Inside high school recruiting
by Flynn Hill
Irish stay red hot, land Watt
Just six days after Notre Dame picked up one-time Bruin, Marlon Pollard, the Irish added another top 100 player in offensive guard Chris Watt. The 6-3, 280-pound offensive lineman from Glen Elyn, Ill., selected the Irish over Ohio State and Illinois amongst many potential suitors. Watt is the third verbal of the week, as he joins Pollard, and 6-6, 230-pound athletic tight end, Tyler Eifert.
After landing back-to-back top 10 classes in 2007 and 2008, including the third best class a year ago, Charlie Weis and his staff are back at it again. The Irish coaching staff has been able to convince recruits that the 3-9 season they had last year is nothing more than an aberration. Watt is a huge victory considering the circumstances. Illinois has always been a big recruiting state for Notre Dame, however it’s far from a guarantee that they will pick up anyone they want, especially with Ron Zook, one of the game’s best recruiters, coaching at Illinois. Despite Illinois making drastic strides toward becoming a national power, they have only been able to pick up four prospects.
Like Zook, Jim Tressel has always been able to pick up top-notch talent for Ohio State, especially in the Midwest. So far, Ohio State’s class is shaping up to be one of the top five in the nation. With 24 commitments in their class so far, including four NES 100 members, they are almost finished with this year’s haul. It is rumored that the Buckeyes gave Watt an ultimatum to decide. Watt claims that he made his decision a week before his July 13 commitment date, but waited in order to tell coaches. Coincidentally, Ohio State was able to secure a commitment from offensive lineman Sam Longo just a day after Watt had reached his decision. While it is understandable that the Buckeyes wanted a decision from Watt, the ultimatum tactic has not worked out so well in the past for schools that use it. One example of this took place in 2006 when the Texas Longhorns tried to find their quarterback of the future. Like Ohio State, they were finishing up their class early, and gave Ryan Mallett a decision date. He took too long and the Longhorns settled on John Brantley for the time being. In the end, the Longhorns were the big loser, finishing with neither, as Brantley chose Florida. Patience may be a virtue, but apparently not in the recruiting world, as teams want to get finished as early as possible.
As for the Irish, nothing needed more help in 2007 than their offensive line. Recruiting is generally looked at over a two -year period. The Irish have done nothing but help their interior line, adding Trevor Robinson and Braxton Cave, the top guard and center, respectively. Throw in Mike Golic Jr. from last year, along with Watt and Alex Bullard from this year’s class, the Irish have added five high-quality interior offensive linemen over the past two years. They still need to work on a left tackle and have their sights set on Jack Britt offensive tackle Xavier Nixon, the No. 27 prospect in the NES 100. If they strike out in this cycle, they still have next year, where the top offensive lineman, Seantrel Henderson, plays for Cretin Durham Hall, a true Notre Dame pipeline.
Illinois adds quarterback of the future
The Fighting Illini added their replacement to Juice Williams in Nathan Scheelhaase, a 6-3, 185-pound athletic passer from Rockhurst, Miss. As a junior, he put up big numbers to the tune of 1,861 passing yards with 20 touchdowns through the air and another 917 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. He led Rockhurst to a perfect 13-0 record and a state tile as a junior and will look to repeat next year.
Scheelhaase gives this Illinois class some much needed juice, no pun intended. After missing out on Chris Watt earlier in the week, the Fighting Illini, Scheelhaase became the first significant skill position recruit of the class of 2008. Last year’s class was decent for Ron Zook and company, however the expectations were greater, after they had nine wins a year ago and a Rose Bowl appearance. Illini fans will automatically think of Williams when they watch the Rockhurst product take the field in a few years. He has great speed and is one of the top scramblers in the country. He has great arm strength and has displayed this by showing the ability to roll to his left (he’s a righty), and while still on the move, hurl the ball more than 50 yards down the field to a waiting receiver. He has the arm strength to roll to one side of the field and throw to the other side of the field, as Matt Ryan showed during this past year. He’s developing in terms of accuracy and will probably face the same difficulties Juice did.
The Scheelhaase commitment may get the ball to start rolling for Illinois. He may be the key to landing one of the top offensive hauls in recent memory for Zook. Ronnie Wingo, a running back, is one of the best athletes in the country, and he has a very close bond with Nate. He may outgrow the position and move to linebacker, but he has tremendous speed for a 6-3, 210-pound athlete. It may be too much for Wingo to turn down to play with his friend and have a chance to contribute early. Kraig Appelton, the nation’s 39th best prospect, and Terry Hawthorne may also join Scheelhaase in Champaign. Appleton and Hawthorne, the nation’s premier prep wide receiver tandem for East St. Louis High School, will decide soon. Those two would be an ideal X and Z combination in college. Illinois may be able to continue what was started in 2007 if they can land these three talented athletes on top of Scheelhaase.
