11-14-04
It appears likely that the first-team All-State Group AAA (largest schools in Virginia) quarterback this year is going to be 6-3 185 Jamal Sewell
of Hermitage High School, because he threw 26 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions during the Panther's 10-0 regular season. He's headed to the University of Virginia.
A friend and former high school teammate of the state of Virginia's top senior football prospect, 6-1 185 Victor Harris
of Highland Springs, Virginia High, says that Harris
is leaning to the University of Southern California!
The head football coach of Group AAA James River HIgh School near Richmond, VA is Greg DeFrancesco
, who says of his junior linebacker Zach Thomas
: "I have spoken to numerous schools about Zach and he has been contacted via mail by them...but at this point nothing has advanced beyond the initial stages of the recruiting process. Zach
had a great game this past Friday night with 8 tackles, 3 sacks and a forced fumble that led to the winning score. He is 6'4" 240 lbs. and moves pretty well. I will get some highlight tapes circulated this winter and I think there will be a lot more interest."
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11-7-04
I went through the crowded highways of eastern Virginia to Norfolk, Virginia, to see Booker T. Washington High freshman quarterback James Vann play on Friday, November 7, 2004, at 7 P.M.
James Vann
is listed at 6-1 185, but he looks closer to maybe 170. He's very quick, and throws left-handed. Coming in to the game, he had thrown 15 touchdown passes as the starting varsity quarterback, as the Bookers had started off with a 4-4 record, but 4-1 in the Eastern District. He wears number 3.
Booker T. Washington was playing at home, in Norfolk, Virginia, against the visiting Granby High Comets of Norfolk. Booker T. Washington's home field is behind the school, seperated by tennis courts and parking lots from the building, and has streets that run paralell lengthwise to the field, resulting in a lot of cars buzzing up and down the sides of the stadium during the game. In addition, a noise train track behind the east end zone (if you're facing the home stands and pressbox) was constantly being used, and there were lots of tall office buildings in view. It wasn't like one of the typical northern Virginia high schools which are usually in the suburbs.
James Vann
has a quick release. Vann was 16 for 28 for 240 yards passing in this game. It's too soon to tell what kind of college prospect he's going to be: he needs to gain weight. Still, for a freshman to be a starting varsity quarterback on the Group AAA (largest schools) level and that good already is very rare. His quick reflexes and feet reminded me a little of Michael Vick
's younger brother, Marcus Vick
, who was a Parade High School All-American QB at Warwick High of Newport News, and is a back-up quarterback-wide receiver at Virginia Tech now off of the team for this season.
Granby, of course, has 6-4 220 junior track star-wide receiver Chris Bell
, who has already been offered scholarships by schools like Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and many others. I feel that Chris Bell
may be the top high school football player in Virginia already, regardless of class! He has the most NFL-ready body of any high school football player in Virginia, for sure. He's a towering figure with sprinter's speed, and unguardable by any one high school player in Virginia. He wears number 18.
This was a high-scoring game that Granby eventually won, 34-25, giving them the Eastern District championship. Two other underclassmen in this game are worth noting: 6-2 185 junior defensive back-wide receiver Antoine Thompson
(who wore number 1) of Booker T. Washington, and 6-1 180 junior wide receiver-defensive back Terreon Conyers
(who wore number 21) of Booker T. Washington. Conyers
came in to the game with 35 receptions this season, and he looked much-stronger than his listed 180. He had to have weighed at least 200. Thompson
had caught 33 passes entering this game, and he had to guard Chris Bell
one-on-one for much of the game.
Since this website is basically about underclassmen who are college football prospects, instead of going over all the scoring for the game, I'll just discuss what the underclassmen did. At the 8:20 mark of the second quarter, freshman QB James Vann
flipped a short 4-yard touchdown pass to make the score 13-12, Granby. At the 6:14 mark of the second quarter, Granby High senior quarterback Bobby Rome
(who's headed to the University of North Carolina on a football scholarship) his wide receiver-free safety Chris Bell
with a 10-yard touchdown toss to make the score 19-12, Granby. Later, with just 41 seconds left in the third quarter, Chris Bell
intercepted a tipped Vann
pass near the center of the field, broke a few tackles as he ran toward the right sideline, and once he got a step on the closest man, he turned on the burners and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. In the open field, Bell
's great speed was obvious. It's not often that you see a high school player with his height and power, who can simply jet pass anyone else on the field. As sportscaster Brian Sinkoff
of NewsChannel 3 recently wrote at "http://www.wtkr.com/global/Story.asp?s=1407940" after having seen Bell
play, Bell
"is being recruited by nearly every Division 1 school in the nation."
