A Step Ahead: Jim Stefani's Underclassmen Football Recruiting Blog

Great Bloodlines: Class of 2007 Linebackers

Chris Strong LB 6'3 240 4.60 Batesville South Panola Mississippi Mississippi The nephew of former Ole Miss LB Eddie Strong

Kenny Rowe LB/DL 6'3 220 4.72 Long Beach Poly California Kenny is the younger brother of USC freshman Alfred Rowe

Malcolm Smith LB/WR/RB 6'1 211 4.44 Woodland Hills Taft California Malcolm is the younger brother of USC wide receiver Steve Smith

Joshua Bynes LB 6'2 214 5.02 Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson Florida Brother Herbert is a freshman QB at Hampton

Nathan Stupar LB/TE 6'2 220 4.61 State College Pennsylvania Penn State His brother plays at Virginia

Brian Smith LB 6'3 220 4.60 Overland Park St. Thomas Aquinas Kansas Iowa His father, Chris, played fullback at Notre Dame and with the Kansas City Chiefs

Blake Lawrence LB/DB/QB 6'2 200 4.65 Shawnee Mission West Kansas Nebraska His older brother is a a freshman QB at Kanas

Casey Matthews LB/OL 6'2 225 4.68 Westlake Village Oaks Christian California Oregon The son of former USC standout Clay Matthews, nephew of perennial All-Pro Bruce Matthews

Tim Dial LB/DB 6'3 210 4.40 Jenks Oklahoma Arkansas His dad, Joe Dial, was one of the greatest pole vaulters the U.S. has ever produced and currently the track coach at Oral Roberts

Malcolm Hall LB/DL 6'4 215 4.70 Fairfax Robinson Virginia The younger brother of Virginia linebacker Olu Hall

Luke Diehl LB 6'2 211 4.58 Castle Rock Douglas County Colorado Colorado State He has older brothers playing at Wyoming and Kansas State

Justin Curry LB 6'3 225 Buford Georgia North Carolina His father, Buddy Curry, was a standout for UNC and in the NFL

Matt Singletary LB/DL 6'3 230 4.72 San Jose Valley Christian California Baylor Matt is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Mike Singletary

Hershel Houston LB/RB 5'11 233 4.89 Cherokee County Alabama Hershel is the nephew of former Alabama fullback Martin Houston

Jonathan Massaquoi LB 6'3 216 4.85 Lawrenceville Central Gwinnett Georgia One cousin( Mohamed Massaquoi) is star WR at Georgia and another (Tim Massaquoi) is in the NFL after starting at TE for Michigan

Chris Francis LB 6'1 210 4.60 Cedar Hill Texas Baylor His father, James Francis, was an all-American at Baylor before heading to the pros

John Rice LB 6'0 228 4.97 Starkville East Oktibbeha Mississippi John's father, John, played fullback at Eastern Michigan, and uncle Jerry Rice was the greatest wide receiver in the history of football

Jay Harbaugh LB 6'2 215 San Diego St. Augustine California The son of former NFL and Michigan QB and current San Diego coach Jim Harbaugh and grandson of former college coach Jack Harbaugh

Tyson Buck LB 6'2 195 Highland Lone Peak Utah His father, Jason Buck, won the1986 Outland Trophy while attending BYU

posted by Jim Stefani @ 11:39 AM 3 comments

Class of 2009 Watch

Drew Little QB 6'5 230 McDonough Henry County Georgia

Little has emerged as one of the top sophomores in Georgia. This strong-armed QB combines great size with solid athleticism and excellent arm strength. He throws a tight spiral and has the advantage of being able to hook up with stud Class of 2008 WR Chris Jackson. Has passed for over 1,000 yards as of late October. Receiving early interest from some of the South's top programs.


Larry Caper II RB 5'11 190 Battle Creek Central Michigan

Caper saw early varsity playing time as a freshman at BCC and followed that up with a solid sophomore start (467 yards, 8 TDs) despite going down with a season-ending shoulder injury and sharing carries with blue-chip senior FB Brandon Reynolds and talented junior RB Bill Young. His father starred at BCC back in the 1980s. Capers really made a name for himself at the 2006 Michigan summer camp, where this tall and lean back showed surprising quickness and speed for a mere freshman. A prospect who will receive numerous early offers.


Walter Grayson WR/DL 6'6 210 Northport Tuscaloosa County Alabama

Grayson played freshman ball in 2005 and led his team to an unbeaten season playing both WR & DE. As a sophomore, this tall and athletic end is starring on the varsity. He has an excellent frame and could eventually fill out as either a TE or DE. For a big kid he has a quick first step, is pretty aggressive off the ball and shows nice, soft hands. Has the potential to be really special.


