-Is to have a profile on the five highest rated recruits from the class and a class recap with this info.
1. Blake Walls
A Beverly Hills, Calif. native, Walls stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 215 pounds. He was a 2015 first-team all-league and all-CIF choice with 79 tackles. He has a star rating of three.
2. Montel Aaron
An Antelope, Calif. native, Aaron stands at 6-foot-5 quarterback and weighs 201 pounds. He completed the 2016 season as a redshirt. He has a star rating of three.
3. Jonathan Lenard Jr.
A Beaumont, Texas native, Blackwell stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds. He was a first-team All-Pacific View League and his league's Defensive Back of the Year for Rio Mesa High School in Oxford, Calif. He played safety and wide receiver as a senior. He has a star rating of three.
4. JaQuan Blackwell
A Perris, Calif. native, Blackwell stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs 188 pounds. He was the top receiver in the 2015 California Division II-A champion squad, leading his team with 36 receptions for 611 yards and eight touchdowns. He accounted for more than 60 percent of the team's receiving yardage and 80 percent of the touchdown pass plays. He was second in the Mountain Pass League in receiving yards. He has a star rating of three.
5. Cameron Smith
A Torrance, Calif. native, Smith stands at 6-foot-0 and weighs 175 pounds. He was a second-team All-Big VIII League cornerback as a senior and second-team all-league wide receiver as a junior. He concluded his high school career playing for the Inland Empire team in the 2016 Cali Classic All-Star Game at Los Angeles Southwest College. He has a star rating of three.
-Offensive player you're most excited about watching
For offense, I'm going to go with Tre Hartley. He's a local kid who went to the same high school as me. In three varsity seasons, he caught 111 passes for 2,382 yards and 24 touchdowns and intercepted 14 passes. He was ranked fifth in California for players with at least 1,000 receiving yards. He signed a National Letter of Intent in February 2014. Hartley's certainly a bright spot on the Spartans' offense. He just needs a quarterback that can push the ball downfield consistently.
-Defensive player you're most excited about watching
For defense, I'm going to go with Mato Pacheco. In his first season with the Spartans, he challenged for playing time as a cornerback, but I think he'll turn things around in the upcoming season.
-A post breaking down which player or players will make the biggest impact from day one
Montel Aaron completed the 2016 season as a redshirt. He signed a National Letter-of-Intent in February 2016. In the 2015 season, he completed 267 of 408 passes for 4,000 yards and 41 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions in 23 games. He was also an all-metro selection in basketball and baseball at Antelope High School. As Aaron succeeds Kenny Potter, he has a lot of work to do in order to carry his team. Football is a team sport, but the quarterback is the most important position. That being said, he will call the plays in the huddle and lead the Spartans' offense.
-A post celebrating your recruiting folks' favorite sleeper/most underrated prospect in the class
I think freshman cornerback Mato Pacheco has potential. He's currently challenging for playing time as a cornerback. As a high school senior, Pacheco was a first-team All-Palomares League football honoree. He had 52 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, intercepted one pass and broke up six others. He was named to Athlon's 2016 Recruiting All-Name team for football. If the Claremont, Calif. native does his job, covering receivers to defend against pass offenses and make tackles, the Spartans can get their defense going..