DAY OF DECISION
Many await choices by Snelson, Mullen and Burns as multiple athletes prepare to announce signings
National Signing Day is here and so is the inevitable theater that comes with college football recruiting’s biggest showcase of the year.
In South Florida and across the country, high school seniors on Wednesday will make their college plans official. . Some will do so with more drama than others.
In Broward County, Coconut Creek’s Tray von Mullen and American Heritage’ s Brian Burns are set to announce their much anticipated college decisions after keeping things close to the vest.
Mullen, a four-star defensive back and the second-best player on the Sun Sentinel’s 2016 Megaboard, will choose between LSU, Louisville, TCU, Florida State and Clemson. At 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, Mullen is known for his quick burst and lightning speed, and has reportedly clocked a sub 4.4-second 40-yard dash. Hewas a U.S. Army All-American and Sun Sentinel firstteam defense selection.
Burns, a four-star defensive end, will decide between Florida, Florida State,
Georgia and Alabama. At 6 feet 5 inches and 215 pounds, Burns can do it all— rush the passer, stop the run or drop back into coverage. Also on the U.S. Army All-American roster as a senior, Burns earned the Sun Sentinel’ s Defensive Player of the Year honors.
At Flanagan, Dredrick Snelson is set to announce his college choice after reopening his recruitment last month. The fourstar receiver, who’d previously linked himself to Minnesota and Miami, on Wednesday will choose between the Gophers, the Hurricanes, Maryland, Penn State and Central Florida.
Similarly, Dillard defensive lineman Aaron Thompson will choose between Maryland and South Carolina after backpedaling Monday on his recent pledge to the Terrapins. Thompson, a three-star recruit who anchored the Panthers’ defensive line, also holds offers from Clemson, LSU, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
While the SEC and the ACC are mainstays in recruiting South Florida, the Big Ten this year snatched up three of
Broward’s top five players.
Ohio State in July netted St. Thomas Aquinas’ Nick Bosa, a five-star defensive end and the top-ranked player in the county. Last month, the Buckeyes received a pledge from Binjimen Victor, a four-star receiver out of Coconut Creek, who passed on offers from Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Michigan has also found success in Broward this year. Under coach Jim Harbaugh, who guided the Wolverines to a 10-3 season in his first year, Michigan collected the Flanagan trio of four-star linebacker Devin Bush Jr., three-star defensive back Devin Gil and three-star cornerback Josh Metellus and last week notched three-star American-Heritage tight end Nick Eubanks, who chose the Wolverines over Alabama, Florida and Miami.
Meanwhile, Maryland got commitments from Cardinal Gibbons twins, Elisha and Elijah Daniels, whowere previously committed to Minnesota. The Terrapins also received a commitment from Atlantic DBAntwaine Richardson lastweek.
At least in Broward and Palm Beach counties, 2016 is a banner year for receivers.
The Sun Sentinel’s Megaboard has17 wideouts — including four-star recruits like Victor, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Sam Bruce (Miami), Deerfield Beach’s Cavin Ridley (Georgia), Joshua Hammond (Florida) and Flanagan’s Dredrick Snelson— among its top 75 prospects.
Rounding out Broward’s crop of talented pass-catchers are American-Heritage’s Brandon Johnson (Tennessee), Hallandale’s Demari Simpkins (Utah), South Plantation’s Johnny Huntley (Colorado) and North Broward Prep’s C.J. Riley (N.C. State).