It's no wonder that everyone wants Chris Bell
. And eventually, James Vann
will be on the radar screens also, but only if he gets bigger. Still, he's a fine athlete. In Booker T. Washington's offense, Vann
runs to the sideline after each play to get the next play call. Booker T. Washington has dark purple helmets with white face bars, dark purple jerseys, dark purple pants, white socks, and black shoes. James Vann
heavily tapes both ankles to his shoes in white tape. Granby High has light-gold helmets, white jerseys with two blue rings around each upper arm in the shoulder area (filled in with gold), light-gold pants, white socks, and black shoes. Granby's football jerseys are obviously patterned after UCLA's jerseys. Up to 20 years ago, the top high school football players in Virginia all left the state for their college football, and some went to the Pac 10 or Big 10, which is why many high schools in Virginia still have uniforms that resemble colleges from those conferences.
The University of North Carolina-bound Bobby Rome
(6-0 215) reminds me of the present North Carolina quarterback,
Darian Durant
, but if he ever starts at QB, he won't start until his junior year, I'd predict. He ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in this game. James Vann
now has 1,543 yards and 16 touchdowns passing this year. Trying to remember back, I don't think that even former Hampton High quarterback Ronald Curry
had ninth-grade totals like that.
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11-4-04
Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, and other area schools have shown the most
interest in twin 11th-graders Donnell
(6-1 240 fullback) and Ronnell
(6-3 230 linebacker)
Brown
of Group AAA Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, their coach says.
Joe Fowler
, the head football coach at Group A Goochland High School in Goochland, Virginia, says that "As of right now, no colleges have contacted (6-1 190 freshman running back D. J. Coles
. Due to the rules
limiting recruiting of underclassmen until their junior year, he can
only get mail from schools and only a limited number of mailings. But D. J.
has the chance to be the real deal if he stays away from any of
the distractions and roadblocks that can sidetrack a teenage boy. He
has all of the tools and he is very coachable. One of our former
players, Brandon Myles
is a starting WR at West Virginia, and at this
point in his career, Coles
might be farther along. I think that he
likely projects as a WR on the next level. He is likely going to be
about 6'3 and 195 lbs by his senior year. If he continues to improve
at the same pace as Myles, a bunch of colleges will be in here in the spring of 2007. I noticed on your site that you listed our other RB (
Bruce Lewis) as a senior. He is actually a junior and is not Coles' backup, but is the
fullback, where Coles
is one of our halfbacks. The way our offense is set up, one of the two backs should be open if the defense keys on the
other. He is possibly just as talented as Coles and is getting mail
from quite a few schools, but then again so are about 300 kids in the state right now. Our kicker (6-1 190) David East
is phenomenal. He booted 5 kickoffs in the endzone this week and again he is also only a junior." (Note: Coles
ran for 240 yards in his most recent game on November 5, against a highly-rated Group AA team).
Rick Vrhovac
, the head football coach at Group AAA Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, says that 6-1 180 senior wide receiver Eric Robertson
, who recently set an all-time, all-classification single-game record for the state of Virginia by catching 6 touchdown passes in a game, has visited Appalachian State, but has not been offered. His teammate, 6-2 180 senior QB R. J. Archer
, who threw 7 TD passes in that same game, has visited James Madison, William & Mary, Richmond, and Appalachian State, but is still awaiting his first offer.
Patrick Kane
, the head football coach at Group AAA annual powerhouse Hermitage High in Richmond, Virginia, says that his 11th-graders who are Division 1-A or 1-AA prospects for next year are Isaiah Hinson
, 6'3 320 DT/OG, Bryan Hall
, 6'5 310 OT, Griff Yancey
, 6'1 190 WR/DB 4.4, and Lorenzo Goode
, 5'10 190 RB/DB 4.4.
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10-29-04
On a warm, late-October night, I went to see 11th-grade twins Ronnell
and Donnell Brown
play for Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, as they took on the visiting Nansemond River High team in a 7:00 P.M. homecoming affair. Photos of the two appear by clicking on the names "Ronnell Brown
" and "Donnell Brown
" on the list of players on the right side of "http://www.thevpage.com"
Ronnell
(who wears number 8) is a 6-3 230 player who will play linebacker in college. Donnell
(who wears number 34) is a 6-1 240 prospect who will likely play football in college. They have an older brother, 6-2 260 redshirt-freshman defensive end Marvin Brown
, who plays football for James Madison University. Their father, Bobby Brown
, who was from Eastville, Virginia, played major league baseball for 6 years for the New York Yankees.
