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Liberty QB falling through the cracks?
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Chris Fetters
SuperPrep.com Oct 29, 2004

Scout.com spoke with Renton (Wash.) Liberty QB Corey Slater, who is tearing up the KingCo 3A ranks. His team is 7-1, but when you're in the same league as Bellevue it doesn't give the rest of the league much hope of a playoff berth.

"KingCo only gets one berth," Slater said. "They changed it, but it goes into effect after the playoffs start, so we could be 9-1 and not make the playoffs. There was going to be a mini-playoff between Metro and KingCo, but it got voted down 5-4. Right now, Metro gets three teams, and we've already beat their second and third teams, Rainier Beach and Eastside Catholic."

So far in 2004, the 6-1, 195-pound Slater has thrown for 1702 yards and 22 touchdowns, with only three interceptions in eight games. He also boasts a 60-percent completion percentage. "I don't worry about the numbers, mayber percentage if anything," he said.

Talk turns toward the Bellevue game, one that Liberty had in their sights. "We should have beat 'em," said Slater. "We were in the game in the fourth quarter and they got a couple of fluke plays. We ended up with 598 yards of offense. I talked with E.J. Savannah and he thought we had been preparing for them all year, and really we had only been preparing for a week."

With numbers like he's put up, you'd think Slater would be getting some sizeable recruiting attention. "It's pretty slow, actually," confessed Slater. "Montana is on me big-time. I think a lot of coaches are in the middle of their seasons, but I feel like I'm getting overlooked. A lot of people are saying that I'm not as tall as I am. There's a lot of great quarterbacks that are shorter."

So what are the Griz telling Slater? "They like my ability to run, my ability to throw on the run," he said. "I understand the defenses that much better this year. But they aren't offering me because they got screwed by it last year by Alex Smart (Eastern Washington) and Cole Morgan (Washington State) last year. They verbally committed and then turned them down. But Coach Luther Carr said that I have the ability to be a four-year starter for them."

With no disrespect intended to Montana, Slater has always set his sights just a little higher. "I look at is as, are they going to take a chance on me? I know the process is going to be slow, but I think that somebody is going to take a chance on me," Slater said when asked about the possibility of earning a D1 offer. "Jason Gesser...there's all these guys that they take chances on. Arkelon Hall - he's 6-1 and runs a 4.9. I've been told by plenty of people that I'm a better quarterback than he is. It's just going to take time, and that's what my coaches are telling me."

Western and Eastern Washington are the only other schools talking to Slater right now. "I went up to Western last weekend unofficially, but that's not my style of football," he said.

"I've been sending out film. Against Bellevue I threw for 334 and 4 touchdowns. Against Rainier Beach I was 12-17 for 197 yards in the pouring rain. Against Newport, I was 27-41 for 301. Those are the kind of games I've been sending out. Just making DVD's and sending them out to schools like Arizona State, most of the Pac-10 schools, and Montana."

Corey Slater Scout Profile


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Story URL: http://recruiting.scout.com/2/312536.html

Copyright © 2005 Scout.com and SuperPrep.com

2-star 5.2 by Rivals out of HS

Slater's mission: Liberty quarterback looks to make big impression at all-star game
2005-07-01
by Howie Stalwick
For the Journal

SPOKANE VALLEY -- Former Liberty High School quarterback Corey Slater is determined to come up big in more ways than one tonight at the annual Washington Class 4A/3A East-West All-Star Game.

``I'm sick and tired of hearing I'm too short,'' said Slater, who admits he's slightly smaller than his listed 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. ``It just makes me more hungry. I'm on a mission.''

Slater's mission since childhood: quarterbacking an NCAA Division I-A football team. Recruiters' reaction thus far: mission impossible.

Slater respectfully disagrees, so he turned down a scholarship at I-AA Eastern Washington in favor of a ride at national junior college powerhouse Dixie State College of (St. George) Utah. Former NFL and Washington State quarterback Jack Thompson, who is working on passing drills with Slater this summer, hooked up Slater and the Dixie coaching staff.

Slater said Dixie is loaded with talent, and he expects fierce competition for the starting quarterback job. Regardless, however, Slater said he'll spend just one season at Dixie, then will walk on at Washington or Washington State if he doesn't land a I-A scholarship.

``I've just got to get the shot,'' Slater said. ``I've just got to get on the field. It may sound cocky, but ... I've got to follow my dream.''

Slater was a three-year starter at Liberty and made the 3A All-Kingco first team last year. The straight-talking Slater admits he occasionally clashed with Liberty coach Steve Valach (``It got better the last two years''), and Slater considered transferring to Skyline after his sophomore year.

``I heard that rumor,'' Skyline coach Steve Gervais said. ``I never talked to Corey.''

Gervais and Slater have had plenty to talk about this week, since Gervais is Slater's head coach on the West team. Slater says he likes what he hears from Gervais.

``We have one of the best offensive coaches in the state,'' Slater said. ``Coach Gervais knows his stuff.''

