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

Updated Top Twenty Recruiting Classes

There has been a lot of big news since our last update. The biggest news has been the reemergence of the major Midwest powers as recruiting forces after average campaigns last year. Both Ohio State and Notre Dame picked up multiple verbals in the past week from blue-chippers and are positioning themselves to have national top five classes when all is said and done. The group of offensive linemen that Ohio State is bringing in is truly remarkable. Notre Dame, meanwhile, pulled off the miracle of landing Crist a year after landing JC Superstar. Who says God isn't Catholic?

The other big news has been the run of decommitments that has hit Texas A&M. A few weeks ago they lost Britt Mitchell to Oklahoma. The past couple of weeks, however, they have lost Aundre Dean to UCLA and Dravantti Johnson to Texas. In addition, blue-chippers Damian Square and Leroy Chevalier have also reneged on their earlier verbals. We aren't just talking about another four losses. We are talking about losing possibly their top three verbals and another top eight verbal. Heavy duty damage that drops A&M down substantially in the rankings.

One other development has been the continued early push by Florida State to land early verbals, something new under Bobby Bowden. They have picked up three new prospects since our last update, including highly touted 'backer Vincent Williams. The Seminoles are doing a great job of recruiting linebackers this year.

Please note one new addition to my listing. I have highlighted in blue all new text that I have written in the school summaries since my last update.

Below are my latest rankings. You should note that the rankings are only based on actual high school verbals and do not reflect the status schools may have with uncomitted prospects. Moreover, I do not include junior college prospects in my rankings (I know that Arkansas already has a JUCO commitment):


1. Texas

The Longhorns are up to nineteen verbals after poaching talented linebacker Dravannti Johnson away from the Aggies. Double the Longhorns pleasure as Johnson is a very good get and is another blow to A&M's recruiting efforts.

Jarvis Humphrey is this year's top prospect out of talent-laden Cedar Hill and among the better DL prospects in the nation. Nolan Brewster is the first out-of-state verbal and possibly the top prospect in Colorado. His dad is the new head coach at Minnesota and is a close friend of Mack Brown. Brewster may have been the first prospect in the nation offered by the Longhorns this year.

Southlake Carroll products Tre' Newton and Riley Dodge are two of the most high profile verbals. They have helped lead their team to consecutive state 5A titles and have great bloodlines with Dodge's father being a former Texas QB (Todd Dodge) who just accepted the head coaching job at North Texas and Newton's dad being former NFL player Nate Newton. Dodge is perhaps the most impressive prep QB in the nation and if he were a couple of inches taller he would have had the entire universe after him. Even with his lack of stature he could still wind up starring at the position in college, he's that good. And if things don't work out at QB he has the athleticism and quicks to play another position, such as WR.

Antoine Hicks and Kheeston Randall are the other two underrated verbals. They aren't as highly touted as most of the other signees but Texas does a great job of evaluating top in-state talent before everyopne else and both of these kids have great feet for their size and fine athleticism. Randall plays fo a small private school so has been under the radar. Hicks is a prep QB but will likely move to another position in college.

Snow is one of three national elite offensive linemen in the state. Buckner is probably the state's top WR and among the nation's best. Monroe is a national-caliber DB. Hills is the RB they wanted and the younger brother of Longhorn Tony Hills. Buchanan has been quickly moving up the charts and ranks just below the elite 3 OLs in the state. Tucker is arguably the nation's top kicker. The others are also all very good, Acho being a small school star and the younger brother of Longhorn signee Sam Acho and Williams looking very, very good at the U.S. Army Combine in San Antonio. Fitzhenry is a star prep QB who will play DB in college.

