The Recruiting Guy

VIDEO: Hog target Stacey Wilkins competes against nation's No. 1 and No. 17 DE

Stacey Wilkins

— Competing against the best of the best in the nation can have its challenges, and on Monday at The Opening, offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins won and lost some reps during the Linemen Challenge.

“Well, one, I’m not used to losing, so that’s one thing that happened today,” Wilkins said. “But it’s all good because at the same time I have to think about I’m here with the top athletes in the nation. And we’re all going to lose every now and then. But we’re also here to get better and help each other out. That’s one thing I have to take into my mind.”

Wilkins, 6-7, 280 pounds, is an ESPN 3-star prospect with more than 20 offers from schools such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Miami, Southern Cal and others.

His first rep of the day was against ESPN’s No. 1 player in the nation, Kayvon Thibodeaux, a defensive end from California. He then had two reps against Goerge Karlaftis, the No. 17 defensive end nationally. Wilkins finished up with two reps with De’Monte Russell, an ESPN 3-star defensive end.

“All defensive ends are different because I got five different plays today to eat off of, so it was kind of different,” Wilkins said.

Wilkins, who’s the cousin of former Arkansas All-American offensive lineman Shawn Andrews, said speedy ends give him the most trouble.

“If they line up wide, that’s probably where most of the trouble comes from,” Wilkins said. “Some speed guys I can take care of.”

He graded out at 84 percent while having 46 pancake blocks and 89 knockdowns as a junior. Wilkins was able to learn from some of the coaches on hand at The Opening.

“The steps they taught us — not going out to them and setting vertical and being patient with our hands, because they have to come through us," Wilkins said. "They either come around us or come through us, and we want them to come through us."