Tigers get Lowe
Brownwood, Texas, offensive tackle prospect Stavion Lowe ended his recruitment this past week, selecting Louisiana State. At 6-6, 295 pounds, Lowe is one of the premier right tackle prospects in the country. He is a fantastic run blocker and an athletic specimen. He chose Louisiana State over Auburn and Oklahoma amongst many others.
Lowe has outstanding explosiveness. As his namesake says, he gets low and plays with outstanding leverage. He’s a tremendous drive blocker and doesn’t quit until the whistle blows. If there were a skinny 294 pounds, Lowe is it. If you see his face, you’d be shocked to say that he weighed that much. He has the potential to play guard if he can add weight to play against collegiate defensive tackles, however he’s best suited to play right tackle because he has outstanding quickness. He should not have many issues against some of the top edge rushers in college.
In a few years, Lowe should be able to take over for Ciron Black, a player who Lowe compares favorably to. Lowe is the fifth commitment along the offensive line for the Tigers and is head and shoulders the best player along the offensive line. While Lowe is a big commitment, he’s certainly not the biggest fish LSU has left in their pool of recruits. They’ve already picked up the No. 3 player in the nation in Russell Shepard. However, Jamarkus McFarland and Chris Davenport, two of the top five defensive tackles in the nation, along with Reuben Randle, the top receiver in the country, are all strongly considering LSU. There’s still a chance that the Tigers can pull in safety Craig Loston, Sheppard’s cousin, from Clemson. Make no mistake about it, the Tigers can land one of the most top heavy classes in recent memory and the best class in the nation.
McAllister a Seminole
Demonte McAllister, one of the most athletic defensive tackles in the country, committed to Florida State. He has a very high ceiling and should be able to contribute after a redshirt year. While some feel he is a soft verbal commitment and may eventually switch and commit to in state Florida, he is one of the top interior linemen in the state and had offers from national powers including Louisiana State, Southern Cal, Miami, and Texas.
McAllister is extremely quick and can play strong-side end or tackle in a 4-3 or end in a 3-4. However, he will be a great fit as either a two-technique tackle or playing as a one- or three-technique in the gap. He’s a ways away when it comes to strength to play tackle in college, but he has top-notch quickness. He can probably get up to about 280 or 290 pounds by his redshirt freshman year. He’s going to be able to use his athleticism in order to create matchup problems against overaggressive linemen. His 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss really show that he is a disruptive force.
If he stays a Seminole, offensive coordinators are going to have all they can handle between McAllister and the No. 11 player in the nation, Jaccobbi McDaniel. They are similar players, as they are both extremely disruptive, however, McDaniel has a better motor and is relentless against the run. Both have excellent quickness and will need to spend time in the weight room, but these two would make a feared tandem. Between this year’s class and last year’s class, the Seminoles are putting together a defense that can win a national title and bring Florida State back to national prominence. These two defensive tackles will be able to give Nigel Bradham, C.J. Mizell and Nigel Carr, amongst others, plenty of protection to roam and make plays. Give Bobby Bowden this much talent in the first half of the recruiting cycle and it’s scary to see what the recruiting world’s best closer can finish with.
Summer camps create quite a buzz
If people don’t realize that football is a year-round sport, based on this past week and the coming week, fans who don’t know it will see it. The Nike 7ON kicked off the height of summer camp season. There was outstanding talent at the skill positions, lead by none other than the top player in the country, Matt Barkley. He was a tad up and down and his receivers battled the drops, however he showed that when in a zone, nobody can stop him, as he only had one incomplete pass in the second half of a game against the team from Georgia. However, he was outgunned by Plant, Fla., quarterback Aaron Murray who took home MVP honors for the camp. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 356 yards and four scores in the title game against the Atlanta, Georgia, squad. Other top performers at the camp included Dorian Bell, Orson Charles and Corey Brown.
Florida held their annual Friday Night Lights camp and it too lived up to the hype. Dre Kirkpatrick, the top-ranked corner in the country battled injuries, however he showed he has the physical tools to be one of the best corners at the next level. Running back Trent Richardson from Pensacola, Florida, showed up a muscular 235 pounds. There aren’t many backs as well put together as him. The Gators picked up a commitment from developing 2010 lineman Ian Silberman. The nation’s top offensive lineman, Nick Alajajian, visited his future school, however he did not participate.
Lastly, the weekend concluded with FBU’s Top Gun Academy. Running back was hands down the most loaded position. Four of the nation’s top seven running backs were on hand. Bryce Brown, Cierre Wood, Chris Whaley and Edwin Baker all showed up and did not disappoint. Wood stood out amongst that quartet of backs, as he came through in the seven on seven session and scored on a nice post. 2010 running back Lache Seastrunk came in smaller than expected, but there aren’t many backs as fast as this jackrabbit.
Next week will have more on the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp amongst other top stories.