Recruiting buzz is again alive as the Class of 2014 hits the road to work out for college coaches at prospect camps. We are still more than six months away from national signing day, and the players of the 2014 class can't even take official visits until they begin their senior year of high school. But that hasn't stopped several ESPN 300 prospects from naming their favorites and setting early announcement dates. RecruitingNation has summoned its writers from around the country to outline the recruiting battles for those guys, plus a few more who may take a little more time making their pick.
As circumstances change -- which is often when high schoolers are involved -- look for prospects to periodically move up and down this list and for new names to pop up all the time.
Here is this week's panel of writers: Jared Shanker (@JShankerESPN), Radi Nabulsi (@radinabulsi), Gary Laney (@GLaneyESPN), William Wilkerson (@ESPNwilkerson), Erik McKinney (@EMcKinneyESPN), Kipp Adams (@KippLAdams) and Damon Sayles (@DamonSayles).
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Our reporters have their ears to the streets and will update players' statuses accordingly, but we also want to hear from you, the fans.
Use the hashtag #BlueChipBattles to comment on the list, make a prediction or get more details about any of ours. Your tweet could end up on that week's page.
Speedy Noil | @SpeedyNoil
New Orleans Karr | Safety | 6-0/176 | ESPN 300 rank: 8
Commitment status: Uncommitted
Who's in the driver's seat: Noil named Texas A&M, USC and Florida his top three in May.
Other candidates: LSU has to be in the mix as well.
Dark horse: Alabama doesn't get mentioned much, but if the Tide start to land some other top Louisiana players (Leonard Fournette, Cameron Robinson and Laurence Jones come to mind), Noil could be tempted to join them and Alabama might ramp up interest.
Most recent visit: Texas A&M
In his words: "I'm just trying to see what each school has to offer me and which one is the best fit to me," Noil told Nola.com.
@glaneyESPN's take: You have to like Texas A&M, given the way the Aggies use slot receivers like Noil and the presence of Noil's prep teammate Noel Ellis in the Aggies' 2013 recruiting class. You've got to like home-state LSU's chances as well, but Noil, like other offensive players, may take a wait-and-see approach with LSU's offense under Cam Cameron.
@RecruitingESPN ranks Noil's recruitment as the No. 10 battle in the country. Tweet us your opinion using the hashtag #BlueChipBattles.