• Price set the meet record in the shot put at 62 feet, 5 inches
• Jalen Reeves-Maybin unofficially visits Mississippi Rebels
• Mitch Trubisky unofficially visits North Carolina Tar Heels
• Cincinnati Bearcats offered Andrew Brown yesterday
• West Virginia Mountaineers offered Michael Ferns
• Ole Miss & South Florida evaluates Ryan Green. Eddie Gran from Florida State evaluated Ryan Green
• Michigan State Spartans offer Kc McDermott
• N.C. State offered Ryan Green
• Matt Rolin named to "The Opening", a national all-star camp help on the Nike Campus

Ra'Shaad Samples at a Texas Tech Junior Day (via @10justcored)

May 18, 2012 - The 2013 wide receiver class in the state of Texas is top-heavy with tall wide receivers, but there's a slight wideout at state powerhouse Dallas Skyline who simply knows how to get open -- Ra'Shaad Samples, son of the head coach there, and possessor of 33 offers.

On Thursday afternoon, Samples broke the news of his announcement date on his Twitter feed:

It's official I will announce my commitment on ESPN July 5-8 at The Opening!

— Rashaad Samples (@10justscored) May 17, 2012

The 6'0, 170-pounder earned the invitation to the event despite breaking the fibula in his left leg late in the day at the Fort Worth NFTC, ending a strong performance. Having already dealt with a similar but more serious injury as a sophomore, Samples is on track to recover in time for the Nike-sponsored event and has been outspoken in interviews with the services about his confidence in returning at better than full strength. After all, he emerged from his previous rehab faster and stronger than before his injury.

Resilient kid, Samples.

The significant day in the talented wideout's recruitment didn't stop just with the announcement of, well, his announcement date, but also teased another pending revelation:

Probably will put my top 5 later on tonight

— Rashaad Samples (@10justscored) May 17, 2012

Good to his word, Samples dropped his list hours later:

Of those schools, USC and Ohio State would likely need to receive summer visits from Samples to stand a legitimate shot in his recruitment, though the crafty receiver has not yet scheduled those trips. Nearly a month ago, he spoke about his plans at that time ($) to the Aggie Rivals affiliate, Aggie Yell:

I will try to make some visits this summer. I'm not in any rush to make a decision. I will probably get to some in-state places for second visits and try to go to a couple of out of state ones too like Notre Dame and USC. I may see Texas Tech and A&M again. When I went down to A&M, it was a junior day and it was quick. I want to spend a day on the campus. I want to see them practice but I probably will miss out on that. I'll attend some games next year. I will probably see Texas. I really want to see Tech play and Oklahoma State play. I try to go to a lot of games every year.

The big change clearly is that Samples won't be taking any official visits before making his decisions -- or see any games this fall at all, for that matter -- but the schools that get those visits during the summer could secure on advantage in a recruitment that seems quite wide open at this point, though Samples recently changed the avatar on his Twitter page to a split screen shot including a picture taken at the Texas Junior Day that occupied the same position for much of February.

But how interested is Texas in Samples? Multiple sources have told me that Samples hasn't had a committable offer since the commitment of Cy Falls wide receiver Jacorey Warrick back in late February. What's certainly clear is that the staff has backed off serious pursuit.

In any case, a lack of interest from the staff may ultimately result in the same outcome as informing Samples that there was no more room for him in the Texas class and also represents a more subtle handling of the situation so as not to risk damaging relations with a pipeline school like Skyline that produces serious talent every year.

So which of the other five have the strongest shot at landing Samples?

The in-state schools with the lead are probably Texas Tech and A&M, especially since there was some buzz from Aggie camps that a commitment could be imminent from Samples around the time of the spring game. Still dealing with his injury, Samples didn't take any trips during that time, which killed that speculation.

It's possible that USC or Ohio State could surge into serious contention based on summer visits, but until those trips happen, if they do indeed go down, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State probably have the highest odds of landing Samples because of proximity and familiarity.

Middletown Journal - Jalin Marshall

Lance Johnson and Jalin Marshall made their presence felt Friday night in the finals of the Dayton Division I high school track and field meet at Welcome Stadium.

The juniors were Middletown?s only individuals in the track events and jumps. Usually the Middies are a challenger for boys team trophies at the district, regional and state level. This year, however, those sprinters and scorching relays teams were absent.

?A lot of guys who might have run thought they had to be in the weight room lifting for football,? said Marshall. ?Colleges recruit speed and quickness. But some guys don?t want to hear that. I know running track was a factor in a lot of schools looking at me for football.?

Marshall has given a verbal commitment to play at Ohio State. He won the long jump going 21-feet, 10.50 inches while Johnson was second at 21-10.

Marshall also won the high jump, clearing 6-6 and barely missing at 6-8. 

ESPN - Robert Foster

Gators check in on ESPN 150 WR Foster
May, 18, 2012
By Greg Ostendorf | ESPN.com

Florida visited one of the top wide receiver prospects in the nation this week -- Robert Foster.

The ESPN 150 star is the No. 2-ranked wide receiver in the country. He already has more than 30 scholarship offers from top schools and still remains open

Foster hasn't thought much about when he will narrow his list or make a decision. He wants to take the summer to spend time with his family, work out with his team and prepare for his senior season.

Bleacher Report - JT Barrett

Introduction to 2014 DB Parrker Westphal

Parrker Westphal, out of Bolingbrook High School (IL), is yet another player the Buckeyes have set their sights on early in the process. Parrker's teammate is 2013 Illinois quarterback commit Aaron Bailey, who had an offer from Ohio State, so the Buckeyes are likely familiar with his school. It's early, but that Buckeyes have put themselves in a good position with Parrker by offering him early in the process. I caught up with Parrker to chat about his interest in Ohio State and to see how his recruitment was progressing. I will be in contact with Parrker in the future, so keep checking for more updates on this elite 2014 DB.

•  Has recently received offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Iowa, Illinois, West Virginia, Florida, Michigan State, Cincinnati, and Indiana.
• UCLA and Wisconsin also showing interest.
• Has not taken any visits yet, but would like to make it to Ohio State, Michigan, and West Virginia over the summer.
• Does not plan on camping anywhere this coming summer.
• On How Ohio State offer went down: "Coach Vrabel went in my coaches office and told my Coach I had an offer from Ohio State. I was really excited to get the offer."
• When asked if he had any leaders: "No, not right now, I am keeping all of my options open."
• On timetable and factors: "I plan on deciding sometime after my junior season. The biggest factors would be the academics and graduation rate."
• Didn't have a favorite team growing up: "I'm just a fan of the game."
• Strengths: Feat and awareness.
• Improvements: Get to the ball faster.
• Goals: Win state championship and all-state.