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**QUICK LOOK: Rivals Five-Star Challenge

Jay G. Tate

IT'S A TRAP!
Staff
Jan 17, 2003
81,526
391,519
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Montgomery, Ala.
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Elijah Stove: Auburn commit
We are attending the Rivals Five-Star Challenge at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.

It's a who's who of the top tier of high-school football, which means a LOT of players involved with Auburn to various degrees are on the field and performing. We'll get more into details once the event ends tonight, but we wanted to give you all a quick look at who is playing well and who needs to step it up during the 7-on-7 tournament tonight.

MOVING UP
  • Elijah Stove was playing at least somewhat well, but he hurt his right ankle while running a deep out route. He was able to walk on it. He wasn't able to run on it -- at least in the moments after the initial injury. He's icing it. We're hopeful he can go tonight.
  • DT Rashan Gary has been really good as an inside guy. His offer list has quadrupled during the past few months and now has Auburn (and several other schools) extremely interested. He is due to visit AU later this summer.
EDIT: I updated Gary's information on Monday morning to reflect new information.
  • DT Dexter Lawrence has been really good as an inside guy as well. He recently was bumped up to Rivals' No. 1 overall prospect, so his performance this morning shouldn't be a big surprise. Big, long, strong and very powerful. Auburn has offered and he said he'd visit later this summer.
  • DE Nick Coe, whom Auburn offered recently, looks good off the edge. He's not super quick and he's not super strong, but he's long and he understands how to get the tackle into a bad situation. He understands leverage. He reads the block and reacts.
  • DE Jonathon Cooper is the best player I've seen today. He's committed to Ohio State. (Auburn isn't in it.) He's super fast off the edge, reminds me of Corey Lemonier.
  • CB JoeJuan Williams has held his own against these wideouts, which is a tall order. I've been impressed with how quickly he gets back into good position after the receiver's first cut.
  • WR Sam Bruce is the best player Bryan has seen today. (I like what he's done so far, but I like Cooper better overall.) He's a short, stout slot receiver. He looks like Corey Grant, he Bruce is more agile side to side. His hands have been exceptional today. Bruce is committed to Miami, but he told us yesterday that he'll be visiting Auburn later this summer. He seems very intrigued.
NEEDS TO STEP IT UP
  • DT Julian Rochester looks slow and out of shape. He missed time with an injury, so that's a reasonable explanation. Still, he doesn't look good. He hasn't shown anything other than a bull rush.
  • DT Antwuan Jackson probably doesn't belong in this group, but he's been a little inconsistent. He embarrassed a few guards early, but then was neutralized during subsequent reps. He also tends to bull rush a little more than you'd expect.
  • DT Derrick Brown has been so-so. He's tried some moves and he's pulled off some moves, but he hasn't been very effective. He's been working against some guards and centers who don't look elite to me, so that's a little alarming.
JURY IS OUT
  • We haven't been able to assess LBs much yet. I like what Class of 2017 LB Will Ignont brings to the field. He looks like a better version of Darrell Williams to me, which is a real complement; I think Williams is a very good prospect.
  • Class of 2017 QB Jake Bentley, son of Auburn analyst Bobby Bentley, was so-so in the 1v1s today. He had two remarkable throws to WR Binjimen Victor, a stud in his own right, but also missed a few easy-ish throws. Let's see what he does tonight when the lights come on.
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Will Ignont is a Class of 2017 prospect from Buckhorn (Ala.) HS.
 
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