$ - subscription required
August 19, 2010 | August 12, 2010 | August 5, 2010 | July 28, 2010 | July 22, 2010 | July 15, 2010 | July 8, 2010
Tedford & Company
-
Brendon Bigelow, RB Central East (Fresno, CA) had a false scare about tearing his ACL again in a scrimmage game against Merced. Cal, Notre Dame, Tennessee, UCLA, and Washington as leaders at this point [1]. Fresno State may still be in the running for Bigelow and his teammate B. J. Kelley [2].
Bigelow's Central East Grizzlies are going through the preseason scrimmages to get ready for their season.Central returns 19 of 22 starters from a 7-4 team in 2009, including tailback Brendon Bigelow, a recent University of Washington commit.
"They're No. 2 in the Central Section right now and they probably should be No. 1," Merced coach Rob Scheidt said. "They're probably the fastest team we played all last year.
"In terms of preparing us for what we'll see, they're definitely one of the better teams we'll see this year. "Athleticism wise, they will rival Grant. Up front, probably not [3]."
-
George Atkinson III, ATH Granada (Livermore, CA), Marqise Lee, ATH Serra (Gardena, CA), Amir Carlisle, RB The King's Academy (San Jose, CA) made big moves into Rivals 100 because of their camp performances, particularly at ESPN Gridiron Kings 7-on7 Tourney [4]. George dominated at cornerback when Josh got hurt. Marquise outshone his teammate George Farmer, and Amir Carlisle was one of the quickest and most explosive athletes for anyone to cover.
-
James Sample, S, Shaq Thompson, ATH {2012}, Viliam Moala, DT Grant (Sacramento, CA) and other recruits Daryl Paulo, Puka Lopa have talked about ending up at the same college football program [5]. They scrimmaged against Whitney, Chavez, Sacramento, and Yuba City and looked ready against Folsom. (San Jose, CA) [6].
-
James Sample, S added Oregon to his leader group with Cal and Washington.
-
Jordan Richards, WR Folsom (Folsom, CA) and his Bulldogs are also practicing for their game against the Grant Pacers [7]. They are worried about the size and power of Grant's linemen and the versatility of Shaq Thompson. Richards is looking to continue his excellent play at running back after catching 9 TD passes and rushed for 9 more TDs on the ground [8].
The tickets for this Friday Night's Grant-Folsom showdown is sold out [9].
-
Richard Rodgers, TE St. Johns (Shrewsbury, MA) moved into Rivals 250 and impressed recruitniks w/ his potential [10].
Rodgers is a huge athlete who could play many positions in college. He dominated the Boston College summer camp and showed he has tight end size but wide receiver speed and skills. Notre Dame wants him as a linebacker, Cal and others as a tight end and BC and others as a wide receiver. He can do it all and his upside is impressive.
-
Bryce Treggs, WR St John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) {2012} summer workout mixtape [11].
-
Devon Blackmon, ATH Summit (Fontana, CA), Stefan McClure, CB Vista (Vista, CA) visited UCLA unofficially for scrimmage [12]. DeAnthony Thomas showed up as well.
-
Christian Heyward, DT Pointe Loma (San Diego, CA) will officially visit Arizona, Oregon, Miami, Nebraska. He's scheduled for TE duties in addition to playing D. Heyward's sports family lineage is impressive [13].
There's certainly an athletic legacy in the Heyward lineage. Christian's dad, Walter, played basketball at Point Loma Nazarene University, and his cousin, Jason Heyward, is the Atlanta Braves standout rookie right fielder. His uncle, Kenny Washington, played basketball at UCLA, scoring 26 points in the Bruins 98-83 win over Duke in the 1964 NCAA title game. Another cousin, Simone Heyward, is a pitcher on the LSU womens softball team.
-
Nathan Broussard, DE/LB Plano West (Plano, TX) is moving to defensive end this year to help his Plano West Wolfpack [14]. His leaders are Cal & UCLA. UCLA has not made a scholarship offer to Broussard.
-
Ray Drew, DE Thomas County Central (Thomasville, GA) named to MaxPreps' preseason All-State Georgia Team [15].
-
Devon Blackmon, ATH and his Summit Skyhawks need to get stronger in addition to their speed.
"Devon is a special athlete and the things he can do on the football field are amazing," Barile said. "We are going to play him whereever he can make the most impact. When you have an athlete like him, you want the ball in his hands all of the time [16]."
"We’re expecting big things from him," said Summit coach Tony Barile. "We want Devon to play quarterback, receiver, even some running back. He’s going to be playing defense (at cornerback) and returning kicks, so he’s going to be everywhere for us [17]."
-
Colt Lyerla, ATH Hillsboro (Hillsboro, NC), Ray Drew, DE named by MaxPreps as Top Football Players to Watch from A-Z in the country [18].
-
Antoine Arnold, WR Chaparral (Temecula, CA) and his Pumas are No 24 in the nation according to USA today [19]. Tom Leach, Arnold's Head Coach, thinks he will become the best receiver in the nation [20]. Arnold is taking an official visit to Nebraska [21].
-
Maurice Harris, WR Northern Guilford (Greensboro, NC) thinks his Nighthawks may surprise some observers this year.