``Corey has a ton of ability ... he throws a great ball,'' Gervais said. ``He has a lot of velocity on the ball. He understands to throw with touch when he needs to, and he's got great feet.''

Slater said his summer work with Thompson has ``made me such a better quarterback.'' Slater's regular workout partners with Thompson include former NFL and Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser and Stanford-bound Tavita Pritchard (Thompson's nephew), the Clover Park graduate who will quarterback the East tonight.

Slater is quick to point out that he's taller than Gesser, one of WSU's all-time greats. As for Pritchard ... well, no one has to remind Slater that the 6-4 Pritchard possesses one of those I-A scholarships that Slater so covets.

``It's not about height,'' Slater said. ``It's about performance.''

* NOTES: Game time tonight is 7 o'clock at Central Valley High School. All players were high school seniors last season, and most will play college football. ... Slater is expected to alternate series at quarterback with Mark Iddins of Kamiak. Iddins is headed to Golden West (junior) College in Huntington Beach, Calif. ... Marquee players on the West include three Washington State recruits: two-way tackle Kenny Alfred of Gig Harbor, cornerback Shelton Danzy of Rainier Beach and wide receiver Brandon Gibson of Rogers-Puyallup. ... The East should have a decided advantage in the kicking game, since North Thurston's Ryan Perkins is headed to Washington on scholarship as a kicker/punter.



All materials Copyright © 2006 Horvitz Newspapers, Inc.
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/211079

crazy horse wrote: .... ``He has a lot of velocity on the ball. He understands to throw with touch when he needs to, and he's got great feet.'' ....

That quote makes me feel a little better, considering it's coming from a coach and not his dad or something.
Spring ball will be interesting to watch.

You know what? I like this kid's attitude.

So do I. I don't know any more than anyone on here how well he throws, how well he runs or how well he fastens his chin strap.
But it might not be a bad idea to have this guy lead the fellas out of the tunnel, and get off the bus first with the linemen. Dude's got a bit of an attitude, and I don't know that that's a bad thing.

See my comments in "The Sky is Falling..." thread about him.
The short version: His being "platooned" (did Stallion actually use this term correctly?...I thought it meant being played both ways...) might have been a result of his declaring that he was staying one year tops at JUCO b/c he would walk-on somewhere worst-case. JUCO coach might want to play somebody else as well, somebody staying another year.

I say give him a shot.

The only thing is...whatever the coaches do, they should SETTLE ON A STARTER and stick with him for a spell instead of waiting until one or more break something important to single out a single starter.

I like the kid's attitude as well. I was hoping for something higher profile, but he didn't "platoon". He started the year coming off the bench, and halfway through he was starting. In fact, the writeup of the bowl game makes it clear that the other guy came off the bench in the bowl game only because Slater got hurt in the first half.

The other QB was a Sophomore, which explains why he was a starter at the start of the season until Slater ramped up on the offense.

Other tidbits:

2005 - Dixie State:
All-KingCo 3A as a senior after going 129-223 for 2055 yards, 26 touchdowns and four interceptions. Second-team all-KingCo 3A ... 122-232 for 1682, 9 picks and 23 scores as a junior ... 2nd Team All-Kingco in 2003 and Honorable Mention in 2002 ... Outstanding QB 2002 and 2003 (Willamette University) Football Camp.

An article from 2003
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/ ... tml/141683
Junior quarterback Corey Slater should benefit from the renewed focus on defense. Last season Slater passed for 1,288 yards and 10 touchdowns, including 407 yards in a 42-35 loss to Cedarcrest.

Slater (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) attended three quarterback camps and the University of Washington' s passing league during the offseason. He improved his footwork, arm strength and accuracy, after completing 43.6 percent of his passes last season.

``It hasn't really been a summer. It's been all football,'' Slater said. ``I've got all my reads and everything down. Now when I get into a game, we've got a pass play for every defense out there.''


From 2002
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/865 ... 3a12.shtml
SWEET LIBERTY: In a league that has the potential to produce an upset on any given Friday, Liberty may be a team to keep on the radar.

Quarterback Mkristo Bruce graduated to play for Washington State, but sophomore Corey Slater is coach Steve Valach's new guy.

"He's a football junkie," Valach said of the 6-foot, 178-pound quarterback. "He has ability and is willing to work hard to develop it. . . . To me, that's the key ingredient. There are so many kids that have talent but are so distracted by whatever else. But Corey is pretty committed to being a god quarterback."

"Like (Washington coach) Rick Neuheisel says, maturity at quarterback is when you don't make any excuses," Valach said. "Whether it's your fault or not, when he is not trying to explain it is when a quarterback has arrived. With Corey, he's getting there. He desperately wants to be a great quarterback."

Color me cautiously optimistic. At least has a dream and is working his tail off to realize it. Hope he brings that to the Hilltop.

with 4 years to play 3, this guy might not be a bad pick up. If nothing else, it should increase the competition for playing time at QB and that's not a bad thing. Next year may be an adventure, but hopefully Corey can contribute before he's done. Sounds like he and Willis are at least going to have good work ethics