Ronnell
is the more impressive of the two physically. He looks every bit of 6-3 230, and reminds me of some of the present-day University of Virginia linebackers. Donnell
ran for 594 yards as a sophomore, on a 6-4 team. It's impressive for a fairly-new high school such as Hickory to raise it's level up to 6-4 in such a quick period, particularly when you consider that they're in Group AAA, and in the tough Southeastern District. Donnell Brown
seems to be a better player, but may be either overweight to play running back at the Division 1-A level, or not tall enough to play linebacker. Still, both are Division 1-A prospects.
Hickory High School won this game over Nansemond River, 21-14. I can see both the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech offering scholarships to Ronnell Brown
. But I'd have to predict that just Virginia Tech would offer scholarships to both. Still, it's just based on what I saw, not on any inside knowledge.
Hickory High School is located not far from rivals Oscar Smith High and Great Bridge High. It's a fairly-new school, modern, and has nice athletic facilities. Ronnell Brown
started off the scoring at the 7:36 mark of the first quarter, by snagging a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 with the PAT. In the second quarter, Ronnell Brown
again showed nice hands when, at full speed, he reached up to snag a 20-yard pass for a first down. Physically, Ronnell Brown reminds me somewhat of University of Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks.
Donnell Brown
ran for 133 yards on 20 carries in this game. In the final quarter, with the score 14-7, Donnell Brown
showed nice speed in the open field as he scooted in for a 44-yard touchdown run at the 9:00 mark. This made the score 21-7, Hickory.
Hickory High School wears black helmets with a white logo on them, black shirts with white numerals, black pants, black socks, and black shoes. Ronnell Brown was wearing black gloves and had his arms padded in black from the elbow to the wrist. Donnell Brown was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt under his jersey. The Hickory High School football field had the word "HICKORY" spelled in each end zone in white, surrounded by an all-black end zone. There was an aquamarine hawk painted in the center of the field, with the word "Homecoming" above it, and the numbers "2004" below it.
There were a lot of noises at this game: repeatedly, a deafening freight-train-like horn sounded after each good play by Hickory, and there were hundreds of cowbells that never stopped in the Hickory stands. On both sides, there were those annoying metal box-contained "blow horns." Then, there was the relentless 1970's music being piped in over the sound system.
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10-23-04
On a dark, 50-degree night in Woodbridge, Virginia, the underclassman I paid my $5 to see was well-publicized high school freshman running back Ryan Williams, (5-8 190) of the Stonewall Jackson High Raiders. His team was facing the host Woodbridge High School Vikings in a Virginia High School League Group AAA (the largest schools) 7:30 P.M. Friday game. In an article in The Washington Post,
Ryan Williams' coach had said recently that "everyone in the country will want him (Ryan Williams)." His strong build resembles more of a baby-faced high school senior than that of a high school freshman.
However, while at this game, I also noticed another underclassman, Woodbridge High's junior linebacker Zack Weatherington (who wears number 52 and goes 6-4 225), and who is at least a future Division 1-AA prospect for next season. He calls the plays on defense for Woodbridge.
The Washington Post recently ran an article on Williams, who is already one of the fastest high school football players in Virginia, and who's coach is a former Virginia Tech football player. Williams starts at wide receiver for Stonewall Jackson, instead of his real position, halfback, because Stonewall Jackson has a smaller but outstanding senior halfback, Chris Garrett (5-7 165), who's been offered a football scholarship by Syracuse University, among others, for next season. Ryan Williams wears number 34, and Chris Garrett wears number 2. Stonewall Jackson is sure to build their offense around Ryan Williams for the next 3 years, when he moves full-time to running back.
Chris Garrett ran for 1,382 yards as a junior, and also plays defensive back. But Ryan Williams obviously seemed to have more future college potential, and is a future Division 1-A prospect for sure.
Chris Garrett did not look as big as his listed size of 5-7 165, but runs relentlessly and he and Williams are two of the fastest players in the state.
Ryan Williams came in to the game with 454 yards rushing for the 5-1 Stonewall Jackson Raiders.
Chris Garrett came in with 613 yards rushing in 6 contests. In this game, Ryan Williams would only get 6 carries from the halfback position, but turned them in to 56 yards-rushing. In the first quarter, Williams also had a great 55-yard touchdown run from scrimmage called back due to a holding call. Stonewall Jackson, which had an awful night trying to throw accurate passes in this game, tried several times to throw Ryan Williams the ball, but he was either covered well or the passes were well off the mark.
