Nike's "The Opening" brought together some of the best players in the country and the West region definitely was well represented. Earlier we looked at the offensive side of the ball and now we'll break down a few of the top uncommitted players from the event on the defensive side.. It's not a great year for defensive line talent out West and that was reflected at The Opening as just four players made the cut: Ellis McCarthy (Monrovia, Calif./Monrovia), Aziz Shittu (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) and Honolulu Punahou teammates DeForest Buckner and Luke Kaumatule. After a slow start where he was stoned by Isaac Seumalo (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis) twice on day one and had to sit out another day with an ankle injury, McCarthy came on strong the final day. For a man his size, the tackle showed a very explosive get-off and a club move that jarred opposing guards. He had the top SPARQ Rating among all the defensive tackles at 103.47 after running a 5.13-40, 4.77 shuttle, throwing the power ball 43 feet and posting 28 inches in the vertical. On the recruiting side, USC has made the big tackle a heavy priority and is in a good spot, but Cal and Florida are high on the list as well.Shittu was one of the biggest characters in the camp and really seems to enjoy the recruiting process. He was an early commitment to Stanford before backing off. He told just about everyone committed to a school that he was going there as well. He congratulated Bryce Treggs on his commitment to Cal and said that's where he's going and then a minute later told USC commit Jabari Ruffin he planned on being a Trojan.Currently the tackle has 8-10 schools on his list but realistically, don't look for Shittu to leave the state to play his college ball. UCLA is in the picture, but Stanford, Cal and USC look like the teams to beat at the moment.For Buckner and Kaumatule, this was their first camp outside of Hawaii and the step up in competition took some time to get used to. By the end of the week, Buckner had really come on and had several dominant one-on-one reps including blowing past Zach Banner where the tackle was barely able to get a hand on him. On the recruiting front, Buckner has a top three of Cal, Oregon and UCLA but will take all five of his official visits before making a decision.Like Buckner, Kaumatule has Cal and UCLA high on his list and Stanford is right there as well. In fact, the Cardinal are probably the team to beat at the moment, although the defensive end still needs to clear admissions.Kaumatule is a little more raw than Buckner as a prospect but has a similar upside. Both players are all of 6-7 with similar frames, with Buckner being a little more athletic. There's a chance the two could end up at the same school as they're best friends, but both players have said they plan to make their decisions independent of the other. While defensive line is a bit down out West, the linebacker position is worse. The top linebacker in the West is USC commit Jabari Ruffin (Downey, Calif./Downey), and he's very solid in his commitment.Ruffin has good size and is an excellent athlete as well. He clocked a 4.64-40 and jumped 31 inches in the vertical during the SPARQ Rating National Championship but a sprained wrist during the first game of 7 on 7 sidelined him the rest of the tournament.Sawyer Powell (Richland, Wash./Richland) qualified for The Opening by having the top SPARQ Rating by any linebacker in the country following the Nike Combine tour. Powell showed he can play and had a solid tournament. He also finished with the 13th-highest SPARQ Rating in the event with a 124.35 score. Oregon State has offered but BYU is the dream school for Powell. Utah and Boise State also are involved. Two late additions to The Opening were local linebacker prospects Brett Bafaro (Hillsboro, Ore./Liberty) and Daniel Halverson (Portland, Ore./Grant). While both players may have been added late as replacements, they were two of the best 'backers in the tournament during the 7on play. Bafaro is a physical player and a very good athlete. He clocked a 4.57-40 and a 4.12 shuttle for a solid 113.43 SPARQ Rating. He was solid in coverage, very aggressive pressing opposing tight ends at the line of scrimmage and is always around the football. Oregon has offered and is the team to beat, although Bafaro has expressed some concern about pending discipline coming the Ducks' way.Halverson put his name on the map after earning LB MVP honors at the Nike Camp at Stanford. He had another strong showing in Portland and has to be among the most underrated prospects in the region.Yale and Air Force have offered Halverson, but he has the talent to play at the Pac-12 level and he could end up a steal for some lucky college late in the recruiting period.It was a solid group of defensive backs with seven players overall in attendance, four of whom have made commitments. Raymond Ford (Gardena, Calif./Serra) recently committed to UCLA, Marcus Rios (Elk Grove, Calif./Cosumnes Oaks) is locked in for Boise State, Tee Shepard (Fresno, Calif./Central) is headed to Notre Dame, and Cleveland Wallace (San Jose, Calif./Oak Grove) is Oregon State bound.Ford was one of the most explosive players in the event and clocked a 4.41-40 during the SPARQ testing. He showed similar speed on the football field and was one of the tournaments top cover corners before straining his calf and missing the last two games of the event.Rios was battling an ankle injury all week but still showed why he was such a hot commodity late in the spring. Although his commitment to the Broncos looks pretty solid, he could still take a few other official visits and has mentioned UCLA and Washington as likely destinations.Shepard was an absolute monster all week and may have been the most respected and talked-about defensive back by opposing receivers in the event. He's very physical at the line of scrimmage, has great hands and showed better speed than advertised. Shepard surprised more than a few people when he committed so early to Notre Dame but the Irish have been his dream school for years. There are still some out there who question whether the commitment will stick but the athlete is adamant that he'll play his college ball in South Bend.Wallace also had a strong tournament and his commitment to the Beavers looks stronger than ever. There was a time when the athlete said he wanted to take a few visits but now it sounds like he may visit only Corvallis. Wallace is a rangy defensive back with the size, speed and toughness to play just about anywhere in the secondary.Still on the board are Brandon Beaver (Compton, Calif./Dominguez), Cedric Dozier (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes) and Davonte Neal (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral). Beaver struggled much of the tournament and never looked comfortable. He missed much of the spring with a broken bone in his wrist and just had a soft cast removed last month. When healthy, Beaver is a big, physical corner who can run but in Portland, he was often out of position and wasn't able to stick with some of the elite receivers in the event.Beaver was an early silent commit to UCLA before backing off and then nearly committed to Washington. At this point, the Huskies still lead along with Nebraska, and Arizona and Arizona State will get official visits as well.Dozier might have played more minutes than anyone as not only did he play full time at corner and safety but logged a ton of minutes at receiver. He's a dynamic athlete who just makes plays. At safety, he didn't always understand the coverage he was in but was still able to make a play with his raw athleticism.Washington and Cal have had some nice recruiting battles over the past couple of years, and the race for Dozier is shaping up to be yet another one. Cal is recruiting Dozier as a receiver, his desired position, while the Huskies like him as an athlete. Dozier said where he's being recruited won't matter in his decision and he's more looking at where he fits in best and feels most comfortable with the coaching staff. Neal was somewhat of an enigma at the event. He was times the best pure athlete in the 7On but also got way too caught up in trash talking his opponents on defense and running his own routes at receiver rather than what was called for him.There is no questioning Neal's immense talent. He has every physical tool you could want in a player. He's extremely competitive, works hard and is a playmaker on both sides of the ball. If he can focus more on just playing the game and losing some of the swag, he has a chance to be a great player at the next level.On the recruiting front, Neal has been as tight lipped as any player in the region but should be close to narrowing things down. The plan was to take the whole summer to further evaluate things and then have a top five in late August.