ORLANDO — A couple of years ago the Under Armour Game decided to do away with their national combine and instead offer an invite-only showcase for underclassmen.

The Future 50 showcase, which started today, features 50 (duh) of the nation’s top prospects in an opportunity to compete in a constructed camp setting. With this roster of prospects every head-to-head competition will be considered best-on-best action.

Check out the full roster here.

A couple of things to watch out for:

Xavier Thomas wants to make a statement: Thomas, a defensive lineman out of Florence, S.C., is going to make his case to be the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2018. No surprise that Thomas’ recruiting is very active, but the 6-foot-3, 260-pound junior surprised many when he said he was down to two programs – South Carolina and Clemson. While it’s easy to believe that Thomas will play his college ball in the Palmetto State, it’s hard to believe that the declaration will stop other school from trying to lure him elsewhere. If he ends up at IMG Academy like rumors suggest, then that’s just another storyline.

The IMG-Under Armour relationship is still strong: IMG Academy has 10 participants in the 2017 Under Armour All-America Game and has eight prospects in the future 50 camp. They are:

DT T.K. Chimedza, 6-3, 270 (2018)
OL Curtis Dunlap Jr., 6-5, 340 (2018)
CB Houston Griffith, 6-0, 170 (2018)
WR Brian Hightower, 6-3, 195 (2018)
LB Mike Jones Jr., 6-0, 220 (2018, Clemson verbal)
RB Trey Sanders, 6-0, 200 (2018)
DT Taron Vincent, 6-1, 295 (2018)
OL Reuben Unije, 6-6, 305 (2018)

Jones is the only member of the group that has given a verbal commitment. Chimedza might be one of the most interesting prospects going into the camp season. Georgia and Florida State were on the defensive tackle pretty hard early, so it’ll be interesting to see where he stands now that a few months have gone by.

Hightower, a California prospect, looks like a future No. 1 receiver type and should get a ton of attention. Alabama was on him very early. Unije, from Alpharetta, Ga., has already been on campus at Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State. The Florida Gators could get a visit for an upcoming junior day as well.

Eyes will be on 2020 QB prospect Harrison Bailey: Bailey, from Marietta, Ga., hadn’t played a high school game when he hit the camp circuit over the summer, but that didn’t stop the offers from rolling in. Miami, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M are among the schools that have already extended a verbal. Bailey took in games at Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia this year and most think the Bulldogs will be the team to beat when it’s all said and done.

Auburn commit Joey Gatewood, from Jacksonville, Fla., and Ohio State commit Emory Jones, from Franklin, Ga., are among the other quarterback prospects participating in the showcase.

LB prospect Mitchell looks like a star: In a pool of very impressive looking prospects 5-star 2018 linebacker Teradja Mitchell might look like that best player walking off the bus. Luckily this hit machine can also bring it on the field. Expect the recruiting battle for the 6-foot-3, 238-pound prospect to be fierce. FSU and Clemson jumped on Mitchell early, but Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia are starting to come on strong. And don’t count out Alabama, of course.