What 2 Watch For: VTO VA
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DUMFRIES, Va. -- The VTO Sports Elite 100 series is winding down, with just a few camps left this spring. On Sunday, a number of athletes throughout the mid-Atlantic will take part in the next camp on the circuit, at Potomac High School.
Rivals.com will have complete, exclusive coverage of the camp, which will feature a few notable players and angles. Here's what to look for, going into the camp
Defensive Line Headliners
The one position to keep the biggest eye on is at the defensive line, where a trio of big-time linemen will be competing for the best at the camp.
At the top of the heap is Nash Central (NC) defensive end Houshun Gaines. Already with five offers, from Virginia Tech, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest and Boston College, Gaines has had a bit of momentum the past month or more. He missed the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour stop in Charlotte in March and is looking to make up some ground at VTO.
His biggest competition might be Freedom (Va,) class of 2016 defensive end Kyree Campbell. An impressive list of schools have already gone in with offers for Campbell, including Ohio State, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Minnesota and Virginia. Campbell was impressive at the Washington DC stop of the RCS last month and should make a good battle with Gaines, as both are big, gritty linemen.
Not far behind them is St Johns College Prep (DC) defensive end Eric Assoua. A bit undersized, Assoua will probably find himself at linebacker at the next level. But he held his own at the DC stop of the RCS and will be looking to do the same here. He's got a trio of offers, from Boston College, Toledo and Western Michigan, but camps like this should help his stock if he can perform well.
Resisting Those DL
Though the defensive linemen might be the ones to watch, there will be a few offensive linemen who hope to offer some good resistance to them. At the top of the group on the offensive side is St Mary Ryken (Md.) guard Barnabas Baning.
Baning, the No. 18 player in Maryland, has already picked up offers from Syracuse, Toledo, Old Dominion, Georgia State, James Madison and Monmouth. He's also getting interest from Virginia Tech, where he visited just a few weeks ago, on the Friday before the spring game. Baning is certainly on the rise, with good strength and size. He needs to get better with his feet and that'll certainly be looked at in the VTO camp.
At the CollegePrepWorld camp last year, one of the players who jumped out was Liberty (Va.) offensive lineman RJ Proctor. With good size, at 6'4" 320 pounds, Proctor also has good strength. He needs more work with his knees and feet and this camp could give him more quality reps he needs.
Alongside Baning and Proctor, Stafford Senior (Va.) class of 2016 tackle Josh Ball could be one to use the camp as a bit of a springboard. He doesn't have any offers yet, but Ball should get a few this summer. We got a glimpse of him at the DC RCS, but he's one to keep an eye on to see if he takes that next step.
Rising Receiver
It's been a big week for Hylton (Va.) class of 2016 wide receiver Taurus Carroll. He picked up his first two offers, from James Madison and Towson and then competed yesterday at the DMV Elite seven-on-seven tournament.
Carroll looked solid yesterday and has improved mightily in the past year and has also transferred from Stafford Senior (Va.). He still needs to try to put on some weight to his slight frame, but Carroll has shown good speed, instincts and the ability to make a tough catch. He also needs to be more consistent in those three qualities.
Other Skill Guys Looking For Breakthrough
While Carroll will be the one to keep the biggest eye on, a few others are hoping to show they can do more with a solid showing at VTO.
Avon Old Farms (CT) wide receiver Matthew Millea is making quite the trip to get to the camp. Overshadowed mostly by his Rivals250 teammate, tight end Chris Clark, Millea will have more of a spotlight at VTO. The No. 8 player in Connecticut, Millea needs a big showing to really push himself up in the rankings and get his first offer.
McDonogh (Md.) Kareem Montgomery has also been close to breaking through. He's gotten quite a bit of interest from Maryland, but as yet to receive his first offer.
And one we'll be interested in seeing is St Mary Ryken (Md.) quarterback Ryan Bowles. Another player yet to receive an offer, he showed he can make a big throw at the RCS DC stop. He might be the top quarterback on hand, which should give him a great platform to shine.
On The Rise
With two years of high school left, there will be a number of players on hand in the class of 2016. Most don't have any offers yet, but are looking to at least get some momentum going.
Of that group, keep an eye on La Plata (Md.) cornerback Demarco Blount, Good Counsel (Md.) quarterback Andres Castillo, Dematha (Md.) athlete Jordan Edwards and Dematha (Md.) offensive lineman Elijah Johnson. The last of that group, Johnson, has good size at 6'5" and 289 pounds.