8-25-04 to 10-01-04 Of The High School Football Season In Virginia
10-01-04
Tonight I went to see 6-6 (listed some places as 6-7) 310-pound junior offensive left guard B. J. Cabell of Nelson County High School of Lovingston, Virginia play. Nelson County High School is a Group AA (medium-sized high schools) high school about 35 miles south of Charlottesville, Virginia. As with any good prospect, as long as his grades are in order, B. J. Cabell will be offered scholarships, and in his case, I expect most ACC schools to offer him, and that includes the University of Virginia (which is heavily recruiting him) and Virginia Tech. He's not just big: he's got some speed, he's got good co-ordination, and he seems to have no gut on him like a lot of 300-pound-plus high school players do. He's one of the 4 captains for Nelson County High School. He led the Nelson County High linemen out for pre-game warmups, sprinting out on to the field, and he was loud and enthusiastic in pre-game drills.
Nelson County High does not have a good football program. B. J. Cabell is going to be the first Division 1-A or 1-AA prospect that the school has ever produced. And tonight, they were traveling to face, of all teams, the top-ranked Group AA team in the state, the defending state Division 3 champion Gretna Hawks, at Gretna High. Gretna had won 18 straight games, including a 14-0 record last year. Gretna is a small town about 28 miles south of Lynchburg, Virginia. The high school is old-looking, but the stadium is nice and the town seems old-fashioned. Still, when I was there last year watching Gretna play, someone was shot to death in the parking lot during the game: fortunately it was peaceful tonight. There was a raffle for a small tractor that was on display at the entrance gates before the game. The temperature was 68 degrees.
To describe B. J. Cabell's appearance, he's African-American, wears number 67, wore white socks over dark green socks, had bright yellow pants, a dark green jersey with white numerals, a bright yellow helmet with a white G surrounded by a black circle, and his left wrist was taped. His team's uniforms resemble the NFL Green Bay Packer's uniforms. The "G" on his helmet stood for the Governors, the Nelson County High mascot.
Any mention of Gretna High, of course, has to include 5-10 senior quarterback Vic Hall, who has committed to the University of Virginia, and who is closing in on the all-time Virginia High School League career total offense record. (After tonight's game, he had
10,775 yards passing and running from scrimmage for his career, leaving him 744 short of tying the state record, according to website wsls.com). However, Hall looked mortal tonight, probably because of what wsls.com called a "high ankle sprain." I also think this was because one of the three best players on the Gretna team, halfback Rico Reynolds, didn't play in the first half due to disciplinary reasons, and because of that, Gretna's running backs were stopped cold. This forced Vic Hall to throw, and he made a few bad judgements. He threw 3 interceptions in the game, all in the first half. However, he also threw 4 touchdown passes, and had 321 yards passing, this in an "off" game for him!
As I mostly scout 9th, 10th, and 11th-graders, an underclassman in this game that caught my eye was number 80 for Gretna, 6-2 or 6-3 170-pound wide receiver Adrian Ward, who I think will be at least a Division 1-AA prospect by his senior year, maybe even a Division 1-A prospect. He has good hands.
Gretna High School has a dimly-lit field. The Gretna side of the stadium was completely full. I sat on the Nelson County side so I could get a better look at B. J. Cabell. On Gretna's first offensive play, Vic Hall, operating all game-long from the shotgun formation, threw a perfect 47-yard spiral downfield for a touchdown with only 18 seconds gone in the game. However, the next time Gretna got the ball back, Vic Hall threw an interception on the next play. At the 6:17 mark of the first quarter, Vic Hall threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to the above-mentioned Adrian Ward for another touchdown. Then, at the 1:24 mark of the second quarter, Vic Hall connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass. At the half, Gretna led 18-0.
In the third quarter, the 5-9 195 senior halfback for Gretna, number 21, Rico Reynolds, who runs very hard and is difficult to bring down, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase Gretna's lead to 25-0. At the 8:32 mark of the 4th quarter, Vic Hall threw a 61-yard tochdown pass, his 4th TD pass of the game. The game ended 32-0 in favor of Gretna. Nelson County High never threatened to score the entire game, as they never got inside the Gretna 40-yard line.
