Similar to the Elite 11 QB challenge, The Opening is the most recent installment of ESPN's nationwide high school football super camps. 163 players from all over the country gathered in Beaverton, Oregon last week to compete with another in a bevy of different drills. Players from all positions were showcased, and were given the opportunity show their talent through multiple drills. The competition included everything from one on one linemen drills, to team oriented seven on seven competitions.
Let's check out some of the Cal recruits who participated:
Joey Alfieri
Portland (Ore.) Jesuit linebacker
Pac-12 schools under consideration: Arizona, ASU, Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, Washington State.
Alfieri is an athletic linebacker with a nice frame. Given his size he could be ready to play early on in his career. Most of the PAC-12 schools have offered, and a lot of people have him high on Stanford. He definitely can play.
Talking with lead NIKE Camp LB coach Chris Gizzi, he called the performance by Joey Alfieri on Sunday, "the best showing by a LB this year"
— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) May 21, 2013
Alfieri impresses by making SPARQ finals: Portland (Ore.) Jesuit linebacker Joey Alfieri continues to impress ... http://t.co/vedbBs9K1G
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 2, 2013
The Portland (Ore.) Jesuit linebacker, Joey Alfieri, talked on his performance at The Opening and his recruitment... http://t.co/KrlxLaUiG8
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 9, 2013
Apparently the real highlight of Alfieri's performance at the Opening was how well he did in the SPARQ competition, placing an impressive 6th place overall.
Budda Baker
Bellevue (Wa.) defensive back
Pac-12 schools under consideration: Eleven Pac-12 schools, with Oregon, UCLA, Washington leading.
Extremely highly ranked prospect from WA, who already is placed in the ESPN top 150. Has a handful of really nice offers on the table from the a lot of top programs. Looks like were not even going after him to hard, which might be an intelligent conservation of resource considering most people have him as a lock at Oregon.
Baker was one of the few players who was invited to play on both sides of the ball at The Opening last week.
The Bellevue (Wash.) athlete, Budda Baker, talks his top five and playing on both sides of the ball at The Opening... http://t.co/FLKQue6INv
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 4, 2013
John Bonney
Houston (Tex.) Lamar defensive back
Cal, Stanford, UCLA -from the PAC-12.
ESPN 4 star recruit. Although he hasn't broke into the ESPN top 150 or 300, his offer list is extremely impressive, with at least 30 schools from all over the country trying to gain his services. Plays safety, and has very good size, standing at 6'2, and possessing very nice cover skills. Most people have him staying in Texas and heading over to UT or Baylor, but some PAC-12 schools could potentially catch his eye.
B2G: John Bonney talks #Cal #Stanford #UCLA and more about Texas schools http://t.co/hKaciIZaOS
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) June 28, 2013
Texas athlete John Bonney at the Sparq testing pic.twitter.com/toIR29GU0Z
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) July 1, 2013
Fontana (Ca.) Summit wide receiver
Another big time recruit. Rated 178 out of ESPNs 300. He was considering a lot of different PAC-12 schools, including Cal, until he formally committed to UW at the opening a few days ago. Bummer!
2014 Fontana (Calif.) Summit receiver Erik Brown committed to Washington at The Opening. Now, FOX Sports NEXT... http://t.co/aaueNcaKDL
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 8, 2013
Jamardre Cobb
Los Angeles (Ca.) Salesian linebacker
Several Pac-12 schools in contention.
Another big time ESPN top 300 recruit. Great frame and good athleticism, Cobb looks ready to play D1 ball right now. We offered him in May and are still in the running. Looks like Arizona's got the no. 1 spot though.
A friend of his, who recently committed there, has likely sealed the deal for him.
With the #Arizona offer to Rodney Carr, that could go a long way in helping land Jamardre Cobb and Marquis Ware. They want to play together.
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) June 22, 2013
Apparently did well at The Opening, but I wouldn't cross your fingers hoping this guy will end up in Berkeley.
Royce Freeman
Imperial (Ca.) running back
Oregon, UCLA, USC the top schools.
BIG TIME running back from Imperial California. Ranked as ESPNs 154th overall recruit, and has offers from not only all the PAC-12 schools, but several SEC schools including Alabama. Looks like it's really up in the air between UCLA, Oregon, and USC, but Freeman has not been very revealing of which school he favors.
The Opening: Royce Freeman Update: Although more of a pads guy than a 7 on 7 performer, Imperial (Calif.) runn... http://t.co/5mm70YLPMx
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 5, 2013
Stories on running backs Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette and Royce Freeman on the front page of http://t.co/eIAHjuyxFG now. @TheOpening_2013
— Gerard Martinez (@gmartlive) July 2, 2013
Royce Freeman visits #Oregon but still said he has not favorites yet. Has to be good sign for Ducks though.
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) June 24, 2013
Marcus Griffin
Washington State commit
Bellevue (Wa.) defensive lineman
Not as highly rated as the other guys on this list, and just recently committed to Washington State. A lot of people still think that his recruitment isn't over though, and if that's true, then there's a chance he could end up at Cal. While his commitment was open, he was high on us as well as Arizona and Wazzu. A 300 lb. guy, I would definitely be happy to see his recruitment open up again.
Joe Mixon
Oakley (Ca.) Freedom running back
USC, Oregon, Washington, ASU, Cal the big Pac-12 offers.