Brad Slusher TE 6'1 216 5.34 Pineville Bell County Kentucky

Brad is the younger brother of Auburn verbal commmitment Brent Slusher and has the ability to develop into a blue-chip prospect down the road as well. He's a nice-sized TE who looked pretty good during th 2006 camp and combine circuit. He should get faster over the next couple of years and emerge as one of the better prospects in Kentucky's Class of 2009.


Patrick Lewis OL/DL 6'0 290 Reserve East St. John Louisiana

East St. John regularly produces blue-chip talent and Lewis is one of several very talented Class of 2009 players at the school. He is starting as a sophomore at OT but could project on the DL in college. Was very impressive at the 2005 LSU sumer camp. Very strong and plays with great leverage.


Sheldon Richardson DL/TE 6'3 245 St. Louis Gateway Tech Missouri

Richardson is one of the top Class of 2009 prospects in St. Louis. He was used primarily on offense as a freshman but will play more on defense his sophomore year. He has nice size and runs very well. His brother plays at Southeast Missouri. He is already being recruited by Kansas and some other D-1 programs.


Serge Kona LB 5'11 195 Gaithersburg Maryland

Kona is a talented young LB prospect and one of several talented underclassmen at Gaithersburg. He is still growing and will probably fill out at over 220 pounds by the time he enters college. Not bad for a youngster who was the fastest sophomore linebacker at the University of Maryland camp this summer.


Alex Mascarenas DB 5'10 175 Mission Viejo California

Mascarenas is a rare sophomore starter for the strong Mission Viejo program. He is a very smooth and athletic DB with nice hips and a smooth back-peddle. Has a great feel for the game. Should be a big-timer in a couple of years.

posted by Jim Stefani @ 2:39 PM 2 comments

Great Bloodlines: Class of 2007 Defensive Linemen

Simi Fili DL 6'3 336 5.30 Salt Lake City Cottonwood Utah A cousin of USC freshman Stanley Havili and former Oregon and current NFL DL Haloti Ngata

Cameron Heyward DL/OL/TE 6'6 270 5.10 Suwanee Peachtree Ridge Georgia Heyward is the son of the late former star Pittsburgh and NFL RB Craig "Ironhead" Heyward

Tonio Celotto DL/OL 6'4 235 4.70 Simi Valley Royal California Oregon His father Mario played LB at USC

Cameron Jordan DL/OL 6'3 250 5.14 Chandler Arizona The son of former Minnesota Vikings TE Steve Jordan

Josh Allison DL/OL 6'2 246 4.86 Lake Orion Michigan Minnesota Josh is the cousin of Ryan (Michigan State) and Roger (former Michigan) Allison

Daryle Ballew DL/OL 6'3 285 5.40 Cincinnati Withrow Ohio Illinois He's a cousin of Cortez Kennedy

Jafe Pitcock DL 6'3 240 Piqua Ohio The brother of Ohio State DT Quinn Pitcock

posted by Jim Stefani @ 4:39 PM 0 comments

Class of 2009 Watch

Here are a few of the very best sophomores in Virginia. Not necessarily the top eight as I am not including such future greats as Dominic Davenport and Alan Castro. Colleges interested in a complete listing of the top sophomores should subscribe to my service.


Ross Metheny QB 6'2 175 Sherando Virginia

Metheny was a rare freshman starter at QB at the Virginia AA level and led his team to the Division 4 semifinals. He passed for an impressive 1,888 yards and 17 TDs. He's a quick learner and a real student of the game. He just loves football. For a youngster, he has shown fine leadership skills. He gets nice velocity on his throws and throws a nice, catchable ball. Can make all the throws.


Sterling Phifer RB 5'10 195 Virginia Beach Landstown Virginia

Phifer was an impressive freshman RB who played in the shadows of talented super senior wideouts Percy Harvin and Damon McDaniel. As a sophomore, he has really risen to the challenge and, together with outstanding junior QB Xavier Boyce, is now the fulcrum point of the talented Landstown offense. Through early October he had rushed for 640 yards. He shows nice cutting ability, fine speed and has added about 15 pounds to his frame since his freshman season and is now running with more power. One of the nation's top sophomores.