I'm not sure why the 6-6 310-pound junior offensive guard B. J. Cabell only plays on offense for Nelson County High School: the Governors only have 25 players, and although they use a two-platoon system, you'd think that they'd need his size on defense also. Gretna High had 41 players. Another mystery is Gretna's outstanding number 19, 6-4 220 senior linebacker Horrace Hubbard , who has not been offered scholarships by either the University of Virginia or Virginia Tech. Probably these two colleges are so loaded with linebackers that they don't need Hubbard . However, Hubbard is easily a Division 1-A caliber prospect. He was the most dominant player in this game, blitzing on nearly every play, and never giving the Nelson County High quarterback time to set his feet to pass.
Vic Hall had all the time in the world to pass any time he wanted to. In fact, had he wanted to, he probably could have stood there until the Nelson County defensive lineman got so tired of trying to get past the Gretna offensive lineman that they just gave up trying to rush. On the other hand, the Nelson County quarterback was just buried by Horace Hubbard and others after every pass he threw. Hall's Gretna Hawks wore shiny medium-blue helmets, white jerseys with medium-blue numerals on them, medium-blue pants, and dark blue knee-high socks. Hall wears jersey number 1, which certainly will be retired once his career at Gretna High is over. One reason that Gretna, which came in to the contest averaging a whopping 60 points-per-game, had a subpar outing, was that the snaps from center were erratic, and after consecutive bad snaps, Hall's frustration could be seen.
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9-26-04
Recruiting expert Tom Lemming rates two Virginians in his list of the nation's top 100 football seniors for 2004-05. He rates 6-0 190 Highland Springs High School halfback-defensive back Victor "Macho" Harris as the nation's 20th-best prospect, and Hampton, Virginia Phoebus High School's 5-9 215 halfback Elan Lewis as the nation's 70th-best prospect........Christopher Watts, the head football coach at Group AA powerhouse Liberty High School in Bedford, Virginia, says that Virginia Tech has already offered a football scholarship to 6-3 287 junior defensive tackle Darryl Robertson........Theodore Royster, who works for National Security And Foreign Affairs, is the father of 6-1 195 Evan Royster, who earned 2nd-team All-Group AAA honors as a sophomore last year as a running back for Westfield High in Chantilly, Virginia, and he says that "to date, Evan has
received 2 offers for college scholarships. Since 9/1/04, the volume of mail that he has been receiving has almost overwhelmed our mailbox."
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9-24-04
On Friday night I went to see 6-1 190 junior running back Brandon "Major" Minor, who wears number 3, play for Varina High School as they hosted visiting J. R. Tucker High of Richmond in a 7:30 contest.
Varina High is a modern, flat-looking high school that's spread out on it's grounds that are kind of in the boondocks in a rural area just east of Richmond, Virginia.
Brandon Minor rushed for 1,750 yards and 22 touchdowns on a 10-2 team as a sophomore last season. This year, Varina High is rated number one in the state in Group AAA (the largest schools in Virginia).
Brandon Minor is certainly a future Division 1-A prospect. I could even see the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, which are both already loaded with running backs, offering him scholarships next year. Brandon Minor has breakaway football speed similar to University of Virginia sophomore running back Michael Johnson, although he's bigger.
His team won 56-7, but Brandon Minor didn't play in the second half: his team tried every way they could to keep the score down, after leading 42-7 at the break. He's going to be highly-recruited next year. He finished with 120 yards rushing on just 7 carries, all in the first half. With his team already ahead 14-0, Minor broke off a 58-yard non-scoring run on the last play of the first quarter. Then, in the second quarter, he scored on a 9-yard run at the 10:11 mark, a 10-yard run at the 5:28 mark, and finally a superb 64-yard pass play at the 1:33 mark. On the 64-yard pass play, he took a short pass at the line of scrimmage on the left side of the field, and after breaking a few tackles, just outraced the other team to the end zone.
This game was so lopsided that Varina could have scored 80-90 points had they wanted to, and Minor could have scored 8 or 9 TD's had Varina tried to set him up to do so. He's physically a little more of a natural runner than blue-chip senior running back Victor Harris of Highland Springs High. Brandon Minor could be rated anywhere from the number one to the number six high school senior in Virginia next year, I feel.
Among underclassmen, 6-4 198 sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Jamar Jackson, who wears number 88 for Varina High, is at least a Division 1-AA prospect for the future, and 5-11 166 sophomore quarterback Devon Morgan, who wears number 2 for Varina, is at least a Division II college prospect for the future.
