Posted by Bryan Fischer

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks on winning the NBA Championship. Now a long wait until the beginning of the college football season.

- A few nuggets on Arkansas' two-day camp, which begins today.

- Illinois offered offensive tackle Adam Pankey.

- Wide out JaQuay Williams has narrowed it down to Auburn and Ohio State.

- Plenty of ACC recruiting links to look over.

- Colorado filled their class of 2011 to the brink.

- A few updates on Michigan targets Eric Olsen and Se'Von Pittman.

- Linebacker Blake Rodgers was offered by Washington.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

Normally when Bob Stoops goes outside of the state to nab an All-American player, he usually heads south to Texas. That doesn't mean he hasn't had a few exceptions over the years and he added a talented out-of-state commitment from north of the border Wednesday afternoon in the form of St. Louis (Mo.) wide receiver Durron Neal.

"When I talk to them and they say that I remind them so much of Ryan Broyles, and how I can come in and be a big factor right away, and help them win a National Championship makes me feel good about them," Neal told OUInsider.com. "Who wouldn’t want to go there? Everybody knows all the stories and the tradition of their program. They win games, they win bowl games, they win Heisman, they win academic awards and they send players in the NFL.”

The 6-foot, 190-pound Neal is a four-star receiver who held offers from Alabama, Auburn, Missouri, Illinois, USC and Notre Dame among others. One of the biggest factors Oklahoma had going for them was the pass-happy offense lead in part by Jay Norvell, the Sooners co-offensive coordinator and Neal's future position coach.

“Their offense puts a big smile on my face,” said Neal. “They are a pass first offense and that is any receivers dream to go to an offense that primarily throws the ball. I mean I know OU runs the ball very well too, but this is what is great about their offense is that they can do both, but they are setting records throwing the ball. They always have great quarterbacks and they always have receivers, but they fact they have great running backs makes their offense so good.”

Neal is ranked 47th overall in the MaxPreps Top 100 for the class of 2012. While he is one of the top receivers in the country, Neal is a bit overshadowed in his own state thanks to overall number one player Dorial Green-Beckham from Springfield (Mo.), who recently visited Norman on an unofficial visit. The current Sooners commitment enjoys the friendly competition and will surely start recruiting Green-Beckham to join him at Oklahoma.

The eighth commitment for the Sooners in the class of 2012, Neal had a very productive junior year and caught 31 touchdowns and racked up 1,914 total yards while playing a variety of positions on offense. He will play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio next January.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

Washington added their second highly-touted signal caller in the class of 2012 as Denver (Colo.) quarterback Cyler Miles selected the Huskies, formally annoncing his verbal commitment Friday morning after word leaked late Friday night that he pledged to the school.

“I feel really good. I am excited about my decision. Ultimately, it came down to two things for me, the style of offense and the sincerity of the coaches,"Miles told Scout.  "Washington was it for me.  Initially, I narrowed it down to three: Illinois, Tennessee, and Washington. But in the end I made my decision based on the people. I picked the school with the most sincere and energetic coaching staff, who I had the strongest relationships with, and also where I could see myself for the next four to five years."

Miles joins Mercer Island (Wash.) quarterback Jeff Lindquist as a Washington verbal commitment, giving head coach Steve Sarkisian two players to work with and restock the roster with. The head coach's pro-style offense was one of the biggest selling points for the school, which Miles visited in March.

“Washington is perfect for me, because I wanted to pick a program that was on the rise, somewhere that I could make a difference, and really stand out," he said. "They also run the type of pro-style offense I was looking for. Seattle is a cool city with a very strong fan base.”

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound gunslinger is a threat to run or pass with the ball in his hands. He threw for 2,114 yards and 20 touchdowns while adding 255 yards and six touchdowns on the ground for Colorado 5A state champion Mullen High. Miles will not graduate from high school early and he'll enroll at Washington in the fall of 2012, where he is expected to redshirt with five quarterbacks on the roster at that point.

Miles is the fourth overall commitment for the Huskies in 2012.
 

Posted by Bryan Fischer

- Must read column from Penn State coach Jay Paterno on what student-athletes really receive from their school. 

- Good look at the Ohio State recruiting budget. The nearly 10% decrease could be because of a smaller recruiting class the school is expected to take in.

- The Buckeyes recruiting class is at risk from the NCAA mess surrounding the school however don't expect too much of a drop off.

- Tennessee offered quarterback Darryl Richardson despite only seeing him during an evaluation visit at his high school.

- Top quarterback Cyler Miles is down to Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, LSU, Tennessee, Washington and possibly Colorado and will pick one this Friday.

- Clemson's recruits are making the necessary grades and are on track to qualify.

- Offensive tackle Colby Cyburt picked up an offer from Arizona State.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

The calendar has turned from May to June and it's time to see how schools are building their class of 2012. Today we'll take a look at the verbal commitments for the Big Ten, where several schools are starting to build momentum on the recruiting trail but Michigan is the leader of the pack. 


Illinois (2)

Wide receiver Elliot Faerber(Shawnee Mission, Kan.)
Wide receiver Jason Robertson (Mokena, Ill.) 

Indiana(0)

Iowa (1)

Offensive tackle Mitch Kepyy (Port Byron, Ill.)

