Commitment Predictions: Part 1

<a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/dominic-lovett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="20194" first="Dominic" last="Lovett"]</span></strong></a><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">, WR, East St. Louis: IL Overall Rank #2</span></strong> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Prediction: </span></strong><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Missouri</span></em> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rationale</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">The Tigers have long been connected to Lovett since the commitment of his teammate [player_tooltip player_id="20203" first="Tyler" last="Macon"]. I think they’re the favorite right now, for a few reasons. Number one: proximity to home. Missouri’s campus is only two hours from home, making it easy for his family to come and watch home games. Number 2: East St. Louis has a long history of players choosing to head to Columbia, Missouri. Five-star defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. in 2016 turned down every school in the country to play for the Tigers. Number three: Head coach Eli Drinkwitz. The people I’ve spoken to have raved about Drinkwitz’s offensive mind &amp; his relentless nature in recruiting. I think Lovett has taken notice of both of those, and when he does make a decision, it’s my belief that it will be the tigers. </span> &nbsp; <a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/justin-johnson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="20197" first="Justin" last="Johnson"]</span></strong></a><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">, RB, Edwardsville: IL Overall Rank #5</span></strong> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Prediction: </span></strong><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Michigan State</span></em> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rationale</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">Of late, I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz around the West Virginia Mountaineers as the favorite for [player_tooltip player_id="20197" first="Justin" last="Johnson"]. Their fans have expressed their desire for Illinois’ top back all over twitter &amp; have shown him a ton of love. However, West Virginia’s offense is more of a wide-open offense that likes to sling the rock. Last year, their two leading rushers combined for only 206 carries. Michigan State has a long history of great college backs &amp; Mel Tucker being a defensive-minded coach, I think believes you have to run the football. Last fall, when he was at Colorado, their leading rusher had 185 carries, and his back up had 107 carries. I think being one of the top backs in the country, Johnson will want the rock and want it early, and I believe he’ll get exactly that at MSU. </span> &nbsp; <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="20200" first="Ryan" last="Keeler"], OL, Nazareth: IL Overall Rank #8</span></strong> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Prediction:</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Michigan</span></em> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rationale</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">One name that keeps popping up in Keeler’s recruitment is the Rutgers Scarlett Knights. Rightfully so, Head coach Greg Schiano is back at the helm and already has put together a fantastic recruiting class in his first spring back on campus. They’ve made a huge commitment to football at Rutgers &amp; the future looks very bright. However, I think the lore of Michigan football and the influence of former teammate and current Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id="20193" first="J.J." last="McCarthy"] will come into play. Michigan has a long, storied history of producing talented offensive lineman and getting them to the next level. The proximity of his home to Ann Arbor, I think, will play a part as well.</span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="20208" first="Enrique" last="Cruz Jr."], OL, Willowbrook: Overall Rank # 16</strong> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Prediction:</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Louisville</span></em> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rationale</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">The rise of [player_tooltip player_id="20208" first="Enrique" last="Cruz Jr."] has been a quick one, and deservedly so, this is easily one of the state’s best offensive lineman. Cruz went from having not a single offer in early April to earning six Power-5 offers as of today. This commitment prediction may be a little too early, only because I believe Cruz is going to pick up more offers and will have even more options to choose from. However, if he were to make a decision in the near future, I think the Louisville Cardinals make a ton of sense here. Louisville has made a considerable splash in Illinois with recent commitments from TE [player_tooltip player_id="20210" first="Victor" last="Mullen"] of Marquette and DB [player_tooltip player_id="20205" first="Benjamin" last="Perry"] of Mount Carmel. Schematically, Louisville is a huge outside zone team, and they target big offensive lineman who can run, and that’s Cruz to a T. Head coach Scott Satterfield just produced a first-round offensive tackle in Mehki Becton and has shown he can help get talented offensive lineman to the next level.</span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="20212" first="Daine" last="Hanson"], DL, Nazareth: Overall Rank #20</strong> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Prediction:</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Iowa</span></em> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rationale</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">Iowa, to me, is the natural fit here. Hanson is a lengthy defensive line prospect with a lot of upside. Iowa is known to produce defensive lineman and has particularly had a lot of success with ones from the Land of Lincoln. Their strength and condition program is one of the best in the country and will help build what’s already a massive frame. Hanson will come in as a five-technique, but I think once he adds weight, he could kick down to a three-technique. He and current Iowa commit [player_tooltip player_id="20206" first="Jeremiah" last="Pittman"] of St. Viator could make a scary duo in the Big-Ten and cause a lot of issues for opposing teams offensive linemen.</span>