1 David Snow OL 6'4 280 5.10 Gilmer Texas
2 Dan Buckner WR 6'5 200 4.47 Allen Texas
3 Nolan Brewster DB 6'2 195 4.60 Denver Mullen Colorado
4 D.J. Monroe DB/WR/RB 5'10 160 4.40 Angleton Texas
5 Jeremy Hills RB 6'0 186 4.40 Alief Elsik Texas
6 Jarvis Humphrey DL 6'2 290 5.00 Cedar Hill Texas
7 Aaron Williams DB 6'0 175 4.40 Round Rock McNeil Texas
8 Riley Dodge QB/WR/DB 5'11 170 4.59 Southlake Carroll Texas
9 Tre' Newton RB 6'0 194 4.60 Southlake Carroll Texas
10 Dravannti Johnson LB/DL 6'2 218 4.68 Nederland Texas
11 Mark Buchanan OL 6'5 265 4.90 Austin High Texas
12 Ryan Roberson LB/RB 5'10 210 4.52 Brenham Texas
13 Justin Tucker PK 6'0 165 4.65 Austin Westlake Texas
14 Brock Fitzhenry DB/RB/QB/ATH 5'10 180 4.42 Giddings Texas
15 Luke Poehlmann OL 6'7 260 4.98 Brenham Texas
16 Emmanuel Acho LB 6'2 210 4.60 Dallas St. Mark's Texas
17 Antoine Hicks WR/QB/ATH 6'2 190 4.50 Mansfield Timberview Texas
18 Kheeston Randall DL 6'4 270 4.97 Beaumont Monsignor Kelly Texas
19 Blake Gideon DB/WR 6'1 187 4.50 Leander Texas


2. Oklahoma

The Sooners are back with a roar. They don't have the quantity of early verbals that Texas and A&M have received, but their top quality is as good as anybody. In fact, some feel that they may have landed four of the top seven prospects in Texas in Washington, Good, Calhoun and Johnson. One UT service had Good as the states top prospect. I wonder if that will hold?

QB Landry Jones is among the nation's best at his position. OL prospect Ben Habern is one of the top offensive linemen in Texas.

Bobby Stoops has built a foundation of early verbals that could help Oklahoma challenge for the national recruiitng title this year.

1 Stephen Good OL 6'5 265 5.06 Paris Texas
2 R.J. Washington DL/LB 6'3 234 4.62 Keller Fossil Ridge Texas
3 Jermie Calhoun RB/DB 6'0 195 4.49 Van Texas
4 Justin Johnson RB/LB 6'3 210 4.50 Gilmer Texas
5 Landry Jones QB 6'5 215 4.75 Artesia New Mexico
6 Ben Habern OL 6'3 260 4.90 Denton Liberty Christian Texas
7 Daniel Franklin LB 6'3 215 4.60 Mount Airy Habersham Central Georgia
8 Britt Mitchell OL/DL 6'8 300 5.05 Roscoe Texas


3. Notre Dame

Notre Dame continues to roll along and has picked up three high quality verbals since our last update. Dayne Crist, one of the top three signal-callers in the nation, leads the charge. Darius Fleming is yet another talented LB prospect who is among the top overall players in Illinois. Landing talented California TE Joseph Fauria was a bit of a surprise with Kyle Rudolph already on board, but landing him gives the Irish two tall, rangy and athletic tight ends who are among the nation's best.

Other verbals includes two talented linebackers in McDonald and Posluszny. Posluszny is the brother of Penn State all-american 'backer Paul Posluszny.


Notre Dame picked up a huge verbal last month in talented TE Kyle Rudolph, perhaps the nation's best at his position. He has a high ceiling. The other four verbals are all prospects with "high floors" and decent ceilings, typical Notre Dame Catholic school kids. The only non-Catholic school prospect, Cave, plays just down the road for state power Penn (same program as Mike Rosenthal a few years back).

The Irish have done a good job in locking-up local talent, landing two of the top three prospects in Indiana along with Cwymar, who is one of the top top linemen in the midwest. Golic, the son of the former ND star and current ESPN broadcaster of the same name, called in from his vacation in Italy to commit to the Irish. He is one of the top linemen in the east. By the way, he
has a younger brother to keep an eye out for next year! Goodman will remind Irish fans of Jeff Smardzja.

1 Kyle Rudolph TE 6'7 220 4.70 Cincinnati Elder Ohio
2 Dayne Crist QB/LB 6'5 228 4.66 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame California
3 Darius Fleming LB/DL 6'2 220 4.57 Chicago St. Rita Illinois
4 Joseph Fauria TE 6'8 242 4.75 Encino Crespi California
5 Sean Cwynar DL/OL 6'4 280 Woodstock Marian Central Catholic Illinois
6 John Goodman WR/QB/ATH 6'3 187 4.71 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger Indiana
7 Anthony McDonald LB/RB 6'3 220 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame California
8 David Posluszny LB/DB/RB 6'1 206 4.75 Aliquippa Hopewell Pennsylvania
9 Mike Golic OL 6'5 260 5.10 West Hartford Northwest Catholic Connecticut
10 Braxston Cave OL 6'3 292 5.38 Mishawaka Penn Indiana


4. Ohio State

A great, great week for Ohio State with super offensive linemen Mike Brewster and J.B. Shugarts deciding to join buddy Mike Adams as a Buckeye. In addition, Nathan Williams also just committed to Ohio State. He's one of the top DE prospects in the Midwest.