The Nighthawks have many spots in their starting line-up to be filled after the departure of 16 seniors from last year's team. "We have to rely on quickness now because we're one of the smaller teams in our area," says Head Coach John Roscoe. "We lost a lot of experience, and you can't replace that overnight."
Among the players who graduated in May were Keenan Allen, who is now a safety for the University of California, and Matt Farris, who plays linebacker for Campbell University.
Despite the loss of so many experienced players who graduated last year, this year's Northern players are optimistic about their team's chances of success for the 2010 season. "A lot of people don't think we're going to be good without Keenan (Allen), but we're going to surprise them," claims senior Maurice Harris [22].
-
Cyrus Hobbi, OG Saguaro (Scottsdale, AZ) and the Sabrecats lost to Tucson Canyon del Oro, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows and Tucson Sabino last season and fell one game short of the state final. They are motivated to capture the AZ State Championship [23].
-
Kasen Williams, WR Skyline (Sammamish, WA) and the Spartans' game against Bellevue High is one of the best games to watch in the West on September 3rd [24]. He is set to announce his commitment decision this Friday August 27th at 7pm.
Two of the Top 5 teams in Washington will do battle early in the year. Though neither is ranked nationally, both have potential to see time in the RivalsHigh 100. The triple-option shell game at Bellevue will keep the Spartans honest on defense. For Skyline, it's the first year without Jake Heaps but the team figures to pass more with a sophomore quarterback and an inexperienced line. The good news for Skyline is the return of four-star wide receiver Kasen Williams. With only a hundred or so students separating the school's population, the difference between Skyline in 4A and Bellevue in 3A is washed away and the teams are as evenly matched as it gets.
-
Avery Walls, S Eagles Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, GA) sets his official visit to Cal on October 9th. Walls' mother's health issue led to his transfer to Eagles Landing Christian Academy [25].
Walls' mother, Yvonne Sebastian, said she suffers from chronic asthma. Her condition worsened over the last few months. It was recently discovered that mold in their apartment was the source of her increased discomfort. Her doctors ordered her to evacuate immediately.
"We weren't unhappy at Union Grove; we had a great relationship with all the people over there," Sebastian said. "But because of everything that happened and the timing and everything it went right down to the wire. It happened real fast. But we were able to find a nice place and we're happy and I'm much better."
-
Miles Shuler, ATH Long Branch (Long Branch, NJ) bulked up his upper body over the summer and is working with his coach Dan George to develop a list of official visits [26].
-
Aaron Green, RB James Madison (San Antonio, TX) clip from 24/7 Sports [27].
-
Amir Carlisle, RB The King's Academy (San Jose, CA) named to inaugural High School All-Madden Team [28].
-
Brandon Wright, RB/DB Palo Verdes (Las Vegas, NV) is expected to lead his Panthers to the Championship this year.
Senior running back Brandon Wright is arguably the best player in the state and has received scholarship offers from colleges across the country. Although he was already Palo Verde's leading rusher last season with 1,140 yards and 12 touchdowns, expect to see even more of Wright this year.
Last year, Wright wasn't on the field when the Panthers ran Shotgun or Wildcat packages. This year, he may never miss a play.
"It's our ninth year running the double-wing and we've got so many formations with that offense, there's a lot of things we can do with him," Rost said. "It's going to be something like we did two years ago with Torin Harris [29]."
Montgomery's Crew
-
Jabari Brown, SG 6-3/205 Oakland (Oakland, CA) added Miami and Maryland to his leader group. Others in contention are Washington, UConn, Georgia Tech, Oregon, DePaul, St. John’s and Cal. Coach Montgomery will try to confirm an in-home visit w/ Brown the weekend of September 17th [30].
-
Kyle Wiltjer, PF 6-9/225 Jesuit (Portland, OR) notes from Nike Global Basketball Tournament Challenge [31]. His first official visit is Cal for October 3rd [32].
Rail thin 6'9 kid from Portland who has Canadian citizenship and has starred for Team Canada over the past few summers. Struggled mightily shooting in this tournament, and while he is very talented, is also very slight. He averaged 22 and 11, but shot very poorly and seemed to settle for shots on the perimeter far too often. Has a great deal of talent, so it warrants him being one of the higher rated players in the class seeing that he is a legit 6'9. But one of the valid criticisms of Wiltjer is, who is he going to guard at the next level? Still one to keep an eye on and has offers from all over. The Pac-10 is thought to have an edge, though Gonzaga could land his services as well.
-
Juan Anderson, SF 6-6/200 Castro Valley (Castro Valley, CA) has set his unofficial visit to Cal on August 26th [33]. He's also received an offer from Arizona State and set an official visit the first week of October [34]. Anderson is playing at the NorCal Clash of the Titans Tournament this Sunday August 29th at Contra Costa College in San Pablo [35].
"My current list of schools I have interest in are Marquette, Oregon, Cal, Arizona State, San Diego State, and Texas," said Anderson. "All of them except for Texas have offered."
...
"I’ll base my decision off the right fit for myself, including opportunity of playing time," said Anderson. "But the most important part is the coaching staff and the people I feel most comfortable with. I’ll make my decision after I’ve taken my officials and talked to my family."