In what is my first experience at the Rivals 5-Star Challenge, I can say that registration day on Friday was wild. Lots of top talent checking in, grabbing swag, and being interviewed by multiple sites on our network. I am definitely looking forward to the competition tomorrow at the Georgia Dome.
On the Vanderbilt side of things, I caught up with targets Camron Johnson, Jacob Phillips, and Obinna Eze. I'll have in-depth video interviews with each coming soon, but for now here are a few notes to share from our conversations.
While Johnson hasn't heard from Vanderbilt in a while, he is looking to camp this month and is hoping to make it to Friday Night Lights. He said his summer basketball schedule may prevent him from attending FNL, but he's hoping to work it out and attend. Johnson said he's camped at Tennessee's satellite camp and at Alabama so far this summer and is planning to hit the Michigan satellite camp in Oakland this Tuesday. I got a really good vibe from Johnson towards Vanderbilt and his relationship with WR coach Cortez Hankton.
Nothing is really new with Phillips since the last time I checked in on him during his spring practice. Vanderbilt seems to be in a great position with what they have to offer in terms of academics and football. His relationship with Coach Marve is a key in Phillips' recruiting process and will be going forward. He still has his sights set on narrowing his list this summer and taking all five official visits when football season starts.
Today was actually the first time I personally interviewed Obinna Eze and he is an incredible kid to talk to that is very open and honest in his answers. Most feel Vanderbilt doesn't have a shot at landing the 4-star offensive tackle, but after today's chat it seemed that the Commodores were held in high regard to Eze. He told me he came away even more impressed by OL coach Cameron Norcross after getting coached by him at the Music City Showcase camp this past Sunday. I asked him if planned to camp on-campus at Vanderbilt this month and he said it's a high possibility.
On the Vanderbilt side of things, I caught up with targets Camron Johnson, Jacob Phillips, and Obinna Eze. I'll have in-depth video interviews with each coming soon, but for now here are a few notes to share from our conversations.
While Johnson hasn't heard from Vanderbilt in a while, he is looking to camp this month and is hoping to make it to Friday Night Lights. He said his summer basketball schedule may prevent him from attending FNL, but he's hoping to work it out and attend. Johnson said he's camped at Tennessee's satellite camp and at Alabama so far this summer and is planning to hit the Michigan satellite camp in Oakland this Tuesday. I got a really good vibe from Johnson towards Vanderbilt and his relationship with WR coach Cortez Hankton.
Nothing is really new with Phillips since the last time I checked in on him during his spring practice. Vanderbilt seems to be in a great position with what they have to offer in terms of academics and football. His relationship with Coach Marve is a key in Phillips' recruiting process and will be going forward. He still has his sights set on narrowing his list this summer and taking all five official visits when football season starts.
Today was actually the first time I personally interviewed Obinna Eze and he is an incredible kid to talk to that is very open and honest in his answers. Most feel Vanderbilt doesn't have a shot at landing the 4-star offensive tackle, but after today's chat it seemed that the Commodores were held in high regard to Eze. He told me he came away even more impressed by OL coach Cameron Norcross after getting coached by him at the Music City Showcase camp this past Sunday. I asked him if planned to camp on-campus at Vanderbilt this month and he said it's a high possibility.
