Interesting Comments on Hot Sleepers, 3A Recruits and Recrui

[Stallion]

Some recruits still duck radar
By JERRY HILL Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor
Sunday, January 16, 2005

With exhaustive scouting evaluations and earlier commitments than ever, it's rare for a blue-chip football recruit to suddenly emerge in December.

But it does happen.

Until Smithson Valley's six-game playoff run, which ended with a 27-24 loss to Southlake Carroll in the 5A Division II state championship, linebacker Joe Pawelek was no more than an afterthought for everyone outside of San Antonio.

"Anybody who saw him play against Clear Lake was like, Wow! Who is this guy?' '' said Randy Rodgers, an Austin-based recruiting expert and former recruiting coordinator for the Texas Longhorns.

"I kept hearing all this stuff about him from guys in San Antonio, so I went to that playoff game just to watch him play. And I promise you, he made every tackle in the first half. You had three guys running the length of the press box: 'Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' The way he played that night, he could have played for anybody in the country. He's a guy whose stock went way up in the playoffs."

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker was the defensive player of the year in San Antonio and made 197 tackles this season. But it was his playoff performance that earned him Rodgers' praise and a spot on the Tribune-Herald Top 100 list of the state's best high school football recruits.

"San Antonio doesn't get the media coverage or recruiting attention of Dallas or Houston," Rodgers said. "So not many people knew about him. Then all of a sudden Pawelka plays lights-out against Clear Lake and they're playing Southlake Carroll in a Fox Sports game that's televised all over the country.

"Lots of coaches can sit there and watch him play. So I definitely think that a guy can rocket up the charts, so to speak, in the playoffs."

For the most part, though, it's a trend that's limited to the 5A and 4A ranks.

"It's really tough to emerge in 2A and 3A, because the best players are usually head and shoulders above the rest," Rodgers said. "You're going to know about those guys. But in 5A, once you get to Thanksgiving, it's the best against the best. So if a guy stands out, there's no longer a question of how good he is."

Another late bloomer that cracked the Top 100 was quarterback Blake Szymanski, who led Wichita Falls Rider to the 4A Division II state quarterfinals.

The recruiting traffic to Wichita Falls almost came to a stop when Top 30 wide receiver David Nelson committed early to Notre Dame. But the scouts came back when they saw Szymanski throw seven touchdown passes in a 63-42 playoff win over Stephenville.

"Part of it was that he was 6-2, 175 with an average arm last year," Rodgers said. "But I saw him in October and thought, 'Wow, he's really improved.' But he grew, he got stronger, and he worked his fanny off.

"I make the comparison to guys like Drew Brees and Branndon Stewart. Lots of people liked them, but they were not quote-unquote the top guy. But they were both absolutely unbelievable in the playoffs. From about midseason on, Blake was the best uncommitted quarterback in Texas."

Baylor coach Guy Morriss said those cases are the exception rather than the rule.

"It's got so that people do such a good job of getting out and hunting up talent, you don't see too many guys that are overlooked," he said. "Maybe if he's that guy on the bubble that you're not real sure about. But most of the time, everybody knows about them by now."

Waco High coach Johnny Tusa, who's had a few playoff runs of his own, said it can help the "marginal" recruits.

"It's probably more beneficial to a marginal kid who gets a chance to show how he stacks up against a proven college recruit," Tusa said. "Somebody you're not quite sure about, like maybe a lineman. But by and large, your skill people come out of the dark early."

In his third year at Baylor, Morriss and his staff are starting to make recruiting inroads, landing commitments from six players who were named to the Trib Top 100. But the key to this year's class will be a strong finish.

"This class has got to be better than the previous class," he said. "It's the next step in the process (of rebuilding). We can't take a step back. But I think if you look at the caliber of kids that are already committed, it's certainly got a chance to be a lot better if we can nail down the last four or five recruits."

The Bears' class was boosted by a commitment Saturday from wide receiver David Gettis from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. But the bulk of their recruiting efforts are still in Texas.

