found themselves paired up once again on the recruiting trail, as Frank Beamer and Urban Meyer became the latest two coaches to offer 2017 4-star running back Anthony McFarland.
According to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports, McFarland will get a chance to see the Buckeyes on Oct. 4 when they travel to face Maryland.
The Hokies became the seventh school to offer the explosive McFarland, who is rated as the nation's sixth-best running back and the No. 49 player overall in the 2017 class.
The Hokies and Buckeyes join the likes of Clemson, Florida State and Wisconsin as schools who are in hot pursuit of one of Maryland's top athletes.
USC Enters the Race for 2016 Stud DE
Two years ago, USC went across the country to land coveted 5-star defensive end Kenny Bigelow from Delaware.
Last week, Steve Sarkisian and the Trojans were the latest power to throw its hat in the ring for 2016 4-star Maryland pass-rusher Rahshaun Smith.
The 6'3", 225-pound Smith is ranked as the nation's third-best weak-side defensive end and the No. 51 player overall in the 2016 class. He also holds offers from schools such as Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech among others.
With the heavy presence of upperclassmen in the Trojans front seven defensively, adding a talented pass-rusher such as Smith will be a priority moving forward with the next two classes.
2016 QBs Highly Coveted
A handful of the top quarterbacks in the 2016 class picked up more offers last week.
Headlining the group is 5-star California passer Malik Henry, who is rated as the top junior quarterback prospect in the country.
Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers pulled the trigger on offering Henry—who recently announced a final four of Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and UCLA. Whether or not this offer can get the Tigers in the mix for Henry remains to be seen.
Maryland 4-star dual-threat quarterback Dwayne Haskins added an offer from Syracuse. The 6'2", 185-pounder is believed to be leaning heavily toward Ohio State.
"Received my 26th offer from Syracuse. Blessed #CuseTwitterArmy #cusenation #SyracuseStrong pic.twitter.com/t8uBiZ1zFN
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) September 10, 2014"
N.C. State is the latest school to offer New Jersey 4-star quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, according to Ryan Bartow of 247Sports. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma are among the 6'4", 200-pounder's top choices.
Indiana jumped in the race for in-state 4-star quarterback Brandon Peters, per Wiltfong. Virginia Tech and Iowa are the other two schools who are the primary suitors for the 6'5", 203-pound pro-style passer.
Best of the Rest
- Kansas State offered 2015 3-star wide receiver Lawrence Cager, per Bartow.
- According to BamaOnline's Charles Power (subscription required), Alabama offered 2015 3-star offensive lineman Matt Womack—who is currently committed to LSU.
- LSU offered 2015 3-star JUCO defensive end and Mississippi State commit Johnathan Calvin, per Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports. Sonny Shipp of Geaux247 notes that the Tigers also offered 2016 4-star defensive end Emmit Gooden.
- Missouri offered 3-star Texas linebacker DeAndre McNeal, according to McNeal's Twitter account.
- Texas Tech offered a pair of 2015 California standouts in 3-star receiver Tony Brown and 4-star defensive lineman Joseph Wicker, per Greg Biggins of Scout and Long Beach Poly Football, respectively. Wicker also added an offer from UCLA, according to Bartow.
- UCLA also offered 2016 4-star offensive lineman Frank Martin, per Brandon Huffman of Scout.
- According to Jason Jewell of Scout, Washington is the latest offer for 2016 4-star corner Byron Murphy.
- Tennessee offered a pair of 2016 3-star in-state standouts from Pearl Cohn High School in corner Rontavious Groves and running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn. Another 2016 4-star product who received a tender from Butch Jones was Florida receiver Brandon Johnson, per Bartow. Kentucky also offered Groves last week, per Chris Smith of 247Sports.
- Georgia offered 2016 4-star running back Elijah Holyfield, according to Rusty Mansell of 247Sports (subscription required). Holyfield is the son of former heavyweight champion boxer Evander Holyfield.
- 2016 4-star receiver Tyrie Cleveland was offered by Arkansas, per Brian Perroni of 247Sports.
- Bartow reports that Mississippi State is the latest offer for 2016 4-star receiver Binjimen Victor—who is teammate of Mullen and Young at Coconut Creek High School in Florida.
- 2016 5-star corner Levonta Taylor picked up an offer from Maryland, according to Adam Friedman of Rivals.
- Oklahoma entered the race for 2016's top tight end prospect, 5-star Georgia native Isaac Nauta, according to Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports.
- ESPN's Gerry Hamilton reports that North Carolina is the newest offer for 2016 4-star corner Mecole Hardman.
- Ohio State and Pittsburgh offered 2016 4-star receiver Hasise Dubois, per Bartow. The Buckeyes also offered 2016 4-star defensive end Ron Johnson.
- Friedman also notes that Boston College and Iowa offered 2016 defensive end Keith Simms.
- 2016 jumbo athlete Tariqious Tisdale earned offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State and home-state power Tennessee, per Ryan Callahan of GoVols247 (subscription required).
Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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