CFB Recruiting: Five Big Names From The Class Of 2023 Yet To Commit
By Chase Petersen
With the commitment of Arch Manning to the University of Texas (HOOKEM!!) it probably has a lot of people wondering who the top guys left uncommitted are. Recently, a number of high profile recruits have chosen a home, with Brandon Innis, Carnell Tate, and Noah Rodgers all choosing Ohio State in three consecutive days – on top of the bombshell Manning announcement.
With that said, who are the big names left, where could they end up, and why are they ranked so high?
Cormani McClain
The highest rated uncommitted recruit in the 24/7 composite rankings is CB Cormani McClain out of Lakeland, FL. He attends Lakeland High School, previously attended by the OL Pouncey brothers. He is the #3 overall player in the composite with a grade of .9992, the second highest given to a CB since 2020.
McClain is a long and lanky corner with tons of room to add more weight. His length is a perfect projection to the pro level, let alone high level D1. He already has a laser time of 4.5 in the forty yard dash, 128” broad jump, and a 4.3 shuttle time at 6’1” and 165lbs.
His tape is electric as well. He understands the CB position already at his young age. He does a great job at getting depth in off coverage, and has more than enough speed to break on throws to get an INT. After he takes the ball away with his elite ball skills, he turns into a weapon and will crib it more often than most. Whoever lands this player will be getting someone with NFL length, speed, and ball skills already. So that just leaves the question, who is in the running for him?
Right now, according to the crystal balls, his home state Florida Gators are the frontrunners for his services. Other teams in his top 5 are Alabama, BYU, Ohio State, and Miami. I would bet that he stays home and commits to either Mario Cristobal at Miami, or heads to Gainesville to join new HC Billy Napier.
David Hicks
The next highest rated uncommitted player is David Hicks, a 6’4” 270 pound defensive lineman out of Katy, Texas. He played his junior year at Allen High School. He is the #5 player overall in the composite, with a grade of .9965, or t-6th highest grade given to a DL since 2020. He already has a grown man body with tons of mass. I don’t have athletic numbers for Hicks, but his dad was a D1 football player in his day, and Hicks also plays basketball, so I’m sure there’s some athleticism there.
When you pop on the tape the first thing you notice is how thick his lower half is. The kid is built like a truck. The arm length looks a bit concerning, and would perhaps mean a permanent kick inside on the next level, but he has the burst and closing speed of an edge rusher. Right now he just completely overpowers people, but he does show the use of a couple different pass rush moves. It looks like he will have the ability to be an elite interior pass rushing presence for someone in the near future, but who?
If someone were to look at the crystal balls, they would see that the Texas A&M Aggies are the clear leader in this recruitment, but to get back to Arch Manning, that may be changing. Reports from InsideTexas say that after the Arch Manning commitment, David Hicks reached out to Texas. Not bad when the elite players are contacting YOU for their services – thanks Arch! However, he hasn’t so much as taken an unofficial visit to Austin. He has recently visited Oregon, Michigan St., and Miami, but has taken more than five visits to College Station. This recruitment will be one to keep your eyes on for the remainder of the cycle.
Nyckoles Harbor
Continuing on with the rankings, next up is #7 overall out of Washington, DC, by way of Archbishop Carroll – ATH Nyckoles Harbor. This guy is FREAKY. He owns a composite grade of .9956, and honestly that feels low. Standing 6’5” and 225 pounds, he already has the frame to play EDGE or TE in the NFL. Now, remember he’s 225 pounds when I say this next part… He has a 10.28 100m time… For reference, at 18 years old Tyreek Hill ran a 10.19, so yeah, this kid is freakin fast.
When you turn the tape on you immediately see an NFL length profile – he looks like he could start at small forward for the Wizards after he gets done getting 5 sacks on a Friday night. His skills are incredibly raw as his all world athleticism allows him to just run past blockers and close on the QB. Lamar Jackson probably couldn’t run away from this guy, let alone these little HS QBs. His ceiling is unmatchable by anyone in the class, it’s just up to whoever coaches him to get it all out.
The schools in Harbor’s final seven include Michigan, USC, Miami, Maryland, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina. He has been on the campuses of South Carolina, UNC, Penn St., Oklahoma, and Miami. Based on that information, and there being no crystal balls, I would peg Miami and South Carolina as the favorites, but my guess is as good as anyone’s.