The one we've all been waiting on. You're all well acquainted by now with the Oakley powerhouse running back. Unfortunately, as his offer list continues to grow, I fear that the chances of him wearing blue and gold next year also continue to dwindle. Looks like he's really loving USC and Oklahoma, but lo and behold the Cal Bears are still up there in contention.This is a name we'll be hearing about on many Saturdays, as well as Sundays to come.
In a class with plenty of versatile prospects, there may not be one teams can do more with offensively than new 5-star Joe Mixon.
— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) July 11, 2013
Here's a review w/ photo Gallery of the most talented team from #TheOpening IMO, Apocalypse: http://t.co/9AVIfVgoiq (Kyle Allen, Joe Mixon)
— Barton Simmons (@bartonsimmons) July 9, 2013
One of the top running backs in the country in the class of 2014 is Oakley (Calif.) Freedom’s Joe Mixon. GBW... http://t.co/E0PTIc7ivy
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 6, 2013
The Opening: Joe Mixon Update: Oakley (Calif.) Freedom running back Joe Mixon came in to The Opening as a five... http://t.co/A6SsK0Rln3
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 5, 2013
Adarius Pickett
El Cerrito (Ca.) defensive back
Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington offers
Big time recruit in our backyard. These are the pickups we need to get if we're going to elevate our recruiting. ESPN top 300. He's very high on Stanford, USC, and us, so I can't complain about that. He would be a marquee pickup for the 2014 class.
Portland, Oregon-- El Cerrito (Calif.) four-star cornerback Adarius Pickett is working his way through the... http://t.co/ASt8L3bQUi
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 1, 2013
Adarius Pickett trims list #USC #UCLA #Cal #Stanford http://t.co/VfHR8jP1z6
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) July 1, 2013
Video: The latest from #USC cornerback target Adarius Pickett (El Cerrito, Calif.) at The Opening: http://t.co/jJaaMqFXHw #wearesc
— WeAreSC.com (@wearescstaff) July 2, 2013
Scottsdale (Az.) Saguaro quarterback
It's been a busy several weeks for Luke. After making the Elite 11 with a solid showing, it was right to The Opening combine after.
Saguaro QB Luke Rubenzer crushing it in 7 on 7s in The Opening on ESPNU
— Richard Obert (@azc_obert) July 3, 2013
Desert Mountain's Kyle Allen, Saguaro's Luke Rubenzer among 18 QBs in 5-day Elite 11 finals, starting Sunday. Part of The Opening.
— Richard Obert (@azc_obert) June 29, 2013
John JuJu Smith
Long Beach (Ca.) Poly safety/WR/athlete
One of the top recruits at The Opening, Smith is ranked as the 60th best recruit in the country according to ESPN. As you may have suspected, Smith has offers from everyone and their brother, with the likes of Michigan, Alabama, and Notre Dame topping his list. Some people also have him high on UCLA but I don't see him going there over USC.
#Florida QB commit Will Grier and five star John Smith (JuJu) get it going in The Opening title game. http://t.co/PVHehV547g
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) July 4, 2013
Five-star ATH John Smith (AKA JuJu) is high on #Michigan #OhioState #NotreDame #Alabama & #OleMiss: http://t.co/GHfGc8RgiQ via @247Sports
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) July 1, 2013
Ainuu Taua
Lompoc (Ca.) defensive lineman
Arizona, Cal, UCLA, Utah, Washington are his Pac-12 offers.
Another top tier recruit, ranked 207th overall by ESPN. He's high on UW and Ole Miss but Cal also appears to be somewhat in the mix. He was on the highly regarded "Apocalypse" team roster, which was by far the most stacked team at The Open.
The Lompoc (Calif.) defensive tackle, Ainuu Taua, has a solid trio at the top of his list... http://t.co/bvmB0flB7d
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) June 27, 2013
Lompoc (CA) Senior DT Ainuu Taua has four schools sticking out to him #Badgers #Huskies #Bruins #Rebels http://t.co/1q964MVVKY
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) June 13, 2013
Bellflower (Ca.) St. John Bosco defensive back
Recent Cal commit who apparently had a nice showing at The Opening. I didn't get to writing a post on Wadood, but I'm pretty stoked about this 4 star pick up so early on. He'll serve as a great base for the class moving forward into the Fall.
Jaleel Wadood (@OGLeel_2) to #Cal & Naijiel Hale (@YoungNateDogg) to #Arizona make 4 commits for the Pac-12 tonight at #TheOpening
— 247Sports (@247Sports) July 3, 2013
Wadood Makes the Call: Four-star cornerback and former Arizona State commit Jaleel Wadood joins an already-str... http://t.co/tTLybfqnbx
— BeaverFootball.com (@beaverfootball) July 3, 2013
Christian Kirk (2015 prospect)
Scottsdale (Az.) Saguaro wide receiver
UCLA, Cal, Arizona, ASU offers
Teammate of our guy Luke, which I think gives us a good shot at landing him in the first place. Not a lot of attention on ESPN in terms of rankings but still has an extremely impressive offer list from a lot of PAC-12 schools. A little small but definitely a burner. He's high on Florida State, Texas A&M, Oregon. People are saying he could be the top receiver in the West after his showing at The Opening.