Area Recruits
Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 10:34 am--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
RISE GUYS
Area recruits pushed stock upward in spring drills
By John Miller
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Any college coach who watched film of Summit High School running back Kestahn Moore could see he was athletic.
But Moore had to pass the "eyeball test" during spring drills for interest to really pick up.
Coaches can only tell so much from videotape, so they spend much of April and May traveling across the state to watch spring practices, giving players a chance to improve their stock or earn their way onto recruiting boards.
"A lot of times, we only get to watch them on film a couple of times," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "And that film is from clear back in September, so they're more sophomores than they are juniors. Then they have a full off-season workout before spring practice. It's a big advantage to get out there and see them and eyeball them in person."
At some schools, almost 100 college coaches watched spring drills.
"It keeps you on your toes," Arlington running back Tony Anderson said. "You know they are watching you. You want to take the opportunity to show them that you are a good player."
With Moore, coaches wanted to know if he had the size -- to go along with his speed -- to play at the college level. He averaged almost 11 yards a carry and 25 yards a reception as a junior and qualified for the Class 5A state track meet in the high jump.
About 100 coaches came through Summit during spring drills, and with a quick look at Moore, they found that he lived up to his roster listing of 6 feet, 205 pounds.
"A lot of them said I was bigger than they suspected," Moore said. "They said I didn't look that big on film."
There also wasn't much film. Moore averaged six carries a game in Summit's spread offense.
Now Moore has nine scholarship offers, up from two before spring drills.
"People had heard of him, but he wasn't really a blue-chip prospect until people came out here and watched him," Summit coach Tim Beck said.
Anderson and Carroll quarterback Chase Daniel had loads of highlight film. But they also had to answer questions about their all-around ability.
Daniel (6-1, 200) threw for more than 3,600 yards and 42 touchdowns his junior season, but his offense relies heavily on touch passes and there were questions about his arm strength.
While he has picked up only a few more offers since the start of spring, he showed enough arm strength to impress some top schools. Miami, Oklahoma and Texas are calling now.
Anderson (6-2, 210) moved to running back as a sophomore, so he was still learning some of the nuances of the position last season.
While he displayed ability to run the ball up the middle, people wondered whether he was a one-dimensional running back.
"A lot of people saw me just as a power runner," Anderson said. "I wanted to show them that I could make cuts and show them I was faster than a lot of people think."
With coaches having seen Anderson in the spring, interest has picked up significantly. He has a couple of offers and is on the phone with college coaches nightly.
"He's developed a lot in the last six months," Arlington coach Scott Peach said. "The spring only improved his stock. Spring training was able to put his improvement on a stage for all the coaches to see."
Players such as Emerson Settle of Lamar and Elijah Genskow of Aledo didn't have much film for coaches to view.
Lamar, like many Class 5A powerhouse programs, relies heavily on seniors, and Settle (5-11, 185), a track standout, was rotated at wide receiver as a junior.
In the spring, Settle moved to defensive back and caught the attention of scouts.
"He made a lot of plays as a free safety in the spring and that intrigued a lot of people," Lamar coach Eddy Peach said. "He made a lot of plays inside, yet, with his speed, he can go outside and can also play corner for somebody."
Genskow (6-4 1/2, 330), an offensive lineman, was brought up to the varsity late last season. He had always been big, but was too slow to garner attention. As a freshman, it took him 10 seconds to run 40 yards.
Since the end of the season, he has matured dramatically. His speed and footwork has also improved. He recently ran the 40 in 5.67 seconds.
"If there was no spring ball, no one would have looked at him," Aledo coach Tim Buchanan said. "Now college coaches have him on their list. He still has to improve a lot. But if he improves as much over the next three months as he has the last three months, he's going to make someone a pretty good football player."
Sometimes a coaching change and switch in schemes can help a player get noticed.
Haltom's old run-oriented offense focused on straight-ahead blocking. New coach Kenny Perry's pass-oriented offense relies on quick linemen. That suited the playing style of Grant Demke (6-3, 245).
"He's now able to showcase what he's best at, which is pass blocking and pulling and those types of things," Perry said. "Those are things you have to be able to do to play at the college level."
Rising 10
Ten of the top football recruits in the area who have caught the interest of Division I coaches:
Todd Alexander
No. Crowley, LB, 6-3, 215
Has tremendous speed and could get bigger
Tony Anderson
Arlington, RB, 6-2, 210
Quickly developing into all-around runner
Ryan Christian
Aledo, Ath., 5-11, 175
Versatile athlete also stars on soccer field
Chase Daniel
Carroll, QB, 6-1, 200
Threw 42 touchdowns and ran for 18 as a junior
Lee Grimes
Brownwood, OL, 6-6, 325
Committed to Texas A&M
Henry Melton
Grapevine, Ath., 6-3, 260
Bruising runner being looked at as a defensive end
Kestahn Moore
Summit, RB, 6-0, 205
Ran, caught and threw for touchdowns -- all in the same game
Howard Morrow
Fossil Ridge, WR, 6-1, 175
Has offers from who's who of college football
Brad Sellers
Arl. Bowie, OL, 6-2, 245
Showed strength with discus throw of 177 feet
Brandon Tatum
Dunbar, DB, 6-3, 190
Follows in footsteps of brother Bobby, who is at Texas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Miller, (817) 548-5473 [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2004 Star Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.dfw.com
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
RISE GUYS
Area recruits pushed stock upward in spring drills
By John Miller
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Any college coach who watched film of Summit High School running back Kestahn Moore could see he was athletic.
