Pittsburgh Recruiting

NIGEL JONES TURNING HEADS AT HOLY SPIRIT

New Jersey class of 2012 running back looking to follow in the steps of previous Holy Spirit great

by MATT WHITFIELD

A little over ten years ago a running back by the name of William Green came out of Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, N.J. with All-American accolades and went on to an impressive career at Boston College before being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Now, fast forward to 2010 and another running back by the name of Nigel Jones has the chance to be something special.

As only a sophomore last season Jones rushed for 1,179 yards and 19 touchdowns on the heels of a freshman year where he rushed for 1,206 yards and 14 touchdowns. Holy Spirit went 8-3 last season and made it all the way to the semifinals where they lost to perennial power St. Joseph’s of Montvale.

Jones, at 5-foot-11 and 203-pounds describes himself as a ‘work horse running back.’

“I would describe myself as a work horse running back with good size speed and power,” he said. “I love the big people that block for me and watch my back every carry.”

Jones so far has an offer from Rutgers coming very soon and heavy interest from Pittsburgh.

“I have one offer coming in September from Rutgers that will be my first and Pittsburgh has shown a lot of interest in the past two years,” said Jones.

Jones, who is being recruited as a running back at the next level, talked about his strengths on the field with NBE recently.

“I’m a very balanced player, I can run and get the corner or cut it up and pound the ball in between the tackles,” said Jones. “I also believe my work ethic can take me a long way on the college level. I pride myself on being a hard worker on the field and the weight room.”

Jones feels he can work on catching the ball out of the backfield and slot. However, to rush for over a thousand yards as a freshman and a sophomore at this high school level is a feat not many others can accomplish. Jones will surely have more coaches and scouts come through his high school in the coming months as Jones may be New Jersey’s top recruit for the Class of 2012.

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

You can get tickets to all these match-ups and more by visiting StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you.

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…

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

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.

Read more

PITT ADDS TALENTED NJ ATHLETE TO 2011 CLASS

This spring has seen the recruiting stock of Winslow Township (NJ) athlete Bill Belton go through the roof. The South Jersey prospect had become one of the heaviest recruited players in the Northeast.

On Friday afternoon, Belton decided to end his recruitment and make a verbal commitment to Dave Wannstedt’s program at Pittsburgh.

Belton told NBE Sports that Pitt was recruiting him as a slot receiver. The 5-foot-10, 187-ob Belton mainly lined at at quarterback this past season where he passed for 14 touchdowns and ran for 15 more and accounted for nearly 3,000 yards of total offense.

That type of season had plenty of colleges lining up to offer Belton scholarships.

“Florida, Penn State, Cincy, Louisville, West Virginia, Maryland [and] South Carolina,” replied Belton when asked what other offers he considered when choosing the Panthers.

The Panthers continue to do well in the loaded Jersey 2011 class, picking up their third verbal commitment from the Garden State. In addition to Belton, Gary Nova of Don Bosco and Quinton Alston of Timber Creek have also committed to Pitt.

“My parents, Pitt’s coaching staff and my coach” where the factors playing the biggest role in Belton’s decision to commit.

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

JAMAL MERRITT UPDATES RECRUITMENT

Maryland athlete open in his recruitment, but speaks highly of Rutgers and looks to visit WVU next week

by JOHN TALTY

When a football player gets labeled an athlete it almost always is because of that player’s versatility.

That theory holds particularly true for Sherwood (Md.) 6-foot, 170-pound athlete Jamal Merritt.

Merritt has experience at wide receiver, cornerback and safety for his team and is subsequently being recruited at each position by different schools. He expects to get a better idea of what position he wants to play in college during his senior season, but right now is content to play whatever necessary.

“Right now I’ll just play wherever the coach wants me to play but as the season goes on that’s when I’ll get a better feel for what I want to play,” Merritt said. “That will be one of the main things that will help me choose what school I want.”

Read more

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.

Read more

FOOTBALL RECRUITING NOTES

The Charleston Post & Courier is always a valuable resource for recruiting notes in the southeast. Phil Kornblut delivers many relevent notes once again in his May 11 Notebook, here are some of the notes that Big East fans will find of interest:

WR Justin Scott (5-11, 205) of Camilla (GA) plans to announce his commitment Saturday at the state track meet. ScottWake Forest and South Carolina in the next two weeks. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgia, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Maryland.
—————————

TE Drew Owens (6-5, 230) of Charlotte has decided to open his recruiting back up after narrowing things a little bit. He had South Carolina and North Carolina as his top two, but now he says there are no favorites. He’s doing this because he recently picked up offers from Louisville, Michigan, South Florida and Illinois. He also has offers from South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, East Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Duke. He plans to have a new top five before this season and those will be his official visits.
————————–

LB Marcquis Roberts (6-1, 205) of Powder Springs (GA) is still favoring South Carolina over offers from Wisconsin, Memphis and Louisville. Gamecock recruiter GA Mangus was in recently, along with recruiters from Florida State and Purdue. Mangus is expected back for his spring game Saturday. He doesn’t plan to make a decision until mid-season.
————————–

DB Geraldo Orta (6-0 180) of Valdosta (GA) has landed offers from Clemson and South Carolina. Orta also has an offer from Tennessee and is also getting interest from North Carolina, Illinois, Central Florida, Georgia, Troy and Louisville. Right now he’s favoring Clemson over Auburn, Tennessee and North Carolina. Orta plays cornerback and safety.
—————————

ATH Ronald Baines (6-1 180) of Voorhees (NJ) is still waiting on that first offer and will be attending camps from May through July to be evaluated by the coaches. One of his camp stops will be South Carolina in early June. Schools showing interest include USC, Temple, Penn State, Michigan, South Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, Rutgers and Kentucky.
—————————————————————————————————

NBE Sports has watched plenty of Penn Wood (PA) High School big man Shawn Oakman on the basketball court, where he is a Division I prospect at 6-foot-8, 240-pounds. However his future might be on the gridiron at the college level as a defensive end as Oakman is Up to Six Division 1-A Offers (PennLive.com) in football.

