Ten biggest Rivals Camp Series alums that will impact the title game

Twenty projected starters in Monday’s national championship game competed in the Rivals Camp Series during their time in high school.

Here is a look at the 10 biggest standouts who could have an impact on winning the title.

Collins always ran super smooth and he looked like a million bucks, but we always wanted to see a little bit more of a dog factor. He was a nice kid and super respectful and over the years he’s gotten to that next level as the top receiver target in the Irish offense after starting his career at Clemson.

In numerous camp settings, Collins always looked good because he had surprising speed down the field and then tremendous length as well. He ended up as the No. 10 receiver in the 2021 class – a group that was led by Monday night foe Emeka Egbuka, who has shined at Ohio State.

Downs was at the Rivals Five-Star heading into his senior season and he was well-covered during his high school career at Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek. But he didn’t earn his five-star ranking until late in the process.

The hesitation on Downs was that while he always made plays and showed off tremendous instincts, he was not super impressive physically and was actually a little undersized at the safety position.

But Downs – whether it was at the Rivals Five-Star or so many other events – just made so many plays and had a scent for the football, something he’s carried over to Alabama first and now Ohio State as college football’s best safety and a likely first-round NFL Draft pick.

Ending up as the fourth-best running back in the 2021 class and No. 81 overall, Henderson worked out at the Rivals Camp Series in Charlotte in his sophomore year and showed he could catch the ball and had speed, but he wasn’t a physical force yet since he was so young.

Henderson then didn’t do any camps during the COVID offseason including a big camp close to his house so this was the only Rivals event the four-star running back did during his time at Hopewell, Va.

Leading the Buckeyes with 967 yards, Henderson also has 10 touchdowns and has nearly identical stats to fellow star running back Quinshon Judkins in the Buckeyes’ backfield.

We’d be lying if we said Howard was a particular standout in the quarterback group at the New Jersey camp but it was raining and dreary that particular afternoon and the three-star quarterback didn’t win any awards.

The QB MVP that day was Drew Pyne. Kyle McCord, Tyler Van Dyke and others impressed as well. Kansas State jumped on Howard early, he took his first official visit there and then picked the Wildcats over Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers, Kansas and others.

Howard has been phenomenal for Ohio State this season, throwing more touchdowns for the Buckeyes than in any of his four seasons in Manhattan.

Like so many elite offensive linemen through the years, Jackson wanted to play offensive tackle but could also move inside and that versatility was excellent. The Houston (Texas) Episcopal standout was light on his feet for nearly 300 pounds but also physical and was not afraid to mix it up.

Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M and Stanford were the other programs involved with Jackson and it would have been easy to stay in-state, but Jackson went to the Buckeyes and now he’s not only playing for a national title but he should be a first-round pick.

Scott was a 6-foot-3, 195-pound four-star receiver in high school and was under five-star consideration for a while because he dominated at Bellevue (Wash.) Eastside Catholic and at numerous offseason events including the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles.

But Scott also had the frame where it looked like he could add a significant amount of weight and move to tight end so we held off on any five-star ranking although he was adamant about staying at receiver (so was Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews during his time in high school).

Now Scott is a 6-foot-3, 243-pound tight end for the Buckeyes and one of the top targets that isn’t one of Ohio State’s stellar receivers.

Penn State and Nebraska made the final list for Simon but he chose Ohio State in the summer before his senior year out of Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter’s Prep and he was one notch from being a five-star. In camp settings and games, Simon was excellent and so consistent. So it is no surprise that Simon leads Ohio State with 97 tackles along with seven sacks.

Styles showed up to the Indianapolis camp in leggings and a sweatshirt under his jersey. It was a surprise he showed up at all with bitter cold temperatures at that camp but he really impressed and solidified his five-star ranking.

The Pickerington (Ohio) standout was rated as an athlete because we weren’t sure if he was too big to play safety long-term or move down to linebacker, where he has been with the Buckeyes and shined at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds.

From high school until now, Styles was so smart on the field and covered so well for a big guy and is now one of the best defensive players in the country.

What we loved about Viliamu-Asa throughout his high school career, which ended with a five-star ranking (he’s the only five-star on Notre Dame’s roster for the championship game), was what we saw from him at the Rivals Camp Series.

The former Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout was always super mature, super focused and super business-like. He craves the physical side of the game, moves so well and is athletic and smart.

A strong freshman season in South Bend is coming to a close and more and more Viliamu-Asa looks like the future leader of Notre Dame’s defense as Jack Kiser is now.

Iowa State, Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee and Wisconsin were the other front-runners for Watts but the three-star safety from Omaha (Neb.) Burke chose Notre Dame in the summer before his senior season and stuck with the Irish.

Burke was a high three-star because he was playing receiver in high school, including at Rivals Camp, and then made a really wise move to safety in college. He’s been excellent for the Irish throughout his career and is second on the team with 74 tackles and six interceptions.

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