The Inside Track On 2016 Five-Stars Steve Wiltfong - Feb 11, 8:20 AM The nation's No. 1 prospect Gregory Little appears to be a solid commit to the Aggies. A little less than a year out, plenty will change, some of these young men will flip once, maybe twice, while obviously new five-stars will emerge. Allen (Texas) High offensive tackle Gregory Little is the No. 1 player in the country. Committed to Texas A&M, the 6-foot-5, 282-pound Little has talked about taking visits during the spring but for now appears solid to the Aggies. Georgia has two five-stars committed, as the country’s top-ranked quarterback Jacob Eason and offensive tackle Ben Cleveland both committed on July 19. Ohio State has one five-star committed in the country’s top-ranked running back Kareem Walker, and is there a bigger lock among the other five-stars than Nick Bosa of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas to the Buckeyes? Bosa is obviously the younger brother of Ohio State standout Joey Bosa. Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy is looking like a nice five-star feeder program for Florida State in 2016. Quarterback Malik Henry is committed, as is the nation’s No. 1 tight end Isaac Nauta, who is just a hair outside of the five-star rankings. Henry and Nauta’s teammates, the country’s No. 1 strong-side defensive end Shavar Manuel and the nation’s top-ranked cornerback Saivion Smith are considered FSU leans by the 247Sports Crystal Ball. There is much speculation that Michigan has emerged as the favorite for the country’s No. 2 prospect, defensive tackle Rashan Gary, after the Wolverines hired his former head coach Chris Partridge for an off-field recruiting position just before National Signing Day. Gary’s mother told 247Sports that although they really like Partridge, they only knew him for three months, and if anything, they learned that they need to pick a school for the school and not the coaches. The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Gary is one of the more wide-open five-stars at this point in the process. LSU is the early favorite to sign the most five-stars. Les Miles and company are considered the leader for the country’s No. 1 outside linebacker Keion Joyner and the country’s No. 2 defensive tackle Edwin Alexander. Every year there has to be a five-star battle between Alabama and LSU, and the first one of the cycle looks like New Orleans (La.) John Curtis offensive tackle Willie Allen. The Tigers hold the slight 247Sports Crystal Ball lead over the Crimson Tide at this juncture. The Tigers are also looking to dip into the Lone Star State for a pair of five-stars. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver could end up a Tiger, with Texas and Texas A&M trying to keep him home, while the No. 1 safety in America, Eric Monroe, is another LSU-Aggies battle. OLB Keion Joyner is one of several five-stars giving LSU a good look. While Monroe could head to an SEC rival, Texas A&M appears to be the top school for Nacogdoches (Texas) High safety Brandon Jones, the No. 2 safety in the USA. Another safety, the No. 3 ranked player at his position in Manvel (Texas) High standout Deontay Anderson is a recruiting battle the Aggies are currently favored over LSU for. Alabama and Auburn are naturally considered the top two contenders for the No. 2 outside linebacker in the land Lyndell Wilson of Montgomery (Ala.) Carver, with the Crimson Tide sitting on the humungous early 247Sports Crystal Ball lead for the No. 1 player in the state. Alabama is also favored for No. 2 in the state in outside linebacker Ben Davis, while Auburn looks like the program to beat for defensive end Marlon Davidson. Speaking of Auburn, Gus Malzahn and his staff have the country’s No. 1 receiver Nate Craig-Myers in the fold, and they’re considered the early favorite for Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern defensive tackle Julian Rochester. While Georgia is in a battle to keep Rochester in state, the Dawgs are considered the heavy favorite for a third potential five-star commit in defensive tackle in Derrick Brown. The 247Sports Crystal Ball is all Oklahoma for Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West outside linebacker Caleb Kelly. Florida and Florida State are two of the early favorites for Wake Forest (N.C.) Rolesville defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Virginia didn’t land a five-star in 2015 after scoring two from in-state in 2014. They aim to bring in No. 1 in 2016 Ocean Lakes cornerback Levonta Taylor, but several schools remain in play to steal the Cavaliers top target. Some already thought quarterback Shea Patterson would be an Ole Miss commit with his older brother Sean expected to take a job with the Rebels. The No. 1 player in Ohio in offensive tackle Tommy Kraemer is committed to Notre Dame and Brian Kelly.
