Cincinnati Recruiting

2012 NOAH SPENCE PICKING UP BIG EARLY OFFERS

Next Bishop McDevitt star already heavily pursued by top college programs

by MATT WHITFIELD

Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg (PA) has a history of producing high-level football talent. NFL players like LeSean McCoy and Ricky Watters have come through the program and numerous others have made D-1 programs. Noah Spence, a 6-3, 230-pound junior-to-be Defensive End, has a chance to be the best of all them though according to his coach Jeff Weachter.

Spence, despite being only a sophomore last season, had 60 tackles, 20 of which were tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, three batted balls, two fumbles recovered and one touchdown. His Bishop Mcdevitt team went 12-1 and returns recent Pittsburgh-commit Jameel Poteat as well this upcoming season.

Spense has already received 14 offers with interest from top tier programs such as Florida and USC.

“I have gotten interest from USC, Florida, Florida State and Oregon,” said Spence. “I have been offered by Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee and Virginia.”

Spence also added at this time he has, ‘no favorite yet.’

Spence describes himself as one that seeks out ball and makes plays.

“I would describe myself as a quick after the ball, smart football player that has an eye for the ball,” said Spence.

At the next level Spence is being recruited as a Defensive End and an Outside Linebacker. He feels his build is such that he’ll play that could play either position.

“I am being recruited for are Outside Linebacker and Defensive End. I think it’s my build and my mental use during the game and my motor and eye for the ball,” said Spence.

Spence will undoubtedly see more offers as he progresses and gets bigger and stronger. However, for now Spence wants to work on using his strength more effectively.

“I need work on using my strength more for the next level,” said Spence.

With the numbers he’s already put up at such a rich football program Spence is certainly one to keep an eye on this fall. Undoubtedly Stephen Strasburg won’t be the only athlete people flock to Harrisburg to see this year.

QUINTON JEFFERSON HAS IOWA, PITT STRONG IN HIS RECRUITMENT

2011 PA defensive end has two schools standing out in his recruitment as he works through visits

The Woodland Hills program in Western Pennsylvania is no stranger to producing big-time college football prospects. Names such as Jason Taylor, Steve Breaston, Ryan Mundy, Shawntae Spencer, Lousaka Polite and Rob Gronkowski have come through George Novak’s program in recent memory. In fact, between 2001 and 2010, Woodland Hills had over 30 players earn Division 1-A scholarships, the most in the talent-rich WPIAL.

The number will certainly rise once signing day in February of 2011 rolls around as the Wolverines have three players currently on Chris Dokish’s Class of 2011 PA Top 25 High School Football Players which was posted on NBE Football yesterday. At #12 is 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end prospect Quinton Jefferson, who is being heavily recruited by some top football programs across the country.

“Most active teams right now are Cincinnati, Iowa, Pitt and Maryland,” said Jefferson about his recruitment. “I would say the leaders right now are Pitt and Iowa.”

Being recruited as a defensive end, Jefferson has some explosiveness off the edge and could be as good as any pass rusher in the state this year. As a junior Jefferson counted five sacks and nine passes batted down while helping Woodland Hills to a 12-2 record. His highlight of the year was recording a sack at Heinz Field against rival Gateway as the Wolverines won the WPIAL championship, 10-0, on the home field of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The championship was the 6th for coach Novak (five at Woodland Hills and one at Steel Valley), a mark only two other coaches have achieved in the storied history of the WPIAL.

While Jefferson certainly has his mind on recruiting, he also is motivated for a successful senior season with the Wolverines and knows they will have a target on their backs as defending Class AAAA WPIAL champions.

“This summer I would like to maybe see some more colleges but I want tp work on concentrating on getting better for my senior season,” said Jefferson.

One of those colleges he has seen left a big impression on him. Jefferson visited the campus of Iowa earlier this month to get an up-close and personal view of Kirk Ferentz’s program. Ferentz is a native of Western PA himself, having graduated from Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh.

“I have to set some more visits up,” said Jefferson, “but the visit that impressed me the most was Iowa. The campus is very nice and so are the people, [the]coaching staff is great and their art studio was the best I [had] seen so far, [it] just blew me away and that is what I wanna major in college.”

NBE Sports will certainly keep an eye on the recruitment of Quinton Jefferson as it sounds like he will be one of the next Division 1-A products from the football factory of Woodland Hills. Stay tuned…

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CLASS OF 2011 PENNSYLVANIA TOP 25 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

by CHRIS DOKISH

It’s a down year for talent in the state, both with the number of elite prospects and the overall number of high-major prospects, but there are still some very good players to be recruited.

The glamour positions of quarterback and wide receiver are severely lacking, and there are no elite offensive linemen or linebackers, but there is an excellent running back which is a rarity in the state, three excellent cornerbacks, and a slew of exciting pass rushers.

As always, the final rankings are my own, but only after talking to many high school coaches, college scouts, and independent scouts, such as Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting.

1. Ben Koyack, Oil City HS (Oil City) TE – It’s not often that a tight end is the best player in the state, but there is little doubt that will be the case this year. At 6′5″ and 230 pounds, he has good size with a frame to get even bigger. He also possesses great hands to go along with good speed and athleticism. More of a threat as a receiver but is a willing and good blocker. Most of all, he just knows how to play football. Committed to NOTRE DAME over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Oklahoma, West Virginia, LSU, California, Virginia Tech, USC, and many others. Bottom line – A perfect fit for new coach Brian Kelly and there’s no reason why he can’t be a star at the college level.

