PonyFans.com

Recruiting Guru wrote:Here's a guy I really like - he's on most short lists of "diamond in the rough" guys. For what it's worth, I've been told he's up to 6-foot-2 now, and last I heard he weighed in at 215, but I haven't seen him in person in a couple of months, so it's hard to say. He's very raw, because he's only played football for a few years. He was born in Africa and started his athletic career on the basketball court, not the football field. He's undersized for a defensive end, but everyone I've talked to seems to think he's going to grow more, perhaps a lot more. He's pretty strong for his size, but he's still pretty thin, but has wide shoulders and big feet, and very long arms. That doesn't always mean a guy is going to get significantly bigger, but it's usually a pretty good indication. Looks a little big like a smaller version of Jevon Kearse, who was recruited to Florida as a safety, but kept moving forward as he grew taller and filled our his frame until he became a prolific defensive end. No, that's not saying Yenga is another Kearse, but he has a similar frame. I would assume that he doesn't start out as a defensive end, but if he redshirts and continues to grow during his redshirt year, he might. Depends on who signs him, and what kind of defense that team uses. He looks like a very high-motor guy who goes 100 MPH on every play, and everything I've heard is that he's the same way in practice and in the weight room, not to mention in the classroom, where he's an excellent student. Yenga's size and relative inexperience will make a lot of schools overlook him, but the guy can play, and he has as much potential for growth and improvement as any player I know of. He's a guy who will get several offers after he gets his first, as some coaches seem hesitant to be the first to offer an undersized guy who is still relatively new to the game. Whether that potential pans out remains to be seen (he's got to hit the weights hard for a year or two as he grows into his body and works on his technique and knowledge of the game, as his performance at Trinity has been largely a result of him playing off instinct and raw athletic ability), but this is a guy who is worth a chance, and has a great chance to make a lot of teams regret passing him over.

January 7, 2007
Trinity's Yenga goes to SMU
If you go by what many of my colleagues believe, then SMU got itself a steal Sunday morning when Euless Trinity defensive end Youri Yenga orally committed to the Ponies.

SMU also got two other commitments.

Personally, I would have voted for Plano East linebacker Keenan Robinson (Texas) for SportsDay's Defensive Player of the Year, but Yenga appears to be a great catch for Phil Bennett and his staff.

westexSMU wrote:With what I have read on this post and Yenga being DMN's Defensive player of the year in 2006, obviuosly this guy is talented. So I can't understand why he has not been rated on Rivals at this point ? Is he on the DMN State Top 100 list or just the area Top 100 ?