The future of college football has been gathered to one spot

Published 4:50 pm Monday, July 3, 2017

There is a lot of young talent in one place on the West Coast right now.

Nike is hosting The Opening at its facilities in Oregon. It’s a showcase where all the top football prospects around the country come together for a week of exercises, contests, networking, and oh yeah, lots and lots of press coverage.

That last part is my favorite. I love hearing what these kids have to say about the schools they are interested in, who has been swaying them and what their futures might hold.

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As a Georgia fan, the big story to come out of The Opening boils down to two quarterbacks: Matt Corral and Justin Fields.

Matt Corral, of Long Beach, California, is a USC de-commit who is apparently obsessed with the SEC. He says he loves the culture, the atmosphere and the competition around these schools and wants to be a part of it. Even better, he loves Athens and the Bulldogs.

When he came to visit last month, Jacob Eason showed him around and introduced him to Georgia football. He’s been sporting a Georgia wristband ever since. The 5-star prospect is a similar type of pocket passer to Eason. Both are tall and have a mean cannon of an arm. He looks like an amazing athlete, and could be a huge get for the Dawgs.

But there is another one.

Fields is the No. 1 dual threat quarterback in the Class of 2018, and easily the best prospect to come out of Georgia since Deshaun Watson (who won a championship, by the way). He is fast, has an amazing arm, has shown leadership skills and is also looking at Georgia closely.

The only problem is Alabama and Florida State are chasing after him, too. Both top-notch programs, both with lots of talent on their rosters.

As good as Corral is, I think Fields would be the bigger recruit for Georgia. The Bulldogs have had trouble keeping Georgia’s best players to stay in Georgia in the recent past. Getting Fields would turn that right around. Letting him leave the state would be a failure, but his joining the Bulldogs would turn the tide, likely sway or flip a number of other local recruits and help Kirby Smart lock down this state even more.

Corral is a good recruit for 2018. Fields is potentially a good recruit for many, many years to come.

I look forward to seeing these young athletes develop their senior seasons and make their decisions.