Nike's The Opening: How to watch, who to watch and what to look for |
BEAVERTON, OR – Time to get down to business.
The first two days of Nike’s The Opening have been spent watching the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends run through drills in a rather relaxed setting at Nike’s World Headuarters. On Saturday, everything gets ramped up a notch when the Nike Football Rating Championship takes place. The rest of the athletes invited to the summer’s most prestigious event will be on hand, including Clemson defensive end commit Xavier Thomas and top targets like Jamaree Salyer, Jackson Carman and K.J. Henry. It all starts late Saturday with the Training Camp Showcase. The event is much like the NFL Combine, except it’s for high school players. A winner will be crowned and named the nation’s best athlete. Sunday, there will be a lineman challenge, where the best OLs and DLs go up 1-on-1, many of them wearing pads to give the most realistic assessment of skill. (Players from some states aren’t allowed to strap up, due to restrictions by their high school athletic associations.) While the linemen are butting heads, the skill players will participate in a 7-on-7 tournament. It culminates with a final on Monday to close the event. Team Savage Pro is led by Trevor Lawrence and Clemson wide receiver target Justyn Ross. Stud tight end Will Mallory (Miami commit), Kentucky quarterback commit Jarren Williams is also on the team, as well as four-star linebacker Xavier Peters, four-star running back Cam’Ron Davis, and five-star receiver Brian Hightower. Lawrence told TigerNet Friday that he’s had fun with Ross and recruiting other top prospects. “It’s been a lot of fun. This is my first time throwing to Justyn Ross, so it’s good to see him running routes and catching the ball. He’s really good, so hopefully we’ll get him,” Lawrence said. “I’ve seen Brennan (Eagles) a lot. I really like him and we’re pretty close. Jordyn (Adams) I saw him up at the Regional at Charlotte, so I’ve thrown to him. I hope we get all of them. “I’ve been recruiting Justyn Ross and Jordyn Adams. I try not to talk recruiting too much and we just hang out, but we’re all good friends. I’m excited to see Jackson Carman, Jamaree Salyer and Trey Hill tomorrow. I’ve been recruiting all of those guys, too.” Trey Hill, Jackson Carman, and Jamaree Salyer will lead the offensive linemen, while Xavier Thomas will lead the star-studded group of defensive linemen that includes Georgia commit Nolan Smith, who is a teammate of Thomas’ at IMG and has recently visited Clemson. K.J. Henry is another Clemson target we will keep an eye on. PROGRAMMING NOTE: The event has less TV coverage than in year’s past, and the only time it will be on will be Monday night when the finals are shown starting at 7 p.m. on the NFL Network. However, TigerNet will be on hand and we will bring you updates Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with scores and notes as they happen on our board and on Twitter. Here is a quick schedule of the events, with all times Eastern. July 1, Saturday INTERVIEW SESSION: 9:30 p.m. ET NIKE FOOTBALL TRAINING CAMP: 10 p.m. ET July 2, Sunday NIKE 7ON7 TEAM JOG-THRU: 12:30 p.m. ET LINEMAN CHALLENGE WORKOUT: 1 p.m. ET NIKE 7ON7 POOL PLAY: 2 p.m. ET LINEMAN INTERVIEW SESSION: 4 p.m. ET 1ST ROUND OF NIKE 7ON7 CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT: 10 p.m. ET July 3, Monday LINEMAN DRILLS: 12:30 p.m. ET NIKE 7ON7 CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT: 12:30 p.m. ET LINEMAN 1ON1 FINALS: 3:35 p.m. ET LINEMAN INTERVIEW SESSION: 4 p.m. ET NIKE 7ON7 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: 7 p.m. ET on the NFL Network INTERVIEW SESSION: 8 p.m. ET THE OPENING AWARDS CEREMONY: 8:30 p.m. ETName Pos High School State Year Committed to?
5-starXavier Thomas DL IMG Academy FL 2018 Clemson
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