Ohio State is positioning themselves to have one of their best classes in recent history. It'a good year for talent in Ohio and everybody is talking about the offensive linemen the Buckeyes have landed, but what has most impressed me is that Jim Tressell has been successful early on in going outside of Ohio and atttracting top talent. Shugarts is from Texas and Brewster from Florida. If he can continue to poach top talent from around the nation while keeping the top in-staters at home the future could be downright scary for Buckeye opponents.

Suburban Columbus teammates Adams and Stoneburner are outstanding prospects. Adams has drawn comparisons to the late Korey Stringer and is near the top of the list of a strong group of OLs in the nation this year. Stoneburner has the speed to split wide and frame to become an exceptional receiving TE.

Torrence has the skills to play on either side of the ball but will probably be a LB in Columbus. He's also a standout prospect and possibly even more talented than his older brother Devon, who signed with Ohio State in February. Posey may be a bit under the radar at WR as it's such a great year nationally, but the Buckeyes offered early and really, really like him. They do a great job of evaluating in-state WR talent (think Anthony Gonzales) so don't be surprised to see DeVier develop in to an elite Big Ten receiver.

It's a great year for kickers in the state, and Buchanan probably has the strongest leg and definitely is the most versatile as both a kicker and punter.

1 Michael Brewster OL 6'5 294 5.25 Orlando Edgewater Florida
2 J.B. Shugarts OL/DL 6'8 290 5.12 Klein Texas
3 Mike Adams OL 6'7 300 5.47 Dublin Coffman Ohio
4 Jake Stoneburner TE/WR 6'5 218 4.54 Dublin Coffman Ohio
5 Devoe Torrence LB/RB 6'2 215 4.50 Canton South Ohio
6 DeVier Posey WR 6'1 179 4.65 Cincinnati La Salle Ohio
7 Nathan Williams DL/LB/RB 6'4 240 5.00 Washington Courthouse Miami Trace Ohio
8 Ben Buchanan P/PK/WR 6'0 185 Westerville Central Ohio


5. USC

The Trojans are holding steady at seven verbals since our last update.

Verbals include stud LB/SS Maurice Simmons, likely the top 'backer in California and an elite national recruit, and RB Curtis McNeal, an undersized back who will likely specialize as a return man for the Trojans.

Their first two verbals, Shoemate and Kalil, are national top 100 types and among the nation's best at their respective positions. They also happen to be from the same school! Other verbals are headed by talented DE Wes Horton, a high-ceiling type with a great frame. Chris Polk and Matt Meyer are both solid gets and similar in ways to Shoemate and Kalil, respectively, although not quite at their elite level. The beat goes on......

1 Dennis "D.J." Shoemate WR/DB 6'1 212 4.50 Anaheim Servite California
2 Matt Kalil OL 6'7 262 5.34 Anaheim Servite California
3 Maurice Simmons LB/DB 6'1 202 4.66 Compton Dominguez California
4 Wes Horton DL/TE 6'6 230 4.80 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame California
5 Chris Polk WR/RB/DB 5'11 191 4.50 Redlands East Valley California
6 Matt Meyer OL 6'8 285 Stockton Lincoln California
7 Curtis McNeal RB/WR/DB 5'6 171 4.62 Los Angeles Venice California


6. Georgia

The Bulldogs are putting together the top class in the SEC and currently have four national top caliber verbals.

DeAngelo Tyson is a national top 100-type and one of the nation's top DT prospects. He's a huge get for Georgia. Boykin is a quick CB and the cousin of fellow Georgia verbal Martin Ward. He's a bit more of a sleeper type.

Blair Walsh is probably the top kicker in Florida. . Green is a super, arguably the top WR in the nation in a year absolutely loaded at the position. RB will be a position of strength in the future with Samuel and Ward on board. Many feel that Samuel is the top back in the state while Ward looked very good at the U.S. Army combine. Washington is a terror off the edge who has run the 100-meters in the 10.7s (electronic). Once he fills out he could be scary. Allen is a fine TE prospect.