Michigan (14)

Linebacker Joe Bolden (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Offensive lineman Ben Branden(Rockford, Mich.) 
Defensive end Pharaoh Brown (Lyndhurst, Ohio)
Tight end Devin Funchess (Farmington Hills, Mich.)
Defensive back Allen Gant (Sylvania, Ohio)
Defensive tackle Matthew Godin (Novi, Mich.)
Linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone (Detroit, Mich.)
Defensive end Mario Ojemudia (Farmington Hills, Mich.)
Linebacker Kaleb Ringer (Clayton, Ohio)
Linebacker James Ross (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Offensive lineman Caleb Stacey (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Cornerback Anthony Standifer (Crete, Ill.)
Tight end A.J. Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Michigan State (4)

Athlete Riley Bullough (Traverse City, Mich.)
Offensive lineman Zach Higgins (Alliance, Ohio)
Tight end Evan Jones (West Lafayette, Ohio)
Offensive lineman Benny McGowan (Centerville, Ohio)

Minnesota(3)

Wide receiver Andre McDonald (Minnetonka, Minn.) 
Quarterback Philip Nelson (Mankato, Minn.) 
Tight end Maxx Williams(Waconia, Minn.)

Nebraska (2)

Linebacker Michael Rose (Kansas City, Mo.)
Wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp (Lombard, Ill.) 

Northwestern (4)

Defensive back Joseph Jones (Plano, Ill.)
Running back Malin Jones(Naperville, Ill.)
Offensive lineman Ian Park (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Offensive lineman Kenton Playko(Lewis Center, Ohio)

Ohio State (8)

Running back Warren Ball (Columbus, Ohio)
Offensive lineman Jacoby Boren (Pickerington, Ohio)
Running back Bri'onte Dunn (Canton, Ohio)
Wide receiver Frank Epitropoulos (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
Offensive lineman Kyle Kalis (Lakewood, Ohio), Tom Lemming Top 100 member
Linebacker Josh Perry(Galena, Ohio)
Defensive back Tyvis Powell (Bedford, Ohio)
Tight end Blake Thomas (Westlake, Ohio) 

Penn State (8)

Offensive lineman J.J. Denman (Fairless Hills, Pa.)
Offensive lineman Brian Gaia (Baltimore, Md.)
Defensive tackle Jarron Jones (Rochester, N.Y.), Tom Lemming Top 100 member
Defensive tackle Jamil Pollard (Westville, N.J.)
Tight end Jesse James(McKeesport, Pa.)
Offensive lineman Anthony Stanko(Warren, Ohio)
Tight end Brent Wilkerson(Hyattsville, Md.)
Linebacker Camren Williams(West Roxbury, Mass.)

Purdue (1)

Defensive back Jordan Shine (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Wisconsin (4)

Running back Vonte Jackson(Kenosha, Wis.)
Linebacker Vince Biegel (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), Tom Lemming Top 100 member
Quarterback Bart Houston (Concord, Calif.)
Offensive lineman Dan Voltz(Barrington, Ill.)

Posted by Bryan Fischer

Miami built itself into a national power by building a fence around the top talent in the area and new head coach Al Golden wants to make sure most of the talent in the area stays at home. They're doing well in the three area counties so far and added a verbal commitment from another local talent in offensive lineman Ereck Flowers.

"I was there 2-3 hours, committed right after the visit," Flowers told CaneSport.com. "I committed to coach Golden - I told him that I was excited, that I wanted to commit to UM. He was fired up."

Flowers picked up a scholarship offer from the Hurricanes just last weekend and was expected to keep an open mind about the recruiting process. The unofficial visit to the school and the fact that two high school teammates are already committed to the school was just too much in Miami's favor.

"The visit made up my mind - I liked everything, all the things they showed me," Flowers said. "We saw all of UM, the facilities, all that.

The 6-foot-6, 305 pound tackle held nearly 20 offers from Florida State, Illinois, Louisville and several others. Flowers is the first offensive line commit for Miami and 10th overall.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

- A Q&A about Washington recruiting with a few thoughts on quarterback Jeff Lindquist.

- Illionis continues to be active in extending scholarship offers during the Evaluation Period.

- UConn has some work to do on the recruiting trail this year.

- Michigan coach Brady Hoke was quite excited to receive the commitment of quarterback Shane Morris.

- Plenty of top quarterbacks from all over the Midwest will be at this week's Elite 11 in Columbus.

- Arkansas visited several players in California and Georgia yesterday.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

Nebraska's move to the Big Ten left many wondering how quickly the Huskers would start recruiting some of the Northern states as opposed to the areas they carved out in the South after many years in the Big 12. The answer appears to be sooner rather than later.

The school has always been interested in recruiting places like Chicago but the coaching staff is hoping Friday's commitment of Lombard (Ill.) wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp is the start of a new pipeline for the Huskers. No matter how future recruiting shakes out though, they picked up a good wide receiver in the 6-foot-1, 190 pounder.

"I'm a hard worker, I'm never satisfied with anything," Westerkamp told Huskers Illustrated. "I'm always striving to get better and be the best player on the field that I can and be the best person off the field. We've had two good years here and are hoping for another run this year for a three-peat. I was a junior captain last year. I've been on varsity all four years so I'm going to try to be the role model, the leader and try to help people when they need it. I'm just going to try to be that role model that people look up to."

Westerkamp held offers from Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois, Boston College and Arizona among others before pulling the trigger and committing to Nebraska. He made the trip to Lincoln for the annual Red and White spring game and the big crowd and general atmosphere left quite an impression on the young receiver.

“It was pretty great,” he said. “Great football tradition, the stadium, it seemed like the total package when I was there. I enjoyed everything, the parents enjoyed it. It seemed like everything was clicking there."

According to Westerkamp's coach, the compact receiver is a very good blocker which allows him to fit into Nebraska's physical run game while making an impact on special teams and on offense.

Westerkamp is the Huskers' second commitment for the class of 2012. He caught 89 passes for 1,631 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior last year.