But Moore had to pass the "eyeball test" during spring drills for interest to really pick up.
Coaches can only tell so much from videotape, so they spend much of April and May traveling across the state to watch spring practices, giving players a chance to improve their stock or earn their way onto recruiting boards.
"A lot of times, we only get to watch them on film a couple of times," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "And that film is from clear back in September, so they're more sophomores than they are juniors. Then they have a full off-season workout before spring practice. It's a big advantage to get out there and see them and eyeball them in person."
At some schools, almost 100 college coaches watched spring drills.
"It keeps you on your toes," Arlington running back Tony Anderson said. "You know they are watching you. You want to take the opportunity to show them that you are a good player."
With Moore, coaches wanted to know if he had the size -- to go along with his speed -- to play at the college level. He averaged almost 11 yards a carry and 25 yards a reception as a junior and qualified for the Class 5A state track meet in the high jump.
About 100 coaches came through Summit during spring drills, and with a quick look at Moore, they found that he lived up to his roster listing of 6 feet, 205 pounds.
"A lot of them said I was bigger than they suspected," Moore said. "They said I didn't look that big on film."
There also wasn't much film. Moore averaged six carries a game in Summit's spread offense.
Now Moore has nine scholarship offers, up from two before spring drills.
"People had heard of him, but he wasn't really a blue-chip prospect until people came out here and watched him," Summit coach Tim Beck said.
Anderson and Carroll quarterback Chase Daniel had loads of highlight film. But they also had to answer questions about their all-around ability.
Daniel (6-1, 200) threw for more than 3,600 yards and 42 touchdowns his junior season, but his offense relies heavily on touch passes and there were questions about his arm strength.
While he has picked up only a few more offers since the start of spring, he showed enough arm strength to impress some top schools. Miami, Oklahoma and Texas are calling now.
Anderson (6-2, 210) moved to running back as a sophomore, so he was still learning some of the nuances of the position last season.
While he displayed ability to run the ball up the middle, people wondered whether he was a one-dimensional running back.
"A lot of people saw me just as a power runner," Anderson said. "I wanted to show them that I could make cuts and show them I was faster than a lot of people think."
With coaches having seen Anderson in the spring, interest has picked up significantly. He has a couple of offers and is on the phone with college coaches nightly.
"He's developed a lot in the last six months," Arlington coach Scott Peach said. "The spring only improved his stock. Spring training was able to put his improvement on a stage for all the coaches to see."
Players such as Emerson Settle of Lamar and Elijah Genskow of Aledo didn't have much film for coaches to view.
Lamar, like many Class 5A powerhouse programs, relies heavily on seniors, and Settle (5-11, 185), a track standout, was rotated at wide receiver as a junior.
In the spring, Settle moved to defensive back and caught the attention of scouts.
"He made a lot of plays as a free safety in the spring and that intrigued a lot of people," Lamar coach Eddy Peach said. "He made a lot of plays inside, yet, with his speed, he can go outside and can also play corner for somebody."
Genskow (6-4 1/2, 330), an offensive lineman, was brought up to the varsity late last season. He had always been big, but was too slow to garner attention. As a freshman, it took him 10 seconds to run 40 yards.
Since the end of the season, he has matured dramatically. His speed and footwork has also improved. He recently ran the 40 in 5.67 seconds.
"If there was no spring ball, no one would have looked at him," Aledo coach Tim Buchanan said. "Now college coaches have him on their list. He still has to improve a lot. But if he improves as much over the next three months as he has the last three months, he's going to make someone a pretty good football player."
Sometimes a coaching change and switch in schemes can help a player get noticed.
Haltom's old run-oriented offense focused on straight-ahead blocking. New coach Kenny Perry's pass-oriented offense relies on quick linemen. That suited the playing style of Grant Demke (6-3, 245).
"He's now able to showcase what he's best at, which is pass blocking and pulling and those types of things," Perry said. "Those are things you have to be able to do to play at the college level."
Rising 10
Ten of the top football recruits in the area who have caught the interest of Division I coaches:
Todd Alexander
No. Crowley, LB, 6-3, 215
Has tremendous speed and could get bigger
Tony Anderson
Arlington, RB, 6-2, 210
Quickly developing into all-around runner
Ryan Christian
Aledo, Ath., 5-11, 175
Versatile athlete also stars on soccer field
Chase Daniel
Carroll, QB, 6-1, 200
Threw 42 touchdowns and ran for 18 as a junior
Lee Grimes
Brownwood, OL, 6-6, 325
Committed to Texas A&M
Henry Melton
Grapevine, Ath., 6-3, 260
Bruising runner being looked at as a defensive end
Kestahn Moore
Summit, RB, 6-0, 205
Ran, caught and threw for touchdowns -- all in the same game
Howard Morrow
Fossil Ridge, WR, 6-1, 175
Has offers from who's who of college football
Brad Sellers
Arl. Bowie, OL, 6-2, 245
Showed strength with discus throw of 177 feet
Brandon Tatum
Dunbar, DB, 6-3, 190
Follows in footsteps of brother Bobby, who is at Texas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Miller, (817) 548-5473 [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2004 Star Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.dfw.com