Five-star DL Rashan Gary has the entire recruiting trail buzzing

By Bruce Feldman
Published

Last week in Oregon, many of the nation's top high school football recruits gathered for The Opening on the Nike campus. The event provides a little more focus on the talents of these prospects as they go head-to-head with many other blue-chippers from around the country. Over the weekend I caught up with former Cal O-lineman Todd Huber, the OL/DL player personnel director for the event, to get his thoughts on who really shined in the trenches.

The biggest stud of the group was the guy who came to Oregon with the most hype: Paramus, N.J., D-lineman Rashan Gary, a 6-foot-4 1/4, 291-pounder who clocked 4.8 in the 40 (last year he was one of the few underclassmen invited to the event and timed a 4.74 in the 40).

Huber calls Gary the best D-lineman they have had at The Opening in his five years observing all of the elite prospects. "I think he lost only three reps out of the 23 or 24 he had the entire week," said Huber, whose take angered a few Vols fans taking that as a slight to incoming standout DT Khalil McKenzie. 

"Khalil was one of my favorite kids and he was dominant," explained Huber. "With Rashan, he was so dominant and I know a lot of people look at his size and just see him as a D-tackle, but I think he can be as effective as a D-end or inside. There are no holes in his game. He doesn't take plays off. He has a great first two steps. He has incredible bend coming off the edge. He moves like (former five-star defensive end prospect) Byron Cowart only he's 40 pounds heavier. He's incredibly intelligent. He's a sponge.

"This is his second year at The Opening and he was the dude getting in the other linemen's faces, getting them ready to go. He was the leader of the group. (Former NFL center and Opening coach) LeCharles Bentley had a good comparison for him when he calls him a way more explosive (2011 Ohio State first-rounder) Cam Hayward."

Gary's recruitment will be very interesting to follow. According to Scout.com, he will be at Georgia's Dawg Night on July 18 and is planning to visit Ole Miss, Auburn and Alabama later in the month. Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, Rutgers, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA all are also in contention for the New Jersey product.

Other defensive linemen who really stood out at The Opening

* Dexter Lawrence, a 340-pounder from North Carolina. "He was pretty unstoppable the first few days when he was here," said Huber. "You can tell he's been coached very well."

* McTelvin Agim, a 6-3, 270-pounder from Arkansas. "He can play inside or out," said Huber. "He's not super long, but he was freaky athletically and has such quick feet."

* Erick Fowler, a 6-1, 235-pound DE/OLB committed to LSU. "He's probably a rush end," said Huber. "He has such great short-area quickness. He always wanted to go against the top guys and he was virtually unstoppable coming off the edge."

The O-linemen who impressed most by at The Opening

* Greg Little, a 6-6, 290-pounder from Allen, Texas, committed to Texas A&M came into the event as many recruiting analysts' top offensive lineman and backed up that status in Huber's eyes. "He more than lived up to his rankings," said Huber. "He was our (O-line) MVP. He was super smooth. The top two O-linemen we've had here the past two years were Cam Robinson and Martez Ivey, and Little's technique is farther along than either of them. We knew how well he was in pass protects, but it was cool to see how much physicality he brought to the run game here, too."

* Baveon Johnson, a 6-4, 330-pound center committed to FSU: "We felt bad for some of the poor centers we had lining up against this gauntlet of D-tackles we had," said Huber. "But Baveon is the most talented center we've had. He's so big and such a really good athlete. He's also got the ideal temperament of the guy you want running your O-line."

* Michael Onwenu, a mammoth guard from Detroit committed to Michigan. "His pad level is always so good," said Huber. "His temperament never changes. He weighs 370 but looks and moves like he is 310. He ran a 5.4 40 and 4.8 shuttle."

* Drake Jackson, a 6-2, 300-pounder committed to Kentucky. "He's not overly big compared to a lot of the other top guys, but he's such a scrappy kid and has great feet," said Huber. "He had his struggles the first day but by Day 3, you could see that he was trusting his technique and the D-line coaches came away really impressed and were respecting him."

Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FOX Sports 1. He is also a New York Times Bestselling author. His new book, The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks, came out in October, 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BruceFeldmanCFB and get all of his content on Facebook.