"It cycles from year to year, but I think you're always going to see an abundance of the speed kids," Morriss said. "And I think (Texas) is like everywhere, you just don't have enough of the big guys."
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TRIBUNE-HERALD TOP 100
Texas' top-rated high school football recruits in 2005
(Selected by assistant sports editor Jerry Hill)

——Quarterback Ht Wt School Status——
Chase Daniel Þâ 6-0 215 Southlake Carroll Committed to Missouri
Colt McCoy 6-1 180 Jim Ned Committed to Texas
Blake Szymanskie 6-4 195 WF Rider
Casey [deleted] 6-1 195 Allen Committed to Arkansas

——Running back Ht Wt School Status——
Jamaal Charles Üâ 6-1 185 PA Memorial Committed to Texas
Jorvorskie Lane Üâ 6-1 240 Lufkin Committed to Texas A&M
Russell Ball Üâ 5-9 165 La Marque Committed to Florida St.
Jerrell Wilkerson Üâ 5-7 170 San Antonio Clark Committed to Texas
Kestahn Moore Þâ 5-10 195 Mansfield Summitt
Corey Robertson Þâ 6-1 205 Denison Committed to Iowa
Cody Glenn 6-0 210 Rusk Committed to Nebraska
Omar Conteh 6-0 195 Houston Cy Fair Comm. to Northwestern
Cordney Smith 6-0 205 Duncanville Committed to Baylor
Kevin White 6-3 210 DeSoto Comm. to Oklahoma St.

——Wide receiver Ht Wt School Status——
Malcolm Kelly Üâ 6-4 200 Longview Committed to Oklahoma
Howard Morrow Üâ 6-1 170 Fossil Ridge Committed to Texas A&M
Manuel Johnson Üâ 5-11 185 Gilmer Committed to Oklahoma
David Nelson Üâ 6-5 195 WF Rider Comm. to Notre Dame
Brandon LaFell Þâ 6-3 180 Houston Lamar
Brodrick Hunter Þâ 6-1 210 Humble Committed to Nebraska
Jeremy Broadway 5-11 185 Hou. Washington Committed to Texas Tech
Chris Cunigan 6-3 210 Wills Point Committed to Texas Tech
Michael Thomas 6-0 170 DeSoto Committed to Arizona
Wallace Franklin 6-3 185 Beaumont Ozen Committed to Nebraska
Quincy Driver 6-0 185 Houston Lamar Committed to Texas A&M
Chris Dunn 6-2 195 Arl. Sam Houston Committed to Tulane
Daryl Jones 5-11 170 Spring
Raimond Pendleton 6-0 180 South Garland Committed to Kansas

——Tight end Ht Wt School Status——
Martellus Bennett Üâ 6-7 235 Alief Taylor
Dajleon Farr Üâ 6-6 236 GP North Shore Committed to Miami
Jermichael Finley Üâ 6-4 210 Diboll Committed to Texas
Kyle Anderson 6-6 260 The Woodlands Committed to LSU
Justin Kessler 6-4 225 Alvarado Committed to Tulane
Justin Akers 6-5 225 Deer Park Committed to Baylor

——Offensive line Ht Wt School Status——
Reginald Youngblood Üâ 6-5 280 Hou. Washington Committed to Miami
Michael Shumard Üâ 6-5 290 Harker Heights Committed to Texas A&M
Ciron Black Üâ 6-5 315 Tyler Lee Committed to LSU
Chris Hall Þâ 6-5 285 Irving Comm. to Oklahoma St.
Brock Unruh Þâ 6-5 310 CC Calallen Committed to Kansas St.
Charlie Tanner 6-4 270 Austin Anderson Committed to Texas
Lee Grimes 6-6 325 Brownwood Committed to Texas A&M
Louis Vasquez 6-5 310 Corsicana Committed to Texas Tech
Colin Tucker 6-5 275 Richardson Pearce Committed to Arkansas
Robbie Frost 6-6 300 Houston Stratford Committed to Texas A&M
Mark Ortmann 6-6 270 Klein Committed to Michigan
Blake Kerley 6-2 260 South Garland Committed to Arizona
Nick Richmond 6-7 280 South Garland Committed to TCU
Marlon Winn 6-5 280 Waxahachie Comm. to Oklahoma St.