J. R. Tucker didn't appear to have anyone who could even have cracked the two-deep on Varina's roster. Varina has two senior ACC prospects in defensive linemen Alan-Michael Cash, a 6-2 284-lbs. defensive end (who wears number 7), and Joseph Johnson, a 6-2 350 defensive tackle (who wears number 76), plus a Division 1-A prospect in 5-8 184 senior cornerback Marvin Clark, who wears number 8. Johnson is so wide that he makes Cash look defensive back-sized. As far as I know, neither UVa nor Virginia Tech has offered these three players, but Tech has shown interest in Joseph Johnson and Alan-Michael Cash. Clark, Cash, and Johnson were all first-team All-Metro as juniors last season.
On the length-wise side of the football field that is away from Varina High School, are the high school's tennis courts, that stayed lit through the game and provided more light for the stands. The baseball field to the right end zone of the field was also lit. Varina has Notre Dame-looking uniforms: gold helmets, dark blue jerseys with white numerals but no school name or mascot name on them, gold pants, and dark blue knee-high socks. J. R. Tucker had off-white helmets, white jerseys, and medium blue pants. J. R. Tucker's jerseys had orange numerals, with a thin black outline around the numeral. Tucker's helmets had stripe of different colors in the center, running from back to front. Varina was simply taller, stronger, heavier, and faster at every position than J. R. Tucker High was. It was a nice night for high school football: there were no fights in the stands, and the non-stop drum beats of the marching bands could be heard throughout the game when the ball wasn't actually in play.
Brandon Minor plays with both of his wrists lightly taped, and a dark blue "support ring" under each knee.
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9-20-04
I went tonight to see a player who is well-known to college football recruiters, 6-3 240 junior linebacker Jarrell Miller of Highland Springs, Virginia High School play.
The Highland Springs High School Springers were playing a Monday night game, the result of having their previous Friday night's game on the road against Douglas Freeman High of Richmond postponed because of Hurricane Ivan. Miller wears number 54, and although he plays left offensive tackle for Highland Springs in addition to defense, he's strictly a linebacker prospect for the collegiate Division 1-A level. He's one of the Highland Springs co-captains, and he plays with intensity. He appears to be a legitimate
Division 1-A caliber prospect. Good enough to be offered by UVa and Virginia Tech? Too soon to tell: UVa is loaded with linebackers. He's an imposing figure on the field, however, and already looks like a college player, appearance-wise.
Douglas Freeman had the nicest-kept football field I've seen in the past couple of years, probably because they had a sign up that said, "No One Can Use The Football Field." The temperature was about 60 degrees, and there was a half-moon over the field. The food at the concession stand was greasy. The press box is actually against the back of the high school, about 15 feet from the back of the stands. The football field is behind the high school. It was odd that all of the Highland Springs cheerleaders were African-American, and all of the Douglas Freeman cheerleaders were Caucasian. Douglas Freeman had a small group of extra-loud student fans who were on their feet the whole game, yelling and dancing to their marching band's music, but it really didn't help the team.
Of course, any mention of Highland Springs High School this year also has to involve Victor "Macho" Harris, who wears number 7 for the Springers, is the consensus number-one senior prospect in Virginia, and who is a likely "Parade Magazine High School All-American" this year, as the "Sporting News High School Magazine" rates Harris as the nation's 27th-best senior for this season. He made first-team All-Group AAA as a halfback as a junior. He wears a white towel on his right hip, very short socks, a black helmet, white jersey, and black pants. Highland Springs has purple numerals that have yellow shadowing around them.
Harris rushed for 2,210 yards and 37 TD's for a 9-2 Group AAA team as a junior, averaging 11.9 yards-per-carry.
This year, he had rushed for over 200 yards in each of his team's first two games. Tonight,
he had 185 yards on 11 carries and 3 touchdowns by HALFTIME. He finished with 246 yards on the ground and 4 TD's.
Although he has an Allen Iverson-like body (lean, tall, and bowlegged), he could very well play halfback in college as opposed to the defensive back role that many see him playing.
He's a cutting, slashing, knifing kind of runner, as opposed to someone who just bulls
over people. He beats people to the outside, and then cuts back to find holes that didn't even appear to exist there. Very tough to bring down, he seemingly can gain 10 yards just falling down forward.
