Local players worth watching

[Recruiting Guru]

Came up to Dallas this weekend, and before watching SMU Saturday, went to a high school game. Thomas Jefferson High School has two kids who are well worth watching. RB/LB Byron Thompson has good size (6-1, 185) and an absolutely unbelievable burst of acceleration. His offensive line is terrible, so he usually was just looking for breathing room, but with the slightest gap, he explodes through the line, and ran away from some pretty quick defenders from West Mesquite. Just as appealing is QB/SS Ratron Mayfield. 6-2, 190, and also unbelievably fast. Minimal as a QB, but he runs well from under center, and like Thompson leaves defenders in the dust. Blazing straightaway speed, and very elusive, very good at shifting directions, cutting back against the grain of the defense (sort of like Rutledge looked on that kickoff return Saturday night).

Both of these guys have the athletic ability to play. Still checking on grades and test scores. Will update PonyFans.com soon.

Also, West Mesquite has a reserve tailback and defensive back named Markeith Sanders. Why he doesn't start is beyond me -- the starter is good, but Sanders really stood out. He has very good - if not great - speed, but what was impressive is that even though he looks like he recently hit a growth spurt (he's listed as being 6 feet tall, and i'd be amazed if he's over 170 or 175 pounds), he's very strong. He has tremendous balance, not getting knocked off his feet by a first hit all night, and he fought his way through tackles by substantially bigger players who had weight and strength advantages on him. He plays with tremendous heart, balance, and field vision. Worth a look. But Thompson and Mayfield definitely should be on SMU's list, if they have the grades and scores.

[DallasDiehard]

I talked to a reporter who also saw that game, and he said the exact same thing. Thompson and Mayfield are serious studs, and Sanders was subtly very impressive. He seemed to think that two, or maybe all three, have the talent to play D-I ball, although when I told him your comments, he said you were right that Sanders needs to bulk up - a lot.