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2011 NJ TE JACK TABB TALKS RECRUITING, CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT & MORE

by JOHN TALTY

2011 Red Bank Catholic (NJ) tight end Jack Tabb has been following the story of conference realignment fairly intently and finds the whole story very intriguing.

“I think it’s all pretty interesting,” Tabb said. “I heard Rutgers might be going to the Big 10 and I think it could be a good fit for them.”

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end has proven himself as one of the top tight ends on the East Coast and has already reeled in 18 offers from some top-notch programs.

But none might be bigger than the offer from SEC powerhouse Florida.

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CLASS OF 2011 INTRO: BRAD CARRICO

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Lineman from traditional OH power has UC offer, Pitt and WVU from BE interested, too

Dublin (OH)’s Coffman High School has been a traditional power in the landscape of Ohio High School football. The Shamrocks have qualified for the playoffs six of the last seven years, and were the Regional Champions in both 2001 and 2003, and 2007 under coach Mark Crabtree. Current (or recent) NFL players such as Brady Quinn, Nick Goings, Dave Kadela and Ikechuku and Chinedum Ndukwe have come through the program in recent memory.

The Shamrocks are off to another great start, moving to 5-0 after last weekend’s 51-7 victory over previously unbeaten Groveport (4-1). One key member to their success could end up being one of their more highly recruited players in recent seasons, junior (2011) Brad Carrico, a 6-foot-6, 255-lb lineman.

Carrico has high hopes for this year’s team, which already has a long-lasting memory from the season opener.

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (9/14/2009)

Glades Central defensive back Travis Bell and American Heritage-Delray all-purpose athlete Darius Millines are headed to the Big East as Bell and Millines Commit to West Virginia (Sun-Sentinel) following official visits to WVU last weekend. The Palm Beach County pair took in the Mountaineers 35-20 win over East Carolina in Morgantown while on the visit.

WVU recruiting coordinator Doc Holliday has long been known as an ace recruiter in the talent-laden state of Florida and Bell and Millines join another pair of Palm Beach County prospects as 2010 verbal commitments as Pahokee wide receiver Fred Pickett and Dwyer defensive back Robert Clark have previously commited to West Virginia.
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Here are the latest Big East recruiting mentions from Phil Kornblut’s Recruiting Buzz that appears every Monday at thestats.com, South Carolina’s homepage…

Athlete Sherard Cadogan (6-3 230) of Cherry Hill, N.J., has firmed up his South Carolina official visit for Oct. 10 after considering arriving this weekend. He will also visit Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Michigan State.
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Wide receiver Dyjuan Lewis (6-3 188) of Indianapolis remains undecided on his official visits from his offers of South Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota, Louisville, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Oregon and Arkansas. Lewis said he will take all five of his visits after this season.
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USC remains interested in athlete Todd Neal (6-2, 195) of Mobile, Ala., as a defensive back. He talked recently with defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward.

“He said they are keeping the offer on the table,” Neal told thestats.com, who also has offers from Southern Miss and Troy. He is also hearing from Florida State, Ole Miss, Marshall and Louisville.
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Defensive lineman Michael Thornton (6-2, 280) of Stone Mountain, Ga., says the only official visit of which he is sure is Penn State. Other offers include Clemson, USC, Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Arkansas and West Virginia.
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Offensive lineman Duvon Milsap (6-6, 300) of Buford, Ga., remains undecided about his official visits. He has had calls from South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Louisville, and his top three are USC, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State. Milsap also has offers from Clemson, Mississippi State and East Carolina.

RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: OH DE/TE CHRIS ROCK HAS OFFERS; MORE NOTES

St. Francis DeSales of Columbus (OH) is a perennial football power in the gridiron crazed Buckeye state. Their 2009 team is once again poised to be among the top teams in the state and DE/TE Chris Rock is a big reason why.

Rock, a 6-foot-5, 245-lb junior (class of 2011) started off the season with a bang in the Stallions’ opening weekend 38-0 win over Gahanna (OH) Lincoln. Scouting reports from the game listed Rock as ‘unblockable’ as he anchors one of the best defensive units in the state.

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BIG EAST RECRUITING NOTES (8/10/2009)

According to Phil Kornblut’s weekly Recruitng Notebook (The State.com), many players from the South have an eye on Big East programs. Here are the Big East mentions from his Monday recruiting notebook:

- Beaufort (SC) linebacker Justin Parker (6-2, 225) made an unofficial visit to Clemson over the weekend, his first visit to the school. The Tigers and South Carolina are in a battle for Parker and are currently at the top of his list. Parker also has offers from Maryland, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Central Florida, N.C. State, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Colorado and South Florida.

- Wide receiver Kadron Boone (6-1, 185) of Ocala, Fla., has his list down to South Carolina, Clemson, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Cincinnati, Miami and Notre Dame.

- South Carolina is showing some interest in wide receiver Dominique Roberts (6-0, 203) of Daytona Beach, Fla. He has been offered by Connecticut, Florida International, Western Kentucky, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman.

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