RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Jeremy Crabtree

updated 9:37 p.m. ET July 3, 2008

At USC’s Rising Star Camp last week, a few players were as good as advertised and a few were even better than expected. But nobody was as good as Phoenix Desert Vista five-star defensive end Devon Kennard.

In a camp that featured five five-star standouts, 12 Rivals250 players and numerous four-star players, Kennard was the most dominating player in the camp. It’s easy to expect big things from the nation’s No. 5 player overall, but the way he dominated was something that just doesn’t happen in a two-day camp situation.

Kennard didn't lose a single battle in the one-on-ones Wednesday, then had another strong workout Thursday. All in all, he was beaten just twice at the camp.

He’s the nation’s No. 5 player – but that might be too low.

After seeing him dismantle some of the nation’s best line prospects, you could make a serious argument for him being the nation’s top prospect overall.

“I feel like it was mission accomplished,” said Kennard, who earlier this week listed his top five as USC, Texas, Arizona State, Cal and UCLA. “I wanted to go down there, compete with the best of them and have fun. I think I accomplished that and did a good job.”

Also doing a good job was one of the biggest surprises in the camp – guard Stanley Hasiak, a 6-foot-6, 320-pound Hawaiian who really struggled at the Ultimate 100 for Rising Seniors earlier this summer. But Hasiak brought his “A” game to Los Angeles.

Other than a late duel against Kennard on Wednesday, he beat everybody he faced in one-on-ones. He needs to improve his speed – he had times of 5.96 and 5.84 in the 40 – but that should happen as more weight is shed.

The other big surprise in the camp was Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral offensive tackle Taylor Lewan. From a looks standpoint, nobody was put together as impressively as Lewan, a 6-6, 270-pounder. He’s built the way an offensive tackle should be. Lewan is just now starting to emerge on the national recruiting map after playing at Cave Creek (Ariz.) Cactus Shadows last season. He was outstanding at summer camps at Minnesota and Arizona State, and has offers from each school. It looks as if that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as other schools have started to show interest.

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“He’s just 16 and won’t be 17 until late July,” said Lewan’s father, Dave. “He also is just learning the offensive tackle position. He was a defensive tackle, but he’ll now be the starting left tackle for Chaparral. He’s still got a lot to learn about the position, but everybody we’ve talked to has been very impressed with how quickly he’s picking things up.”

Moving up the charts
Many people nationally scratched their heads when Rivals.com ranked

Layton (Utah) Northridge safety Chris Washington as a three-star prospect. What was a kid from Utah with no offers doing ranked higher than others with multiple offers?

A month later, people are starting to see why Washington was ranked as the nation’s No. 78 safety.

After a strong summer, Washington (6-1/187) has picked up offers from BYU and Utah, and has become the hottest prospect in Utah not named John Martinez.

Washington also picked up a big honor this past weekend when he was named defensive MVP of the prestigious B2G Camp in Los Angeles. What’s even more remarkable is he earned the award in a camp that included players who have committed to the likes of USC, UCLA and other Pac-10 schools.

“It was a real honor,” said Washington, who is only 16. “To go out there and compete with all these guys, you look up on Rivals.com and see them with four and five stars, and do well against them made me feel real confident about myself. I’ve got two really good offers from Utah and BYU on the table, but I’d like to see what Pac-10 schools are going to be interested.”

Here’s betting that more than a few will be.

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