FRISCO, Texas -- Korey Foreman was the youngest defensive lineman on the field this week at The Opening Finals, a standout 2021 prospect competing against the top players in the country from the class ahead of him.
And he consistently showed that age gap mattered little.
Foreman -- the 5-star prospect from Corona Centennial High School ranked the No. 2 strongside defensive end and the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2021 class -- was named the defensive line MVP while closing out the national showcase strong Wednesday.
"Everything is just a blessing. And any interview that I give recently, I'm just going to keep saying it's a blessing because without the man above none of this is possible," Foreman said afterward.
With most of the top offensive and defensive line prospects in the country competing this week at the Ford Center at The Star, the group was narrowed down to the top five on each side of the line before a final round of one-on-one showdowns.
Foreman got good work against 5-star Georgia OT commit Tate Ratledge and 4-star USC target Marcus Dumervil in particular.
Dumervil got the best of their first two reps at the end, but Foreman responded with a beautiful spin move on their third and final matchup to slip right past him.
"Going against Dumervil, Marcus, he was really good. He humbled me. When I lost to him in the few reps, it humbled me and made me settle down, like, 'OK, Korey, we have to work. Pay attention to what he's doing, pay attention to his techniques,'" Foreman said. "He's a really good athlete. Going against him, it's been a pleasure. Working out with all these people, it's been a pleasure. … But Marcus, he's humbled me, I'll give that to him."
Humble is an apt description of Foreman, despite his ever-growing spotlight as one of the most-coveted recruits in the country. He spoke of his mindset entering this event as the young guy going against older players.
"I like playing nervous because playing nervous, it helps me with my adrenaline. It always makes me like, 'Oh, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. If I don't do this, what's going to happen?' Of course, everybody's mindset is to come out on top, but I think playing nervous is the best way," he said.
Foreman is going to make plenty of opposing quarterbacks nervous these next couple years at Corona Centennial, all the while sorting through what will no doubt be a complex recruiting decision.
A group of reporters gathered around Foreman after the event Saturday as he was asked for his thoughts on USC, Notre Dame, Georgia, etc. There are already many other suitors and that list will only keep growing.
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