Quentin Hunter WR/QB/ATH 6'2 190 Orange County Virginia

Hunter had an opportunity to play some as a freshman at QB after standout Bradley Starks (West Virginia verbal) went down for an injury. This year, however, he has shifted to his natural position of WR and has really shined catching passes from Starks. In one game he had 10 receptions for 219 yards and a touchdown. He has also stood out at DB. In the first game of his sophomore season he had 3 interceptions for 100 return yards. As the team's most talented underclassman, he will move back to QB as a junior, but his college future will be as either a WR or DB. He has excellent size for a WR, good speed, reacts well to the ball in a crowd and runs well in the open field.


Lemont Lewis TE/DL 6'4 205 Newport News Warwick Virginia

Lewis is one of the top underclassmen in the Tidewater Bay area. He is a talented TE/DE who has a great frame that should really fill out over the next few years. He runs well for his size and has good athleticism. One to really keep an eye on.


Jonathan Cawley OL 6'7 290 Richmond Huguenot Virginia

Huguenot has consistently produced high-level D-1 players over the years and Crawley is the top sophomore in Coach Richard McFee's fine program. He has ideal size for an OT but also shows surprisingly nimble feet and athleticism for such a young a big prospect. Should emerge as one of the nation's best linemen.


DeAntre Rhoades DL 6'3 250 Richmond Varina Virginia

Varina is another Richmond school that has produced quite a bit of D-1 talent over the years (most recently Michigan freshman RB Brandon Minor and Virginia Tech verbal Davon Morgan). Only the fourth freshman to start for Coach Wolfe at Varina (the others were former Penn State QB Mike Robinson and talented linemen Jonathan and Kevin Lewis). Very athletic, he also plays basketball. Was very impressive at the West Virginia summer camp in 2006. A future national recruit.


Telvion Clark LB 6'2 180 Norfolk Granby Virginia

Clark anchors Granby's defensive unit as a sophomore linebacker after earning second team All-Eastern District honors as a freshman starter in a talent-laden district. He has fine quickness, gets a nice jump on the ball and really wraps up opposing ball carriers. Has the frame to fill out and eventually become a D-1 recruit.


Theron Norman DB/QB 6'3 170 Richmond Hermitage Virginia

Norman is a tall and rangy safety prospect who also plays QB for Hermitage. He has a nice frame, anticipates well and has good closing speed. One of the better young prospects in the Richmond area.

posted by Jim Stefani @ 1:32 PM 2 comments

Great Bloodlines: Class of 2007 Offensive Linemen

Stefan Wisniewski OL/DL 6'4 280 5.00 Pittsburgh Central Catholic Pennsylvania His father Leo and uncle Steve were both stars for Penn State back in the 80s.

Darris Sawtelle OL/DL 6'6 285 5.19 Birmingham Brother Rice Michigan Tennessee His grandfather, Darris McCord, starred at Tennessee and for the Detroit Lions playing alongside Alex Karras as a member of the "Fearsome Foursome" in the 1960s.

Derrick Sherrod OL 6'6 298 5.39 Caledonia Mississippi Mississippi State His older brother plays fullback at Mississippi State

Todd Huber OL/DL 6'3 275 5.30 Rolling Hills Estates Palos Verdes Peninsula California Older brother Scott was a TE at USC

Mitchell Schwartz OL 6'6 303 5.28 Pacific Palisades California His brother plays at Oregon

T-Bob Hebert OL/DL 6'3 265 4.95 Norcross Greater Atlanta Christian Georgia T-Bob is the son of former NFL QB Bobby Hebert

Po'u Palelei OL/DL 6'3 320 5.20 Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Nevada Uncle, Lonnie Palelei, played in the NFL

Garth Gerhart OL 6'1 300 5.28 Norco California Colorado Gerhart is the younger brother of Stanford RB Toby Gerhart

Houston Reynolds OL/DL 6'3 285 Provo Timpview Utah BYU His father coaches at BYU and his older brother plays there

Kealakai Maiava OL 6'1 280 5.10 Wailuku Baldwin Hawaii Maiava is the younger brother of USC LB Kaluka Maiava

Gino Gradkowski OL 6'3 286 5.19 Seton-La Salle Pennsylvania West Virginia Gradkowski is the younger brother of talented Toledo signal-caller Bruce Gradkowski

Shawn Daniels OL 6'4 270 5.20 Denver Mullen Colorado Colorado Daniels is the brother of Colorado starting offensive guard Brian Daniels

Nicholas Pozderac OL/DL 6'5 285 5.20 Carrollton Newman Smith Texas His father Phil was a lineman at Notre Dame

posted by Jim Stefani @ 7:22 PM 2 comments