Midwest Spotlight: Five commitment predictions

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Greg Smith makes his predictions for some of the top uncommitted prospects in the Midwest region.

The Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest four-star is the highest-ranked Midwest prospect that is uncommitted. He initially wanted to be committed back in June but has had a hard time nailing down where he wants to go.

Babalola took summer official visits to Auburn, Missouri, Stanford, Michigan and Oklahoma. Every program came away from his official feeling good about its chances with him. Stanford has been a family favorite because of its academic reputation. But in the end, the combination of academics and high-level football at Michigan may be too hard to pass up.

Prediction: Michigan

Galloway recently decommitted from Purdue after its rough start to the season. He’s hearing from a lot of programs already including Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Penn State, Colorado, Miami, Wisconsin and Michigan. This is a recruitment that I can see taking some twists and turns along the way.

Galloway is looking for a programs that wins, develops and competes in every aspect. There is a team in Lexington that fits that bill.

Prediction: Kentucky

Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss all got summer official visits from the St. Louis four-star. Miller wanted to be committed by now so it’s a surprise that he’s even still on the board. Tennessee was the overwhelming favorite heading into the season and I still think he’s going to Rocky Top.

Prediction: Tennessee

I saw Newsome in person in his season-opening game in Detroit. He was disruptive and looks like the type of player off the edge many teams would like to land. However, his recruitment has been a little slow. Some of that is by design as he focuses on his senior season.

A few programs such as UCLA, Penn State and Purdue have his attention as he begins his senior season. I can see him landing at one of the newest Big Ten programs.

Prediction: UCLA

The Chicago Brother Rice four-star linebacker spent most of his offseason recovering and rehabbing from a season-ending injury. He’s healthy now and moving well as his first few games of the season highlight tape showed.

Because of that, he could see his offer list swell as he moves through his senior season. College coaches have been waiting to see how he bounces back from injury. Pierce will be an interesting prospect to follow if he delays his signing until February. He’ll have a lot of options moving forward.

Prediction: USC