By Braden Gall (AthlonSports.com) -

With less than two weeks until National Signing Day 2010, Athlon takes an in-depth look at the top 10 uncommitted prospects left on the board (number is AC100 rank):

1. Seantrel Henderson, OL (St. Paul, Minn.)
Henderson’s hold on the No. 1 slot in the Athlon Consensus 100 has loosened quite a bit over the last few weeks. Ronald Powell (Rancho Verde, Calif.) made a huge statement with his performance in the U.S. Army Bowl and has closed the gap significantly. The big blocker from Cretin-Derham Hall is still an outstanding player but whether or not he holds tops billing come Feb. 3rd remains to be seen. (Stay tuned to Athlon Sports next week as the final AC100 will be released.)

Where he will be playing his ball is also up in the air. He has taken four of his five official visits: Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame and Florida. Interesting to note, his two visits to Ohio State and Notre Dame were actually for the USC games respectively. Both of which the Trojans won in exciting fashion. His final visit will be to Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 29th. Again, interestingly enough, the weekend of the Pro Bowl.

He has unofficially visited Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota. The hometown Gophers have to be in the mix. The Pete Carroll departure probably hurt the Trojans’ chances. Ohio State and USC appear to be the front runners but one can never count out the Irish or Gators. The Buckeyes are the only team not to deal with some sort of coaching turmoil this offseason.

The nation’s top player is set to sign his letter of intent on NSD with Tom Lemming on CBS College Sports (TV).

3. Marcus Lattimore, RB (Duncan, S.C.)
The nation’s top running back has officially narrowed his list to Auburn and South Carolina. Byrnes High School Athletic Director Bobby Bentley, also a former state championship head coach at BHS, released at statement Thursday saying Lattimore and his family will no longer speak to the media until his announcement. In his final words to the media last week, Lattimore said Auburn had the slight edge.

The backfield could be quite crowded at Auburn, however, as AC100 prospect Michael Dyer is already committed and top-10 runner Lache Seastrunk could also end up at the Loveliest Village on the Plains. Lattimore’s sister currently attends South Carolina and his family lives an hour from Columbia. He could start right away for a potential sleeper team in 2010 and could do it with his family in attendance. South Carolina will be tough to beat come 6:00 p.m. Feb. 2nd when he makes his choice the day before NSD at his church.

4. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE (Plano, Texas)
Jeffcoat had his list narrowed to three — Houston, Texas and USC — prior to Carroll leaving for the Seattle job. The Trojans have now be eliminated as it appears Houston and Texas will battle it out. Jeffcoat’s father, Jim, is currently the defensive line coach for the Cougars and certainly brings an advantage to the table for Houston. That being said, Texas has long been the favorite as the young defensive end has been to campus a number of times as a basketball player as well as a football star. He is very familiar with the coaching staff, especially head coach in waiting Will Muschamp.

There might be a quirky twist to this story, however. The younger Jeffcoat will be visiting Oklahoma this weekend and rumors are swirling about the elder Jeffcoat getting the defensive line job in Norman. Chris Wilson, the former OU line coach, recently took the co-defensive coordinator job at Mississippi State. Should OU hire Jim, all bets are off.

7. Lache Seastrunk, RB (Temple, Texas)
The young, speedy tailback did not do himself any favors with his lack of focus and attitude issues in San Antonio a few weeks ago. He is still an elite talent, however, so his recruitment has not slowed down. Oregon, Auburn, Memphis, LSU and USC are officially his finalists. The Trojans had been leading but Carroll jumping ship has all but eliminated them. LSU is a longshot as well.

That leaves Auburn, Oregon and to a much lesser extent Memphis. Seastrunk is close friends with fellow AC100 recruit Trovon Reed (Thibodaux, La.). Reed is an Auburn commitment, however, the Tigers could already feature two AC100 tailbacks (Lattimore, Michael Dyer) in this class along with returning stud sophomore Onterio McCalebb. So Oregon’s recent success with Texas tailbacks (LaMichael James) could lure the diminutive runner to the West Coast.

Seastrunk is set to announce Jan. 27th at his high school.

21. Anthony Barr, ATH (Los Angeles, Calif.)
One of the more versatile players in the nation was unfortunately injured for most of his senior season. Fans missed out on watching him at the U.S. Army event but UCLA and Notre Dame faithful have loads to be excited about with Barr. He is an incredibly athlete who can play anywhere and fits into virtually any scheme on either side of the ball.