The second-best senior (and running back) in Virginia is Hampton, VA Phoebus High's 5-9 215 Elan Lewis. The "Sporting New High School Football Magazine" rates Lewis as the nation's 29th-best senior. Having seen both play, I'd describe Lewis as a muscular bowling ball-type runner, while Harris is a taller, leaner runner. It's a toss-up as to who is better. Harris is faster. Lewis is much stronger. Harris can play other positions, such as defensive back, in addition.
In tonight's game, won 40-21 by Highland Springs, Douglas Freeman's senior halfback
B. J. Revis , who wears number 30, returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a TD. Only 14 seconds had passed. Harris soon scored on an 87 yard run from scrimmage at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter . So, Revis then returned the NEXT kickoff 86 yards for a TD. It was still the first quarter! Revis, listed at just 5-9 167 pounds, has, according to the "Richmond Times-Dispatch", received a scholarship offer from Clemson. Douglas Freeman's other starting running back, 6-0 189 senior Fela-Tunde Ogun (who scored 17 touchdowns as a junior for a 7-3 squad, averaging 11.7 yards-per-carry and rushing for 980 yards) has also received a scholarship offer from Clemson. However, from what I saw, neither Revis nor Ogun (who wears jersey number 7) is good enough to play at UVa or Virginia Tech, which is why neither school is recruiting them. Revis was plagued by cramps in the second half. Douglas Freeman High has silver helmets, blue jerseys with white numerals, and blue pants.
A player who was impossible to miss for the future was number 16 for Highland Springs High, outside linebacker Antoine Hopkins, listed at 6-2 213. Also a good high school basketball player, Hopkins is one of just two freshmen on the Highland Springs 52-player varsity football roster, and he is a starter. By his senior
year, he'll be a sure Division 1-A prospect, maybe an ACC prospect.
A player who has at least Division 1-AA potential is Highland Springs junior linebacker
Anthony Baxter, who wears number 14, wears white wrist bands halfway up his two forearms, is listed at 6-0 173, and who would have to convert to defensive back for college. He showed speed when he sacked the QB.
6-5 defensive back Greg Thondique, who wears number 10, of Douglas Freeman had an early interception for the Rebels. I don't know what his college plans are. He could be at least a Division II prospect. Douglas Freeman senior tight end William Bischoff, who wore number 25, appears to be a Division II prospect. Listed at 6-2 243, his father played football for the University of Virginia, and he's been offered a scholarship by Division 1-A Richmond, says the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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9-15-04
I went to see junior halfback Andre Boone of Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia play tonight. (As I had said before, I try to only scout 9th, 10th, and 11th-graders, instead of seniors, so that that way I'm one step ahead of the recruiting game.) Andre Boone appears in the photo below, courtesy of The Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
Boone is listed at 5-11 192, and rushed for 1,398 yards as a sophomore for a 7-3 Group AAA (largest classification) squad. He wears number 21, and also plays defensive back, but looks to be strictly an offensive player on the college level. According to the Virginian Pilot newspaper, an ACC coach called
Boone a future Division 1-A player.
Boone's team, the Frank Cox Falcons, was playing on the road against the Tallwood High School Lions of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in a 7 P.M. Friday night game, despite statewide
warnings of tornados and severe storms. Thankfully, it didn't rain at all during the game. The temperature was 80 degrees. There were more policemen at this game than I've ever seen at a high school game: I don't know why.
Boone rushed for 113 yards in this game. At the 3:31 mark of the first quarter, he made an outstanding 50-yard run from scrimmage. At the 6:36 mark of the fourth quarter, he peeled off a 39-yard run. However, he really didn't impress me that much. As good as the programs at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia are, winning 8 games-a-year, I don't see UVa nor Tech offering him a scholarship. But I can easily see some other ACC schools doing so. He's big enough, although I doubt he's as tall as his listed 5-11 height. He has speed and some power, but needs more power. I'll have to see him play again to be sure about him. His team never passes the ball, and he gets the ball on most running plays. But on the other hand, it's hard for him to run when his team has no passing threat yet the opposing team knows he's going to get it on most of his team's plays.