Oakman has received offers from Connecticut, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pitt, Rice, and South Carolina. Schools like Michigan, Purdue, Rutgers, Virginia and West Virginia have shown interest.
———————————————————————————-

Bowling Green, Illinois, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas Tech and West Virginia have all offered Desimon Green as Clairton’s Green is Up to 10 Offers (PennLive.com). Green doubles as both a quarterback and a defensive lineman for Clairton which has gone 30-2 the last two seasons. The 6’4, 215-pound senior-to-be had a productive junior season at quarterback, throwing for more than 1,500 yards and running for more than 800 yards, accounting for more than 20 total touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball he has been a dominant pass-rusher, accounting for more than 45 sacks the last two seasons.
———————————————————————————–

Dallastown’s Ben Kline has received scholarship offers from Boston College, UCONN, Maryland, Michigan, Pitt, Rutgers, Vanderbilt and West Virginia as WR/LB Kline is Up to 8 Offers (PennLive.com).
————————————————————————————-

CLASS OF 2011 INTRO: COREY MAJORS

Neshaminy junior has Big East offer and favorites on his list already

This past Friday night, the Neshaminy (PA) ‘Skins upended league rival Truman 28-8 to move to 4-1 overall in 2009 and even their Suburban One League record at 1-1 on the season. It was their 14th consecutive win over Truman and got the ‘Skins back on the winning track following their first loss of the season the week prior to Abington.

One major contributor to the ‘Skins success is 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior (2011) linebacker /fullback Corey Majors. Majors has been a force on both sides of the ball this season and had the athletic ability to play on either side. however, he wants to play linebacker in college and tells NBE Sports that is the position most colleges are also recruiting him for. Already, colleges are making him a priority in the 2011 class.

“Pitt offered,” Majors told NBE prior to Friday’s contest with Truman. “My favorites in order are, Rutgers , [Penn] State , Pitt and Boston College.”

Last year, Rutgers came into Neshaminy and signed TE Paul Carrezola, so the Scarlet Knights have a close tie to the Neshaminy High School program, and that has definitely paid dividends early on with their recruitment of Majors.

“Not sure when I will start visiting [schools] most likely after the season is over,” said Majors. “I really want to see Rutgers and Pitt.”

Majors also mentioned that Connecticut, North Carolina State and Syracuse are also recruiting him. for now, however, Major and his Neshaminy High School teamates have more pressing concerns, like winning the Suburban One League and moving into the states.

“My goal is, of course, make it to playoffs and possibly states as a team,” said Majors. “Personally, I do not want to ever be satisfied and continue to get better.”

Big East fans and east coast recruitniks alike should keep the name Carey Majors in mind over the next year, he just might be a player that will be competing in the Big East in the not-so-distant future.

“

PAUL COLEMAN HAS BIG EAST INTEREST

The Central Dauphin Rams are off to a 3-1 start heading into Friday’s night match-up with Altoona High School. The Rams won their first three games before running into the machine that is this year’s Bishop McDevitt football team last week.

One key member to this year’s success for coach Glenn McNamee’s Rams is 6-foot, 190-lb senior (2010) Paul Coleman. Coleman makes an impact in several ways for Central Dauphin, whether it is bolstering the defensive backfield or returning kicks. Already this season, Coleman has returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown against Harrisburg, had a 54-year punt return and intercepted a pass. While the individual accomplishments are nice, Coleman is looking for big things from his team during his senior season.

“My goals for this season are just to go out and win a state championship,” Coleman told NBE Sports this week. “Any individual accomplishments that come along would be great, but right now I’m just trying to help my team win.”

The Rams showed they are a team to be reckoned with by beating an undefeated State College team, 24-22, that was ranked #4 in the state.

Playing in an area that is a football hotbed with a traditionally strong program has several colleges keeping an eye on Coleman as a possible addition to their program in the future. Most schools, including a couple from the Big East, are recruiting him as a safety at the college level.

“I’m getting recruited by Louisville, Pitt, Marshall, Buffalo, Army, Navy, Maryland, Lafayette and I’ve been offered by Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh,” said Coleman. “I really still don’t have a favorite, I’m just letting the season play out right now.”

Coleman has taken the opportunity to visit both Big East schools showing interest, Pitt and Louisville, and is hoping to see Maryland and Buffalo in the near future. He is also taking a trip to Annapolis this weekend to check out the program at the Naval Academy and has a visit planned to Lehigh in November. He has also visited Bucknell and Lafayette previously.

NBE Sports will continue to monitor the recruitment of Coleman and the season for Central Dauphin as they work toward winning a championship.
————-

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

Big East Football Season Ticket Links

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Connecticut Huskies Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Louisville Cardinals Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 Syracuse Orange Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 South Florida Bulls Football Tickets – Season Package


2009 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Tickets – Season Package

All individual games on sale too

Next Page »