1 A.J. Green WR 6'4 184 4.56 Summerville South Carolina
2 DeAngelo Tyson DL 6'2 276 5.10 Statesboro Georgia
3 Richard Samuel RB 6'0 197 4.47 Cartersville Cass Georgia
4 Cornelius Washington DL/LB 6'4 220 4.51 Waynesboro Burke County Georgia
5 Martin Ward RB 5'9 188 4.65 Jonesboro Mt. Zion Georgia
6 Dwayne Allen TE/DL 6'3 217 4.92 Fayetteville Terry Sanford North Carolina
7 B.J. Brand OL 6'4 324 5.47 Douglas Coffee County Georgia
8 Blair Walsh PK 5'10 170 Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons Florida
9 Brandon Boykin DB 5'11 171 4.45 Fayetteville Fayette County Georgia
10 Bacarri Rambo DB/QB/ATH 6'1 195 4.46 Donalsonville Seminole County Georgia


7. UCLA

UCLA picked up one of the better RBs in Texas when Aundre Dean switched over from Texas A&M.

The Bruins enjoyed a Texas-caliber junior day in March, landing about ten prospects in just a couple of days. This is a talented group. They won't challenge USC for Pac-10 recruiting supremacy this year, but there is a good chance they will finish number two.

Rahim Moore is the class headliner and among the top DBs in the nation. He and rising bullet Datone Jones had also received offers from USC, and it hasn't been too often in recent history that the Bruins have been able to out recruit the Trojans for a prospect.

E.J. Woods is one of the top DBs in the West.

Holmes is another DL I like a lot and he, along with a couple of others, may have eventually received Trojan offers. Note that all the verbals are from Southern California, especially urban areas such as L.A. and Compton.

1 Rahim Moore DB 6'2 190 4.45 Los Angeles Dorsey California
2 Datone Jones DL/OL 6'4 235 4.80 Compton California
3 E.J. Woods DB/RB 6'0 195 4.50 Encino Crespi California
4 Damien Holmes DL/TE/RB 6'3 245 4.94 Colton California
5 Kemonte Bateman WR 6'0 175 4.40 Los Angeles Crenshaw California
6 Aundre Dean RB 6'1 190 4.48 Katy Texas
7 Uonga Kaveinga LB 6'0 228 4.76 Lawndale Leuzinger California
8 Antwon Moutra WR/DB 6'2 175 4.45 Culver City California
9 Johnathan Franklin RB/LB 5'11 185 4.40 Los Angeles Dorsey California
10 Jerry Johnson WR 6'2 186 4.60 Los Angeles Venice California
11 Anthony Dye DB 5'11 182 4.48 Corona Santiago California
12 Aaron Hester DB/WR 6'0 180 4.79 Compton Dominguez California


8. Nebraska

Wht a great start for the Cornhuskers. They are putting together an OL class second only to Ohio State landing the likes of in-state supers Trevor Robinson and Baker Steinkuhler, Iowa star Dan Hoch and Colorado OL Bryce Givens out of powerful Denver Mullen High.

Sleeper DB David Whitmore also recently committed.

Nebraska jumped on first-year player Okafor as soon as he started to make a name for himself and before other programs could get wind of this fine talent.

1 Baker Steinkuhler OL/DL 6'6 270 4.93 Lincoln Southwest Nebraska
2 Trevor Robinson OL/DL 6'5 300 5.53 Elkhorn Nebraska
3 Bryce Givens OL 6'6 240 5.20 Denver Mullen Colorado
4 Dan Hoch OL 6'7 273 Harlan Iowa
5 Collins Okafor RB 6'1 205 4.50 Omaha Westside Nebraska
6 David Whitmore DB 6'1 180 Port Arthur Memorial Texas



9. Florida State

Florida State continues a nice April run by landing three more verbals, including two more linebackers in talented Vincent Williams and athletic Nick Moody. Jermaine Thomas is a tall and fast RB who runs with good vision and does a nice job of catching the ball out of the backfield.

Early in April the Seminoles landed Carr and talented teammates Bradham and Holton. Bradham is among the nation's elite recruits while Holton is one of the top DBs in Florida. Carr is also a national caliber LB who had many, many early offers.

Anthony Hill is another talented early verbal and among the very best from the panhandle. He has excellent speed and athleticsim.

