A trio of top-five recruits at their respective positions played their high school football right here in Southern California.
The fortunes of whichever universities get a signature from of any of these players will be greatly changed as it relates to the 2014 recruiting class.
St. John Bosco offensive lineman Damien Mama is the No. 2 guard in the country, according to Scout.com. Long Beach Poly safety Juju Smith is the No. 2 safety and Serra's Adoree' Jackson is the No. 3 cornerback, both according to Scout.com.
Reaction from all three following their big announcements will be on the High School Spotlight Signing Day Special from the Rose Bowl at 1 p.m. Wednesday on Prime Ticket and Prep Zone.
Where will they sign? Here's our predictions:
Damien Mama, OL, St. John Bosco: If he's not the most talented offensive guard in the country, he's certainly the most imposing. At 6-foot-5, 370 pounds, he moves well for his size. If you pop in his game film, even against some of the best the PAC-5 has to offer, Mama looks like a man among boys. Corona Centennial offensive lineman Viane Talamaivao is a USC commit and the two are close going back to their days as teammates at JW North. The pair could certainly be reunited at USC which would be a huge coup for Steve Sarkisian in his first season as the Trojans' head coach.
List of live announcements w/ @ScoutKennedy @BrandonHuffman & @GregBiggins on tomorrows #SigningDay show: http://t.co/66w6meKPHi
— Scout Recruiting (@scoutrecruiting) February 4, 2014
Prediction: USC
Juju Smith, S, Long Beach Poly: Growing up, Smith wanted to be a professional rugby player and loved the sport, an homage to his Polynesian roots. He's close with Talamaivao and Mama which could influence his decision to sign with USC. Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Notre Dame are among those vying for his services in addition to the Trojans. Where depth was a strength at safety last season for USC, there has been some attrition in that position group in the form of graduation and players declaring early for the NFL Draft, leaving space for Smith to make an impact immediately. He showed tremendous ball skills during his Jackrabbits career as well, leaving the door open for his to play wide receiver at the next level, but his claim to fame could be in the defensive backfield.
Adoree' Jackson, ATH, Serra: Perhaps the biggest mystery heading into National Signing Day is where Jackson is going to end up. From the moment he stepped onto the Serra campus after transferring from Illinois, the comparisons to Marqise Lee sang loud and proud. Jackson didn't necessarily shy away from those comparison,s either. He performed exceptionally with a flair that few could match. A three-sport star at Serra, it had the appearance that Jackson, in the footsteps of Lee, would follow the Serra pipeline to USC and play wide receiver like his predecessor. Enter UCLA who wasn't thought to be in the mix at all but found their way into Jackson's top four just over a week ago, in addition to USC, Florida, and LSU. Jackson has aspirations of making it to the Olympics in the long jump. Any school that didn't have a legitimate track program was a deal breaker. Throughout this process, Jackson has kept everything close to the vest. On Wednesday, the college football world finds out what Jackson was actually thinking.
Prediction: UCLA | Actual: USC
