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No. 1 TE recruit Nauta commits to Georgia at Army All-American Bowl

SAN ANTONIO -- High school teammates Shea Patterson and Isaac Nauta stole the show at this year's U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Patterson, an ESPN 300 Ole Miss quarterback commit, earned MVP honors while his IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) teammate Nauta, the nation's No. 1 tight end recruit, declared his commitment to Georgia at the annual high school all-star game in the Alamodome.

Nauta chose new coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs over Michigan and Alabama. The No. 10 overall-ranked recruit had reopened his recruitment back in July after making an early pledge to Florida State.

"I really battled with it, very hard. I can't emphasize that enough," Nauta said. "It was such a hard decision for me. But at the end of the day, being close to home and playing in the SEC is what I wanted to do."

The native of Buford, Georgia, said his year spent at IMG Academy helped him figure out playing close to home was a priority in his final decision. He's set to enroll at Georgia on Sunday.

"I love that my family can come watch me play," Nauta said. "It's 40 minutes from my house. That was the right move for me."

Patterson joined Nauta at IMG this season and was named game MVP after throwing for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 6-of-9 passing to lead the West team to a 39-7 victory.

"It's awesome and kind of surreal and a dream come true," Patterson said. "I've wanted to play in this game since I was a little kid."

Wide receiver Dylan Crawford got the day started by announcing his commitment to Michigan over UCLA, Miami and Oregon. Crawford, the No. 179 recruit in ESPN 300 from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, became the 10th member of the ESPN 300 to commit to the Wolverines, most among Big Ten programs.

Crawford said his priority now is recruiting ESPN 300 defensive back and Army teammate David Long out of Los Angeles to join him in Ann Arbor. "He's happy I'm going to Michigan and he knows he can go there too and do big things. We're going to try to get a Cali streak going there."

Two more coveted wideouts made their pledges Saturday. ESPN 300 receiver Donnie Corley elected to commit to Michigan State. The No. 276 ranked recruit out of Detroit also considered Ohio State, Michigan and Tennessee as his other finalists. Three-star wideout Javon McKinley also made his decision, choosing Notre Dame over Washington and Oregon.

TCU added to its top-15 rated recruiting class with a commitment from four-star defensive tackle Ross Blacklock. The 6-foot-3, 330-pound lineman from the Houston area chose the Horned Frogs over Texas A&M and Houston.