1 Nigel Bradham LB 6'2 220 4.60 Crawfordville Wakulla Florida
2 Vincent Williams LB/TE 6'1 226 4.68 Davenport Ridge Florida
3 Nigel Carr LB 6'3 225 4.55 Jacksonville First Coast Academy Florida
4 Cedrick "C.J." Holton DB/LB 6'2 190 4.50 Crawfordville Wakulla Florida
5 Nick Moody LB/DB/RB/WR 6'1 215 4.74 Philadelphia Roman Catholic Pennsylvania
6 Anthony Hill DL 6'4 285 4.90 Pensacola Florida
7 Jermaine Thomas RB 6'1 190 4.40 Jacksonville First Coast Academy Florida


10. Miami

The Hurricanes need to have a huge recruiting year in 2007-2008 after the recent coaching changeover. They have gotten off to an excellent start and have added talented safety Joseph Wylie since our last update. Randy Shannon is doing a fine job of identifying and landing top prospects in southeastern Florida.

Patrick Johnson, is one of the nation's elite DBs and a future all-american and DT Jeremy Lewis is raw but talented.

At their junior day they received verbals from two of the state's elite linemen. Both Regis and Washington have the size and athleticism that one associates with Miami linemen of years past who went on to play on Sundays.

Just recruiting their fair share of the talent in southeastern Florida should be enough to return Miami to the elite echelon of college football.

1 Patrick Johnson DB 6'1 193 4.44 Pompano Beach Ely Florida
2 Micanor Regis DL 6'3 310 5.19 Pahokee Florida
3 Brandon Washington OL 6'4 305 5.47 Miami Edison Florida
4 Jeremy Lewis DL 6'4 271 5.01 West Palm Beach Lakes Florida
5 Joseph Wylie DB/QB 6'2 185 4.60 Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson Florida


11. Tennessee

The Vols is looking to put together back-to-back outstanding classes and are on the road to succeeding in so doing. The latest prospect to verbal is sleeper OL Carlos Anderson out of Alabama.

Douglas has great bloodlines and leads a talented early group. Adding Bartholomew gives them a nice start in wrapping up in-state talent. They are also doing a nice job of raiding neighboring states early for blue-chip talent. Johnson, Poole (a soft verbal) and Floyd would have all been very heavily recruited.

1 Aaron Douglas TE 6'7 240 4.90 Maryville Tennessee
2 Austin Johnson LB 6'3 235 4.65 Hickory North Carolina
3 Tauren Poole RB 5'10 194 4.65 Toccoa Stephens County Georgia
4 J.T. Floyd DB 5'11 176 4.73 Greenville J.L. Mann South Carolina
5 Ben Bartholomew LB/TE/P 6'3 225 Nashville Montgomery Bell Academy Tennessee
6 Carlos Anderson OL 6'2 275 Florence Alabama Tennessee


12. Texas A&M

The past couple of weeks have been terrible for A&M's recruiting efforts. Four decommitments, that's right, FOUR. They have lost Aundre Dean to UCLA and Dravantti Johnson to Texas. In addition, blue-chippers Damian Square and Leroy Chevalier have also reneged on their earlier verbals. We aren't just talking about another four losses. We are talking about losing possibly their top three verbals and another top eight verbal. Heavy duty damage that drops A&M down substantially in the rankings.

There are, however, still some quality prospects committed to the Aggies (at least for now).

Lamar Harris is another talented prospect from Gilmer who could play on either side of the ball. The three top Gilmer kids have decided to go their separate ways with Justin Johnson headed to Oklahoma and David Snow to Texas.

Keon Furtch and Derrick Hall (one of the fastest players in the state) were being heavily recruited by such programs as LSU and Nebraska and are real good gets. Tony Jerod is another highly regarded verbal. Tommy Dorman was the QB they wanted.

Davis is a very athletic and huge linemen who I really like. He is a "high ceiling" type who could really surprise. Hyde is almost as good.