Barr visited UCLA this weekend and reportedly loved it. Where he ends up position-wise may determine his college future. He wants to play running back and UCLA is close to home and has a dire need at that position. His ties to the Irish are well documented, however, as his father Reggie Brooks and uncle Tony Brooks both excelled at tailback in South Bend. They might need him more on defense though.

Still, Notre Dame has long been considered the favorite and will be tough to beat. He will host both programs heading into the weekend and a decision could come as early as Friday.

30. Christian Green, ATH (Tampa, Fla.)
Green’s decision, too, may hinge on what position he will play. He is a great athlete who is an outstanding receiver prospect but may want to play quarterback. While he does not have elite passing skills he is good enough to get a look at the position. Florida, Florida State and Georgia are the finalists but the Gators will not play him at QB. Green, however, loved his recent visit to Gainesville so the Gators could be the favorite. He has already visited UGA and will take a trip to Tallahassee on Jan. 29th. He is supposed to announce upon returning home from FSU.

35. Markeith Ambles, WR (McDonough, Ga.)
The super star wideout recently decommitted from Tennessee after the coaching change in Knoxville. The Trojans now have the Vols’ old coach and potentially his recruit. He is interested in the Trojans but USC already has elite pass catchers in Kyle Prater and Robert Woods.

He is wide open at this point and will likely be hosting many-a-visitor over the next few weeks. North Carolina, Tennessee and USC are in the lead with LSU closing hard. Ambles had a fantastic week of action down in San Antonio and is going to make an instant impact somewhere.

40. Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE (Portland, Ore.)
Owamagbe ‘Owa’ Odighizuwa’s mother has reported that his finalists are Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and Nebraska. Cal and USC had long been considered front runners along with the Oregon schools but have bowed out of the final running. His stock has sky-rocketed as the season has gone along and this editor would be surprised if he left the Beaver State. However, there is some rumored dissension between himself and his family in terms of where he ends up. Ducks vs. Huskers most likely. He will not announce until days before NSD.

43. Sean Parker, S (Harbor City, Calif.)
The hard-hitting safety is one of the best leaders in the Class of 2010. He is an excellent student and a student of the game. He has been a heavy USC lean because of ties to the area and a close friendship with former high school teammate and current Trojan Byron Moore.

The Carroll Saga strikes again as the coaching change forced him to reevaluate his choices. He recently visited USC and all reports are that it went well. Washington, Cal and Michigan are the Trojans’ top competitors. He has visited all but the Huskies as an up-coming trip to Seattle will be Washington’s chance to sell him. He is set to announce at Narbonne High School on national television on NSD.

46. Corey Lemonier, DE (Hialeah, Fla.)
The big defensive end has reportedly already made his decision between Miami, Florida State and Auburn. Each could desperately use his size and speed but the fans won’t find out about who he picked until NSD when he signs his scholarship papers. It seems FSU and Auburn will be his final two.

Official Visits

There are two more official visit weekend left on the calendar before National Signing Day 2010 (Feb. 3rd). Here are some teams that could make big waves this weekend:

Arkansas: 7 visitors (DT Calvin Barnett, DT Byran Jones)

Florida State: 7 (S Demar Dorsey, DE J.R. Ferguson)

Georgia:
4 (DT Jeffery Whittaker, DT Garrison Smith, LB Telvin Smith)

Illinois:
11 (DB Urell Johnson, OL Fabbians Ebbele)

Iowa:
10 (RB Marcus Coker, OL Andrew Donnal)

Louisville:
11 (QB Barry Brunetti)

LSU:
5 (S Dietrich Riley, WR Trovon Reed, LB Justin Parker)

Mississippi State:
8 (DE Kaleb Eulls, ATH Michael Carr, OL Damien Robinson)

North Carolina:
7 (DB Latwan Anderson, RB Giovanni Bernard, LB Corey Nelson)

Ole Miss:
12 (ATH Delvin Jones, WR Robert Johnson, WR Vincent Sanders)

Tennessee:
5 (DT John Brown, WR Da’Rick Rogers)

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 8:23 pm.
Categories: FOOTBALL.

3 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. BuckeyeCountry.net

    Recruiting: Who Is Left?
    http://bit.ly/7r4Wsk

Reply to “Recruiting: Who Is Left?”