Francis Mauigoa
We finally get to some really big nasties here with the #9 ranked player in the class, Francis Mauigoa. He lists at 6’5” 330 pounds, an absolute behemoth. He played RT as a junior at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL – basically a D1 factory in all sports. For example, the LT he played with there; Bama commit. The QB he protected; FSU commit. And the RB he blocked for; Penn St. commit. Iron sharpens iron. Mauigoa’s father and brother were both D1 football players themselves.
This kid is a bonafide bully. He fires off the ball with ferocity and a want to end your life on every play. His play strength looks already good enough for the D1 level, however his footwork will need some tuning as he can get a bit too narrow is his base. Not a ton of true pass sets on his highlights either, so I’m not sure how he projects there, but he will for sure set a nasty tone on run downs. The arm length doesn’t look to be elite, but also appears not to be a problem. I’m not sure if he will stick at tackle in the future, but I believe he has the ability to.
The final six schools in the running for Mauigoa are Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, USC, Miami, and Tennessee. His former teammate Tyler Booker is an inside man at Alabama, so they might have some help there. At the time of this writing Mauigoa is on a visit to Tennessee, so we’ll see if a commitment comes out of that. With no crystal balls, there’s no way to tell where he’s leaning, but someone is going to get a monster with this guy.
Kadyn Proctor
The last of the highest rated uncommitted players that I’ll touch on today is offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. Proctor comes in at 6’7” and 330 pounds, a mountain of a man. He is the 10th ranked player in the composite with a score of .9952. He is from Des Moines, Iowa, and attends Southeast Polk HS. He also plays basketball to help with the movement skills, and is one of the best shot put throwers in the state of Iowa, proving his strength. His size projects him to a tackle spot on the next level, and his star count projects him to the left side.
When watching Proctor I learned quickly that he is going to be an animal in pass protection. He keeps a wide base and always seems to be well balanced when absorbing contact. Super speed rushers might give him a little trouble on inside moves, but he has time to figure that out. In the run game he could be a tad more nasty, but his pancakes are still a sight to behold. When he gets up to the second level he lays dudes flat on their back with what looks to him like a little shove.
So who are his suitors? This recruitment is just about wrapped up, as the only teams remaining in it are Alabama (is there a top recruit that ever just tells them no?) and Iowa. The crystal balls are leaning toward him staying at home, and I couldn’t blame him if he did as Iowa is an OL factory. Whoever gets this kid has a guy that could probably step in on day one at RT, and make the transition to the blindside later on.
Back To Arch Manning...
Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/jHYbjBaF5K
— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022
The writing of this article is due to the commitment of the highest profile recruit in HS football history. Arch Manning committed to the Texas Longhorns on Thursday morning, and it sent shockwaves through CFB. Arch is sure to bring plenty of people with him – as I already touched on, David Hicks perhaps wants to follow him – but who else could be pledging to the Longhorns soon?
The names being thrown around to join Arch started with a 5 star WR out of DeSoto, TX; Johntay Cook. Cook and Manning have been linked for awhile, and since Cook is on a visit to UT this weekend, a commitment appears imminent. Another is 4 Star RB Cedrick Baxter out of Orlando, FL. He has had a crystal ball placed by the god of crystal balls, Steve Wiltfong, to commit to the Longhorns as well.
Mikal Harrison-Pilot, a 4 star ATH from Temple, TX was quoted as saying, “If Arch commits, I’m committing.” Now that that has happened, we will see if he is a man of his word. The last name directly linked to the Arch commitment is 4 star WR Jonah Wilson, who had 3 crystal balls placed in the favor of UT placed the same day as Arch’s announcement. This just goes to show that once you get the QB, the whole class falls into place.
Last year Texas brought in the best OL class maybe ever, and this year they got TWO of the three highest rated QB recruits ever to pledge. Now the skill players are set to join them. If UT can figure out some things on the defensive side of the football, then Texas might just be BACK. HOOKEM!!!!!
CHASE PETERSEN
NFL DRaft ANALYST
From just outside Kansas City Missouri, Chase has been obsessed with the NFL Draft for as long as he can remember. An avid Minnesota Vikings and Texas Longhorns fan, connect with Chase on Twitter @SportsTalkCenter