By John Peres / Special contributor to PonyFans.com

It always is a good sign when a head coach sings the praises of his players. Clint Harper, the head coach at Leander High School before moving this offseason to Marshall High School, spoke in such glowing terms about defensive end Michael Epley that it almost sounds as if Harper brought his star player with him to East Texas.

Defensive end Michael Epley earned a spot on the varsity roster as a freshman at Leander High School (photo by Epley family).

Harper said he saw evidence years ago that Epley,who recently announced his commitment to sign in February with SMU, had a chance to be a special player.

“He's a great technician who is going to do exactly what he’s coached to do, and he’s very good with his hands," Harper said. "In 16, 17 years of high school coaching, I have only had two kids at any position who were good enough to play as freshmen, and he’s one of them — the other is John Henderson, who signed with (Texas) A&M a few years back. We had Mike playing on our freshman team, and he was just dominating everyone who went up against him, so we brought him up nine games in, and he played the last few games and played in the playoffs for us.”

Epley discussed his desire to improve and be the best around at his position. But he also was quick to point out that the reason for his early success was due in part to the help of his upperclass teammates.

“I was the only freshman that got pulled up," Epley said. "I was almost 6-2 and around 215 pounds, and I knew I had to get bigger, faster and stronger, and the seniors in past years have helped me excel at those goals.”

The Leander defensive system asks a lot of its defensive ends, and Epley has thrived as much because of his versatility as because of his size, strength or pure talent.

"We played a 3-3 ‘stack’ defense," Harper said. "It’s a defense that relies heavily on the defensive ends. With only three down linemen, they have to be able to get pressure off the edge and be able to stop the run, and Michael does both of them very well. Mike was able to play, for us, a lot of 5-technique and a lot of 4-technique, a lot of B-gap and a lot of C-gap, and he’s athletic enough and strong enough to do them very well.

"(During) his sophomore year, we had another defensive end who was pretty good — he went on to play at San Angelo — so we didn’t have to flip (Epley) because we were pretty salty on both sides, and offenses couldn’t really double-team either one of them. Last year, we moved him around more, to where we thought the offense was trying to run the football. He was really more of a strong end, an anchor end.”

In addition to his contributions at defensive end, Epley is athletic enough that he also earned playing time on offense as a tight end, even getting the ball thrown his way in clutch situations.

“He played tight end then, too, which speaks to his athletic ability,” Harper said. “In fact, two years ago, he had the district-winning touchdown catch — that’s how much we trusted him.

“That’s what makes him special: he has great athletic ability. But he also doesn’t get overwhelmed by the situation. He knows his responsibilities, and he knows how to do them, whether it’s in practice or in the last district game of the year. He has got the size, but he also can catch and can run. His footwork is unbelievable. At a SPARQ camp, he ran in the low 4.4s in the shuttle, which is incredible for a defensive lineman. He’s just a fast, strong guy whose motor runs all day long.”

Harper also stressed that Leander's tough schedule prevented Epley from piling up inflated statistics against opponents without the talent and depth to compete with the Lions.

“Remember now, we were not playing against the blind and the deaf,” Harper said. “He was playing big-time teams — the DeSotos, the Converse Judsons — and having great games. He absolutely dominated Converse Judson. I think he had two or three sacks and a bunch of tackles against them, and they were running away from him. That’s a really good football team — that’s a big-time football team. We played against Cedar Park, with Spencer Drango (now a starting tackle at Baylor), and Mike went toe-to-toe with him. He doesn’t back down from anyone, and he can play with anyone.

“If anything, I think the schedule we played might have made some schools overlook him, but they’ll regret it. There are some guys whose high school teams play some opponents that are inferior opponents, and they rack up a bunch of statistics against teams like that. At Leander, we didn’t play anyone like that — we didn’t have that luxury. The level of competition is so much higher. If we had played some of that kind of team, he might have had some games with four or five sacks, but playing at Leander, we played legitimate 4A and 5A teams every week. He went against offensive tackles every week who are going on to play at Div. I schools. He doesn’t have the overwhelming stats, the 15, 16, 17 sacks that some kids have. But that’s what SMU realized. They saw how good a football player he is. He’s not just a good high school played — he’s going to be a big-time college defensive end.”