Boone's team, which was shut out 34-0 by Group AAA, Division 6 state runner-up Landstown High last week, lost this game, 6-3. The game was played quickly and with Boone's team up 3-0, they held host Tallwood High for 4 downs, and then took over. All Cox High had to do was run out the clock with 4 running plays, as there was less than a minute left, and they had the ball at mid-field. So, eager to make the 160-mile drive home, I left the stadium early, something I almost never do.
Within minutes, on radio station AM 1310 out of Virginia Beach, an all-sports station called "The Score," a fan excitedly called up to say that somehow Tallwood had gotten the ball and on the last play of the game, with 5 seconds left, from the 50 yard-line, thrown a bomb that a Frank Cox player had for some reason tried to intercept (!), the ball had bounced off of his hands, and a Tallwood player had caught it, scored, and the game had ended in a frenzied celebration for the home team.
Why would any player go for an interception on the last play of a game, instead of just batting the ball down? But that's what makes high school sports so enjoyable: these are just kids, amateurs, not NFL players being paid.
Anyway, I was impressed somewhat with the potential of number 77, 6-5 245 junior left offensive tackle Fred Eubanks of Tallwood High, a player I had not heard about. I'll have to find out if he's drawing any Division 1-A recruiting interest. He seemed to move his feet well.
I would predict that at least some Division 1-AA schools are going to inquire about getting Frank Cox High's senior punter, 6-1 200 Brian Beach , who wears number 88, to walk-on. Beach averaged 44.6 yards-per-punt on his three punts, and has some collegiate potential. Muscular 6-0 225 junior linebacker Quinton Rainey, wearing number 20, of Tallwood is their defensive captain, and should gather some Division 1-AA interest next year. I see 5-10 220 sophomore fullback-linebacker King Saunders, wearing number 45, of Frank Cox High as a future Division II prospect in the future.
Tallwood has a nice stadium. It also has plenty of athletic fields, which some high schools don't. The home football stands are exactly 100 yards long. The stadium is right behind the high school, which is in the suburbs. The scoreboard is purple, as are the goal post protection pads. The goal posts are football-soccer goal posts. Andre Boone was wearing a dark green helmet, a white jersey with green numerals, and white pants. Tallwood High was wearing purple helmets with gold stripes, purple jerseys with gold numerals, and purple pants, both also with gold stripes down the sides.
It was a perfect night for football, actually.....There were dozens of yellow or green Frank Cox High banners on the visiting stands, although the Falcons didn't bring many fans with them.....As with all high school games, at halftime, a thousand students headed for the concession stands, as if they can't buy that stuff at any other time during the week.....Another band (Tallwood's) was forced to perform in blue jeans and t-shirts.
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9-15-04
6-2 blue-chip junior point guard Stefan Welsh, who led Group AAA Woodside High of Newport News, VA to the state basketball championship last season, is also a football star as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner. Welsh says that the University of Virginia has only offered football scholarships to two juniors in the state of Virginia: himself, and 6-4 205 wide receiver Chris Bell of Norfolk, Virginia Granby High School.
Welsh has not decided yet if he's going to play two sports in college. In basketball, Xavier, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Virginia Tech have offered him hoops scholarships, and Clemson, Tennesee, Maryland, UNC, Ga Tech, Florida State and Connecticut has been recruiting him hard in basketball.
His basketball teammate, 6-6 200 senior forward Willie Bell, has been offered by Elon College and UNC-Greensboro. Still another Woodside senior, 6-7 Sam Atupem, has offers from Division 1 Longwood University, Hampton University, Campbell, and Central Connecticut State.
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9-14-04
The head football coach at Nelson County High School, located in Lovingston, Virginia, about 20 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia is Tim Crawford. Crawford says that 6-7 310 junior tackle
B. J. Cabelll "is in everyone's sight - UVa (the University of Virginia) sends him recruiting cards and letters every day." B. J. Cabell started as a sophomore last year for the Governors, a Group AA school.
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9-10-04
I went to Chesapeake, Virginia on a warm Friday night, to see one player play: 6-4 205 junior wide receiver Chris Bell. The Sporting News School Sports High School Football Magazine lists Bell as one of the nation's top 25 juniors, rating him as number 23 in the nation. (They rate two other Virginian's among the top 25 juniors also: 6-1 200 running back Brandon Royster of Centreville, Virginia Westfield High is rated number 9, and 6-0 186 wide receiver Percy Harvin