Woodbridge High has a senior running back star of it's own in halfback Andre Bratton (5-11 190), who came in with 982 yards rushing in 6 games. Bratton started the game's
scoring with a 65-yard touchdown run at the 9:14 mark of the second quarter. Stonewall Jackson then scored on a 73-yard touchdown reception by senior Josh Baird. Later in the game, Chris Garrett of Stonewall Jackson, playing defensive back, intercepted a Woodbridge pass an returned it 22 yards for a touchdown at the 4:30 mark in the 4th quarter, giving Stonewall Jackson a 13-7 edge. Finally, at the 2:37 mark, Stonewall Jackson's senior tight end Chris Lancaster hauled in a 28-yard tochdown pass to make the final score 20-7, Stonewall Jackson.
Woodbridge High is now one of 5 public high schools in Woodbridge, Virginia, so the Viking's talent level has dropped since the 1970's, when they were a powerhouse and one of just two high schools in the city of Woodbridge. The high school stadium looks run-down now, although it has a large "W" in the middle of the field. The football field has a black jogging track around it. The men's room stalls are painted in the school color of dark green. Woodbridge High had a total of 40 varsity cheerleaders and non-dancing "Vikettes." They also had the best-dressed high school marching band I've seen this season. The Woodbridge football team wears white helmets with a dark "W" on them, white jerseys that have dark green shoulders and dark green numerals, white pants, dark green socks, and black shoes. Stonewall Jackson wears gold helmets, dark red jerseys with white numerals, white long-sleeved shirts underneath the dark red jerseys, dark red pants, and dark red knee-high socks.
Ryan Williams
has both shoes taped at an angle towards him, with white tape. The smell of hamburgers being cooked on a grill as you walk down to the field smelled great. When you walk toward a high school football game on a cold night, everything around you is dark, but in the distance you can see the bright lights of the mostly-empty stadium as the teams warm up, and the first thing you see after you buy your ticket is the refreshment stand, selling all the things that you know you shouldn't be eating.
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10-16-04
On a sunny day, I went to see host Warwick High School of Newport News, Virginia take on the Bethel High Bruins of Hampton, Virginia in a Group AAA (the largest classification in Virginia) Peninsula District game at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, October 16, 2004 at John Todd Stadium. The two underclassmen this game who had college potential were not as good as the prospects I usually look to scout.
The main underclassmen I noticed in this game were junior 6-3 185 punt-returner-defensive back-wide receiver Michael Whitaker, who wore number 6 for Warwick High and intercepted a pass in this game, and his teammate, number 21, 5-10 175 junior running back-defensive back Jamaris Saunders. The two are probably Division II prospects, at least.
The best prospect by far in this game was Bethel's 5-8 190 senior defensive back Jamar Jackson, who is highly-recruited, and who has been offered scholarships by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, among others. The second-best prospect in the game was Warwick's 6-4 218 senior quarterback Cody Broadus.
Number 11 for Bethel, senior wide receiver Markus James, 6-3 205, is a Division 1-AA prospect, and number 1 for Bethel, 6-2 200 senior wide receiver Kenneth Jones, is a Division II prospect. Also a senior Division II prospect for Bethel is number 77, senior offensive tackle Gasalle Saleem, who goes 6-4 310. 6-5 300 senior offensive guard Terrance Johnson, number 62 for Bethel, is at least a Division II prospect.
Warwick High looked awful: they lost this game 32-14 to Bethel. Warwick High's touted Cody Broadus, who wears number 5 and also plays defensive back, hasn't looked good at all the past two years when I've seen him play. He's left-handed and poised, but his team only sends out two receivers, so the defense is able to double-team them, and he is reduced to scrambling on almost every pass play. He's been offered a scholarship by Virginia Tech among others. Broadus only completed 2 out of 10 first-half passes.
I had heard about superb defensive back Jamar Jackson of Bethel, and his size is in no way a detrement to his potential as a college player. Jackson, who wears number 21, is both strong and fast, and he intercepted two passes in this game, running the second interception back 46 yards. He's the real deal. He just shuts down his man. Jackson intercepted a total of 17 passes in the previous two seasons.
Number 32 for Bethel, senior running back LaDarius Adams, who's been offered a scholarship to Connecticut, scored the game's first touchdown at the 3:32 mark of the first
quarter from 3 yards out. In the second quarter, he scored at the 9:32 mark from two yards away. Broadus ran it in from 3 yards out in the second quarter at the 2:16 mark, and Bethel led 12-7 af the half. Warwick only had 50 yards of total offense in the first half.
At the 6:56 mark of the third quarter, Bethel senior receiver Kenneth Jones caught a 26-yard touchdown pass. Adams scored his third touchdown on a 2-yard run in the third at the 1:16 mark. Bethel led 25-7 after three quarters.
Bethel wide receiver Markis Jane