Epley currently stands 6-3 and weighs in at 246 pounds, and his on-field statistics are as impressive as his dimensions. Last season, he recorded 80 tackles, 14 quarterback hurries, and led the team in sacks and tackles-for-loss, with 12 and 15, respectively. He also bench presses 335 pounds, squats 460 pounds and has run a 4.68 in the 40-yard dash.

Harper said that there is a chance that Epley may continue to grow once he gets to SMU.

“He’s such a strong guy for his size,” Harper said. “When you have a guy that long, with those long arms and long legs — Mike’s going to be 6-4 or 6-5, and I’m 6-7, so I know — it can be hard to lift a lot of weight. But that’s not how it is with him. Mike’s a very strong kid. He always has been, and that’s what makes him such a good anchor end. He can get off blocks because he’s so strong, particularly in his upper body.”

Not surprisingly, SMU started recruiting Epley early on. Since his freshman year, he has been in contact with the Mustangs. The man in charge of this last leg of his recruitment is SMU’s new linebacker coach, Eric Daniels, who clearly impressed Epley during the recruiting practice and during a visit Epley made to an SMU practice.

“He’s a great guy who loves football and coaches with a passion,” Epley said of Daniels. “I actually had an immediate connection with him, because he played at Hardin-Simmons while (Leander's) offensive line coach was a graduate assistant there, so they already knew each other. That made it a lot easier to begin a relationship with Coach Daniels. He is a great coach who loves his players.”

He made quite the showing at the Dallas SPARQ event, earning a ranking of 112.08, the best among defensive linemen at the event.

Colt Stoever, left, a candidate for the 2029 SMU recruiting class, squares off against his cousin, 2013 signee Michael Epley (photo by Epley family).

Epley’s athletic prowess is not limited to the football field; he also is an accomplished shot putter for the Leander track team. He placed first multiple times during the regular season over the last couple of seasons, and finished second in district (25-4A) his sophomore year and third his junior year.

Epley said he as a clear understanding of the goals that await in 2013, for himself and for his team. He said Leander’s team goal is to win the district (25-4A) title and to get past the third round in the playoffs (the Lions have made it to the third round two times in three years, but have gone no further). But the team’s ultimate goal is to win the state championship, and Epley said his personal goals are to lead the team in tackles, sacks and forced turnovers. He also wants make the all-state team and be defensive district MVP.

Epley is going to have to work very hard to meet those goals, but Harper said he believes his former player has the talent and work ethic to achieve them.

“(Leander) has a heck of a football team coming back, and he’s one of the main reasons,” Harper said. “He’s a heck of a football player and a heck of a kid. He has worked his tail off to get where he is today. Even though he played as a freshman, nothing has been given to him. Sometimes kids who do too much too fast can get a big head, but I have never seen that, not even a hint of that from Mike. He’s always the first one to practice, the hardest worker on the team and the most competitive guy on the team … I see a lot of (Houston Texans defensive end) J.J. Watt when I see what Mike can get to and the power he can play with. That’s the kind of size and power and athleticism he can have. SMU is getting one heck of a football player.”

Harper said that as much as he likes Epley as a player, his former player's character surpasses even his ability on the field.

“The thing I like best about Michael is that he’s a good football player and a better kid,” Harper said. “You’re not going to have to worry about him doing any of the ‘Johnny Football’ stuff or showing up on Facebook in a stupid picture. Mike’s a great kid to coach, a great student, a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of kid.

“You’ll never have to worry about him on weekends. SMU is getting a heck of a football player. If they’re getting any players better than Michael Epley, SMU is getting one hell of a recruiting class.”