——Defensive line Ht Wt School Status——
DeMarcus Granger Üâ 6-3 315 Dallas Kimball
Roy Miller Üâ 6-2 305 Killeen Shoemaker Committed to Texas
Paul Freeney Üâ 6-3 230 Aldine Eisenhower Committed to Texas A&M
Vincent Williams Üâ 6-5 275 Dallas Carter Committed to Texas A&M
Vince Oghobaase Üâ 6-6 295 Alief Hastings Committed to Duke
Jonathan Lewis Üâ 6-2 260 Newman-Smith Committed to Kansas St.
Cordero Moore Þâ 6-4 265 Mesquite Horn Committed to Oklahoma
Lorenzo Jones Þâ 6-4 295 McKinney Committed to Nebraska
Marcus Shavers Þâ 6-4 250 Allen Committed to Texas Tech
McKinner Dixon Þâ 6-3 240 Lufkin Committed to Texas Tech
Auston English Þâ 6-4 235 Canadian Committed to Oklahoma
Donald Horton Jr. 6-0 240 DeSoto Committed to Arizona
Phillip Jones 6-5 240 Lewisville Hebron Committed to Texas Tech
Brian West 6-4 265 Beaumont Ozen Committed to Auburn
Trey Bryant 6-2 310 Richardson Berkner Committed to Baylor
Terrel Nemons 6-3 315 Cedar Hill Committed to Kansas
Lequantum McDonald 6-2 250 Waco High Committed to Baylor
Evander Hood 6-4 230 Amarillo Palo Duro Committed to Missouri

——Linebacker Ht Wt School Status——
Chris Brown Üâ 6-3 210 Texarkana Committed to Texas
Roddrick Muckelroy Üâ 6-2 215 Hallsville Committed to Texas
Jodie Richardson Üâ 6-3 215 Duncanville Committed to Texas A&M
Brandon Duncan Üâ 6-3 210 Garland Lakeview Committed to Texas
Marcus Burton Þâ 6-1 225 Channelview Committed to Colorado
Shon Brown 6-0 230 Waco High Committed to Baylor
Kevin Washington 6-0 210 Sugar Land Austin Comm. to Notre Dame
Tyrell Graham 6-4 205 Houston Yates Committed to Arkansas
Alex Odiari 6-0 225 Lewisville Hebron
Joe Pawelek 6-2 205 Smithson Valley
Antonio Jones 6-2 200 Dallas Lincoln Comm. to Georgia Tech

——Defensive back Ht Wt School Status——
Keenan Clayton Üâ 6-2 205 Sulphur Springs Committed to Oklahoma
Ishie Oduegwu Üâ 5-10 185 Denton Ryan Committed to Texas Tech
Brian Jackson Üâ 6-0 190 DeSoto Committed to Oklahoma
Corderra Hunter Üâ 6-2 170 Longview Committed to Texas Tech
Gremon Coffman Þâ 6-2 190 Duncanville
Alton Dixon Þâ 6-0 195 Lufkin Committed to Texas A&M
Devin Gregg Þâ 6-0 185 Spring Westfield Committed to Texas A&M
Quinton Moore Þâ 5-11 180 Pearland Comm. to Oklahoma St.
Xavier Kelley 5-11 190 Denton Ryan Committed to Arizona
LaShawn Vation 5-11 185 Irving MacArthur Committed to Texas Tech
Brent Nickerson 6-0 185 Irving MacArthur Comm. to Oklahoma St.
Andre Sexton 6-0 190 Houston Cy Falls Comm. to Oklahoma St.
Korey Mangum 6-0 180 La Marque
Brandon Tatum 6-1 175 Fort Worth Dunbar Committed to Arizona
Courtney Herndon 5-10 200 Dallas Lincoln Committed to Kansas St.
Chad Washington 5-11 190 Lancaster Committed to Missouri

——Athlete Ht Wt School Status——
Henry Melton Üâ 6-3 275 Grapevine Committed to Texas
R.J. Jackson Üâ 6-0 200 Houston Westside
Arkeith Brown Þâ 6-1 175 El Campo Committed to Texas A&M
Edwart Britton Þâ 5-11 160 El Paso Montwood Committed to Texas Tech
Stephen Hodge Þâ 5-11 180 Tatum
Queito Teasley 6-0 175 Katy Cinco Ranch Committed to Baylor
Jordan Peterson 5-10 185 Lexington Committed to Texas A&M

Üâ indicates members of Tribune-Herald Top 30; Þâ indicates members of Top 50