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Rivals Five-Star: Gorney Awards
INDIANAPOLIS - The Rivals Five-Star is in the books and now it's time to hand out some hardware. These are the Gorney Awards:
MORE FROM INDY: Highlights and analysis | Teams that should be pleased | Gorney Awards | Biggest surprises
RECRUITING INTEL: Mid-South | Florida | West | Southeast | Midwest
RIVALS FIVE-STAR MEDIA DAY: All the news, notes and interviews | The All-Lobby Team | How solid are the commitments? | Roster
RIVALS FIVE-STAR INTERVIEWS: Jaden O'Neal | Trae Taylor | Chase Calicut | Samu Moala | Jake Kreul | Felix Ojo | Peyton Houston | CJ Sadler | Richard Wesley | JaReylan McCoy | Carter Scruggs | Nolan Wilson | Carson Sneed | Derrek Cooper | Devin Carter | Jayden Wade | Joel Wyatt | Kaden Henderson | Nick Abrams
MR. EVERYTHING: JOEL WYATT
Some programs like Wyatt as a safety. Others think he could move down and play linebacker or possibly be an edge rusher. At the Rivals Five-Star, not only was Wyatt an excellent defensive back with his length and ranginess but he flipped over to receiver where he had numerous catches and arguably the play of the day when he outjumped the defensive back to score a touchdown in 7-on-7. He then ran over and dunked the football over the goalpost.
SPEED TO BURN: ERIC MCFARLAND
McFarland didn't run the fastest 40 of the day - that went to new Florida State commit Devin Carter at 4.4 - but the 2028 star receiver won the Fastest Man Award because he beat everybody in the final. Not only does McFarland have straight-line speed but he's an incredibly dynamic route runner who is almost always open.
SPEED TO BURN II: TYREEK KING
King was a late arrival to the Rivals Five-Star but once he got going in one-on-ones and 7-on-7, the Tennessee commit was dynamic. He can always kick it into another gear and there always seems to be more speed for King to accelerate by defensive backs. The four-star receiver also has outstanding hands and catches everything thrown in his vicinity.
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OPEN 24/7: CJ SADLER
One of the best plays of the day came from Sadler, who has North Carolina, Maryland and Colorado leading in his recruitment, when he caught a short pass, ran to the middle of the field, stuck his foot in the dirt to burn a defensive back and then changed directions and ran away from everybody. It seemed like whenever he wanted, Sadler could get open and make something big happen.
STICK 'EM: AARON GREGORY
Gregory's best play came early in 7-on-7 when he caught a ball on a crossing route, turned upfield and even when two defenders closed in on him, the Texas A&M commit ran by them into the end zone. The four-star from Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County consistently caught pass after pass, didn't drop anything and had a solid performance.
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ANGER MANAGEMENT: KEVIN BROWN
The Penn State commit won this award at the Rivals Five-Star last summer in Jacksonville and now he's a two-time winner. His attitude is going to be a perfect fit in the Nittany Lions' locker room as he does everything with aggression, toughness and a predilection toward being overly physical. Plus, Brown pumped out 25 bench press reps which would have tied him for 10th among offensive linemen at this year's NFL Combine.
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ENERGIZER BUNNY: DAVERIN 'DEUCE' GERALDS
The defensive line group was absolutely loaded and it was a shame that we could only hand out two MVP awards there because Geralds was outstanding on the inside. What we loved most about Geralds is that he played with so much energy and never backed down to anybody, winning a ton of reps using speed and power to his advantage. Ohio State, LSU, Ole Miss and others are heavily involved.
MOUNTAIN MAN: GABRIEL OSENDA
Think about this: Osenda is already taller than almost every offensive tackle in April's NFL Draft (only Boston College's Ozzy Trapilo was an inch taller) and he's heavier than every offensive tackle or offensive guard in pre-draft guides. The Tennessee commit is 19 pounds heavier than Alabama's Tyler Booker and 25 pounds heavier than Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. He's huge and getting better and better each time we see him.
FAST BALL: COLTON NUSSMEIER
Whether right or wrong, a lefty quarterback is almost never going to look as smooth but Nussmeier throws an incredible fastball that looks like it could travel in the air forever. The four-star from Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus can put touch on it when needed but Nussmeier is best zipping it around the field and he has arm talent for days as LSU and others keep battling.
POWER MAN: GRANT WISE
At Rivals Five-Star Media Day, Wise predicted he would do 27 reps on the bench press. That's exactly what he did as the four-star Clemson offensive line commit won the bench press competition which was no surprise since he holds multiple state weightlifting records. Wise has not done many events over the years but he was very impressive here and did well for himself. His 27 reps would put him tied for sixth - sixth! - at this year's NFL Combine for offensive linemen.
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BULL MARKET: KHARY WILDER
Wilder is ranked right at No. 100 nationally and eighth at defensive end which is very respectable but his performance in Indianapolis should push him even higher before all is said and done. The Ohio State four-star commit has added 20 pounds of muscle in the last few months and had an absolutely dominant performance using his length and newfound power to win a ton of reps against some elite offensive linemen.
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HOT OR COLD: SAMARI MATTHEWS
There were some times when Matthews got turned around and beaten during one-on-ones (but almost everybody lost reps to Tyreek King) but then the four-star cornerback was outstanding at other times knocking passes down and locking down receivers over and over.
MASH UNIT: GREGORY PATRICK
He hurt his ankle. He got hit in the face and had a bloody nose packed with gauze. But the four-star offensive tackle from Portage, Mich., kept bouncing back, lining up and competing all day long. Patrick had some struggles against some of the most elite defensive linemen but that toughness and that willingness to keep getting back up will be welcomed at Notre Dame.
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DOT 'EM: JAYDEN WADE
Wade is special. The 2028 quarterback has all the talent in the world, was outstanding during 7-on-7 play and threw some of the nicest passes all day. Once he gets even more experience at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy as the starter this season, his recruiting could go even more parabolic. He's one of the next big-time guys, it just feels that way in every sense.
FANCY FEET: DERREK COOPER
During 7-on-7, Cooper would get the ball dumped off to him and it looked like he would go for a short gain but then he would run by defenders, get 10 or 15 yards and show off his explosiveness. The five-star was excellent in drills where he showed off great feet and burst, excelled in one-on-ones where linebackers were grabbing for him and then was terrific in 7-on-7 as well.
THE SNUGGIE: JONTAVIUS WYMAN
The best defensive back at the Rivals Five-Star, Wyman was incredible during one-on-ones with at least two interceptions and then he continued to lock up receivers throughout the 7-on-7 portion. The Miami commit was even beaten on one rep, closed ground and made an impressive interception. Wyman was really impressive in every setting.
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YOUNG BUCK: KASI CURRIE
The 2027 four-star defensive tackle is dripping with all kinds of potential. At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, Currie is so physical and plays with an edge that he will only get better with more experience. Currie has had an excellent offseason and has emerged as one of the top 2027 defensive tackles in the West, if not the country.
MR. VERSATILE: JOEY O'BRIEN
O'Brien had some excellent moments at safety. But where the Notre Dame commit really shined was when he flipped over to receiver as he had one of the best catches of the day going over the top of a defensive back and holding onto the ball. Asked afterward, O'Brien said Notre Dame has discussed using him in some packages at receiver. Maybe more should be developed after this performance.
