Four-star WR Trent Irwin has Arizona State, Stanford on top

HAYWARD, Calif. -- Perhaps the top wide receiver in attendance at the Oakland Nike Football Training Camp on Sunday at Chabot College was Newhall (Calif.) Hart's Trent Irwin.

The 6'2, 190-pounder used his combination of strong hands and precise route-running ability to consistently create separation in a performance that earned him an invitation to The Opening, the prestigious Nike event held every summer that includes that includes 150 of the top prospects in the country.

Prior to shredding the defensive backs he faced, Irwin spoke with SB Nation Recruiting about the current state of his recruitment, in which two schools are currently in front.

"Right now, I'm really liking Stanford and Arizona State, but we'll see what happens over these next couple of months, so I'm just going to be talking to coaches and seeing how they feel about me," said the consensus four-star prospect.

Two different factors have helped put the Cardinal at the top of his list.

"Stanford is a great school and obviously they're always high in the Pac-12 -- they win championships," he said. "The coaches seem real cool and after football you can always have something to fall back on at Stanford because of the great academics."

Likewise, there are two major appeals to the Sun Devils, though they are quite different in nature from his other leader.

"They are going to pass the ball a little bit more," Irwin said. "They have a good offense. My quarterback from Hart is committed to Arizona State."

A consensus four-star prospect, pro-style quarterback Brady White is the top-rated commit in the class and Irwin's longtime ties to White make playing with him again in college a definite possibility.

"it would be cool because he's a good kid and we've been playing together since 7th grade," Irwin said. "It would be ideal, but I think both of us understand that if things don't go right, we'll both do what we need to do."

The offenses run by Stanford and Arizona State are as different as the factors that appeal to Irwin -- where Arizona State head coach Todd Graham runs a modern spread offense, Stanford head coach David Shaw is a throwback to another era with his emphasis on multiple tight ends and the run game.

As a result, the ability to get the ball more often at Arizona State could help swing irwin's recruitment in favor of the out-of-state school.

"A little bit," he said when asked if the Stanford offense would impact his decision. "As a receiver, you want to have a chance to get the ball, but also I feel like they might pass the ball a little bit more in the future, so I just want to communicate with the coaches and see how they feel about me."

Another program in the top five for Irwin is the California Golden Bears, a school that is coming off a one-win season. Still, Irwin likes the coaches there and plans on keeping up with him. For the Golden Bears to seriously contend for his signature, Cal may need to experience a little bit more on-field success in 2014.

"The one-win season last year was tough," Irwin said. "You always want to win. It's tough, but I like wide receivers coach Rob Likens and I'll watch them this year and see how things go."

This summer, Stanford will have another chance to make an impression on The Opening invitee, as he plans to make it to Palo Alto in late June for a visit, but does not currently have any other plans leading up to his senior season.

Irwin also said that Oregon State and USC are two schools in which he has interest that have not yet offered him. After staying in consistent communication with the coaching staffs of both programs, he feel like offers from the Beavers and Trojans could be coming in the near future.

If either program is going to enter his recruitment, it probably needs to happen relatively soon, as Irwin said that he could make a decision before or during his senior season, but doesn't have a set timetable yet. When he does make his decision, he said that he likely won't take any visits after that point.