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Elite wide receiver Messiah Hampton down to seven schools, sets commitment date

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by:Keegan Pope•about 9 hours•

bykeeganpope

Messiah Hampton 1 copy 1
Messiah Hampton (Photo by Chad Simmons/On3)

Rochester (N.Y.) James Monroe four-star wide receiver Messiah Hampton is closing in on a commitment.

On Sunday, the nation’s No. 7 wideout in the On300 rankings announced that he will make his decision on June 13 between Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Miami. That group makes up his main list of finalists, with the Nittany Lions already hosting him for an official visit earlier this month.

Hampton will get in two more visits before he makes his decision, with officials set to Oregon for June 6 and Ohio State for June 13, the day he is set to announce.

The Ducks are currently the favorite in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) after expert picks in their favor from national expert Steve Wiltfong and Oregon insider Justin Hopkins.

“After the last visit, the ‘scavenger hunt,’ I think Oregon is definitely the team to beat now,” Hopkins wrote earlier this month. “And I do think a potential decision feels like it could be nearing. Keep in mind, the scavenger hunt is one of Oregon’s most successful recruiting weekends all year. It doesn’t tend to lead to immediate commits but it does end up with several down the line who took part.”

Hampton has strong connections to Oregon

Despite being on the opposite side of the country, Oregon has made big in-roads with Hampton over the past few months. A big part of that is his connection with receivers coach Ross Douglas, who was previously recruiting him at Syracuse.

Hampton visited the Ducks earlier this spring with his family and came away very impressed by the program overall.

“His favorite things about Oregon are the staff, the culture and probably just the program in general,” his mother Chelsea told Wiltfong. “He hasn’t decided yet on his school but he does like Oregon as one of his top five choices for sure.”

Hampton has been a huge rankings riser in recent months as well, and currently checks in as a top-50 prospect in the On300 rankings (No. 48 overall).

“Hampton has shown advanced route running and movement skills during the spring 7-on-7 circuit and has made his fair share jaw-dropping plays,” said On3 National Scout Cody Bellaire. “Hampton has some of the impressive combinations of smooth actions and explosiveness when separating from defenders. Some of the explosiveness has shown up on the track as well with Hampton delivering personal-bests in the 60m (6.69) and the 300m (37.01) during his junior track and field season. He’s continued displaying dominant positional traits in competitive settings and has improved his already strong athletic profile during the spring.”