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#OhioState commit Ezekiel Elliot gets the invite to The Opening
OSU commit Ezekiel Elliott wins RB MVP at #NFTC today. Scout's #1 RB overall (and USC commit) Ty Isaac was there as well.
Toast of the town
Ezekiel Elliott did it all in Champaign, earning an Opening invite and MVP honors
Updated: June 3, 2012
By Jared Shanker | ESPN RecruitingNation
Ezekiel ElliotTom Hauck/ESPNHSJohn Burroughs (St. Louis) running back and Ohio State commit Ezekiel Elliott earned one of five invitations to The Opening at the Champaign NFTC.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- There is no lack of confidence in Ezekiel Elliott (St. Louis/Burroughs), but even he has to admit he exceeded his expectations just a little.
Competing at the Nike Football Training Camp on Sunday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., the Class of 2013 running back walked away with the trifecta: The Opening invite, Champion Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 team invite and the positional MVP.
"Ever since I was a little man playing football -- I played since I was 7 and my dad played Division I -- playing Division I was one of my goals," Elliott said, "so I kind of expected it. But I have to say I did exceed some of them. I really didn't think I'd be leaving here with an invitation to both The Opening and Gridiron Kings and running back MVP."
Sunday's success took Elliott by surprise somewhat because of the position he was in just one year ago. As a sophomore, Elliott missed the entire season because of a broken collarbone. While many top prospects rack up offers by the end of their sophomore seasons, Elliott entered his junior campaign without any offers or serious looks.
By February, Elliott had roughly 20 offers, and on April 1 he committed to Ohio State.
"Last year, I wasn't on anyone's radar," said Elliott, who was participating in his first camp of any kind. "I had a big junior year and then I came out here and I competed. It's exciting that last year no one would have thought I'd gotten an invite to The Opening and Gridiron Kings."
The 6-foot, 200-pound four-star prospect will be joined at The Opening by some of his future Ohio State teammates. Marcus Baugh, Cam Burrows, Jalin Marshall, Billy Price and Eli Woodard are also committed to the Buckeyes and have already received invites.
Buckskin86;2161942; said:
buckeyegunners;2161963; said:Drills, a bunch of 7 on 7, and a big SPARQ competition for the most part I believe. Wish it wasn't a recruiting ploy by Phil Knight but still pretty cool.
osugrad21;2162327; said:Rivals$--Elliott brings home hardware
Zeke won the RB MVP and worked hard on recruiting Laquon Treadwell, James Quick, and Devon Allen,
and our defense will be as good..if not better than it has ever been
BuckWrestler141;2165050; said:BuckeyeEmpire worked closely with Dawn and Stacy Elliott, parents of 2013 OSU running back commit (4-Star) Ezekiel Elliott (St. Louis, MO), to gather some info on what all went into the process, the decision as well as all the turmoil that might surround a program as big as tOSU. A few thoughts on the program, Urban Meyer and Ezekiel's future contained within as well. Enjoy...
http://buckeyeempire.com/blog/2012/06/11/raising-a-coveted-commodity/#more-80