The Hurry Up: 7/20 to 7/26

Defensive tackle prospect Damon Payne has committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Belleville, MI star chose the Tide over offers from Kentucky, Arizona State and USC among others. Payne is a Top 20 prospect nationally according to the 247Sports composite ranking and a five star prospect.

Payne is the highest rated defensive line recruit to commit to the Crimson Tide in the 2021 recruiting class. The Alabama class now has 16 total commitments with an exceptional 13 of them rated four stars or higher. Alabama is putting together another top recruiting class and any concerns from a few months ago are clearly a thing of the past. Here is our scouting report on Payne.

Defensive line prospect Elliot Donald has committed to the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Pittsburgh, PA resident chose to stay close to home over offers from Penn State and LSU, among others. Donald is a Top 150 prospect nationally according to the 247Sports composite ranking.

Donald is the highest rated recruit to commit to the Panthers in the 2021 recruiting class. The Panthers class now has 17 total commitments with 2 of them rated four star prospects. Head Coach Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers have done a good job of keeping Pittsburgh area talent close to home. Donald is the nephew of Pittsburgh great and NFL star Aaron Donald. Here is our scouting report on Donald.

The nation’s #1 ranked athlete James Williams has committed to the Miami Hurricanes. He announced his decision on twitter this evening. The Opa Locka native chose the Hurricanes over the Georgia Bulldogs, his other finalist. Williams is a five star recruit currently ranked in the Top 10 of the 247Sports composite ranking.

Williams is expected to play safety at the next level and is the second player rated four stars or better at the position for the Hurricanes. Coach Manny Diaz appears to be doing an excellent job in recruiting as he attempts to revive the once dominant program. The Canes are in a battle for another five star in Leonard Taylor who is scheduled to announce his commitment on August 6th. Miami now has 19 commitments including 10 players rated four stars or better. For our scouting report on Williams click here.

Wide receiver prospect Marcus Burke has committed to the Florida Gators. He announced his decision on twitter this afternoon. The Jacksonville, FL resident chose the Gators over offers from Georgia and Penn State, among others. Burke is a Top 250 prospect nationally according to the 247Sports composite ranking.

Burke is the third wide receiver rated four stars to commit to the Gators. Coach Dan Mullen continues to add pass catching talent to the roster. There are limited spots left in the 2021 class as Florida holds 21 commitments with 11 players rated four stars. For our scouting report on Burke click here.

Grad transfer wide receiver JD Spielman has announced his decision to enroll at TCU. Spielman transferred from Nebraska where he was an extremely productive receiver. In three seasons at Nebraska, Spielman compiled 170 catches for 2,546 yards and 15 TD. He was an explosive player in the slot who produced at a high level.

TCU also got good news last week when Linebacker/Safety Marcel Brooks announced his decision to transfer from LSU to TCU. Brooks was the number 32 recruit in the country according to the 247Sports Composite in the 2019 recruiting class. In his one season at LSU, Brooks played in 11 games as reserve and totaled 8 tackles and 1.5 sacks with 3 QB hurries.

Spielman will be immediately eligible this season for TCU as a graduate transfer but Brooks will need to seek a waiver from the NCAA to be eligibe. Spielman has 1 year of eligibility remaining, while Brooks has three seasons remaining and can redshirt in 2020 if he does not get the waiver. These are two high impact additions for TCU during the summer and could be major players for the Horned Frogs going forward.