An inside look at the summer's most prestigious event for high school football players.
*All photos by Chris StonebrakerBEAVERTON, Ore. — Many of the nation's most talented high school football players have converged in Beaverton for the 2014 edition of Nike's The Opening.
The competition and skills camp features recruits from the SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten and every major college football conference. The event will crown winners for the Nike 7ON tournament, Nike Linemen Challenge, and SPARQ Rating National Championship. Several of Nike’s athletes will also be on hand during the tournament to assist in coaching and provide insights into athletic training.
MaxPreps is live on the scene with news, video and photos from the event.
On Tuesday,
Kirk Merritt, the 137th top recruit in the country according to 247Sports, an all-purpose back from
Destrehan (Destrehan, La.), won the SPARQ competition with 148.83 points, followed by
Josh Sweat, of
Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.), at 148.17 and Tyler Phillips, of
North Little Rock (Ark.), at 143.67.
Seven future college standouts broke 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard-dash, led by Miami-bound
Jordan Scarlett, of
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), at 4.30; Oregon commit
Taj Griffin, of
McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), at 4.31; Notre Dame-bound C.J. Sanders, of
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), at 4.32; South Carolina commit
Mark Fields, of
Hough (Cornelius, N.C.), a 4.33;
George Campbell, of
East Lake (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), at 4.36; UCLA-bound Stephen Johnson, of
San Leandro (Calif.), at 4.37; and
Malik Jefferson, of
Poteet (Mesquite, Texas), at 4.37.
Jefferson, by the way, is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound outside linebacker.
Scarlett and Johnson were two of six athletes to announce their college intentions Tuesday at The Opening. The others were athlete
Isaiah Langley, of
Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.), to USC; cornerback
Xavier Lewis, of
East St. John (Reserve, La.) to LSU; linebacker Josh Smith, of
Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), to Vanderbilt; and quarterback
Ross Bowers, of
Bothell (Wash.), to Cal.
Click through the slide show and keep checking back here for the latest photos from The Opening.
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Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman makes an appearance at The Opening.
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Iman Marshall, Long Beach Poly
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Willie McGinest, 15-year linebacker in the NFL.
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SPARQ winner Kirk Merritt
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Desmond Trufant, of the Atlanta Falcons (left) and Iman Marshall, of Long Beach Poly.