1 Lamar Harris DB/WR 6'1 180 4.60 Gilmer Texas
2 Derrick Hall WR/DB/RB 5'11 190 4.30 Beaumont Central Texas
3 Keon Furtch WR/DB 6'2 190 4.50 Paris Texas
4 Tony Jerod DL/TE 6'5 252 4.60 De Soto Texas
5 Roderick Davis DL 6'4 307 4.95 Aldine Eisenhower Texas
6 Jeffrey Hyde OL 6'4 270 4.90 Colleyville Covenant Christian Texas
7 Tommy Dorman QB 6'3 204 4.80 North Richland Hills Birdville Texas
8 Markell Martin DB/WR 6'3 180 4.50 Wichita Falls Rider Texas
9 Kendall Wright WR/DB/ATH 6'0 170 4.40 Pittsburg Texas
10 Blake Chavis DL 6'5 240 Beaumont West Brook Texas
11 Kyle Mangan LB 6'2 225 4.85 Brenham Texas
12 Jordan Fields DB/WR 6'0 185 4.55 Paris Texas
13 Brian Thomas OL 6'4 270 5.00 Pearland Texas
14 Joe Villavisencio OL 6'5 310 5.20 Jacksonville Texas
15 Josh Ayers OL 6'5 282 5.00 Euless Trinity Texas


13. Clemson

The latest Clemson verbal is Ohio TE Nic DiLillo, who has been overshadowed a bit by a talented group of Ohio TE prospects this year.

Bowers is an elite national prospect and a huge get for the Tigers. They are already set at QB with ahtletic Kyle Parker and Jon Richt, the son of Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Jones is a nice receiver and Skinner a fine long-snapper.

1 DaQuan Bowers DL/TE 6'6 265 4.70 Bamberg-Ehrhardt South Carolina
2 Kyle Parker QB 6'0 190 4.55 Jacksonville Bartram Trail Florida
3 Marquan Jones WR 6'0 175 Blythewood South Carolina
4 Nic DiLillo TE/DL 6'4 215 5.06 Madison Ohio Clemson
5 Matt Skinner OL/LSN 6'6 220 Jacksonville Bolles Florida
6 Jon Richt QB 6'1 185 5.48 Athens Prince Avenue Christian Georgia


14. Michigan

Michigan recently landed one of the top linemen in the Midwest in Elliot Mealer, an athletic OT who wanted to attend Ohio State but was squeezed out of receiving an offer when the Buckeyes landed three of the nation's top eight OL prospects. Mealer has a high ceiling and could be a steal for the Wolverines.

Cissiko is probably the best pure cover corner in the class and was the overall MVP at the U.S. Army Combine. He helps alleviate the sting of losing RoJo to USC.

O'Neill is the top lineman in the state and is, quite literally, a huge get. He helps fill a crucial need as the Wolverines will be recruiting the OL hard this year.

1 Boubacar Cissoko DB/WR 5'9 175 4.40 Detroit Cass Tech Michigan
2 Dan O'Neill OL/DL 6'8 295 Grand Haven Michigan
3 Elliott Mealer OL/DL/TE 6'6 280 5.20 Wauseon Ohio


15. Alabama

Nick Saban is taking an interesting approach in his first recruiting season at Alabama. It's similar to what new coaches at Nebraska and Mississippi have done in recent years. That is, sending out many early offers, some to not so-elite kids, in order to get the ball rolling and some momentum building.

The most recent verbal is OL John Michael Boswell.

Other verbals include in-staters Ivan Matchett and Wesley Neighbors. Matchett is a talented and versatile fullback who is a real nice get. Neighbors has 'Bama bloodlines as his father of he same name was a fine player for Alabama way back when.

The three DLs are all very athletic and quick (note that thy are all TEs on offense). I especially like Williams with his great frame and quickness. Smith is also an outstanding get as he is one of the top overall kickers in the nation.

1 Michael Williams DL/TE 6'6 240 4.70 Reform Pickens County Alabama
2 Undra Billingsley DL/TE 6'4 265 4.70 Birmingham Woodlawn Alabama
3 Brandon Lewis DL/TE 6'4 260 Pleasant Grove Alabama
4 Ivan Matchett RB/LB 5'11 220 4.62 Mobile St. Paul's Episcopal Alabama
5 Wesley Neighbors DB 6'1 187 4.50 Huntsville Alabama
6 Corey Smith PK/P 6'0 190 Bunker Hill Musselman West Virginia
7 John Michael Boswell OL 6'6 290 Northport Tuscaloosa County Alabama
8 Jermaine Preyear RB 5'11 198 4.40 Mobile Davidson Alabama


16. BYU

The latest verbal for BYU is sleeper Oregon RB Jerry Bruner, a nice-sized back who was injured for much of his junior season.

Holt, one of the nation's elite TE prospects, tops the list. The Sorensen cousins are also very good prospects.


1 Austin Holt TE/LB 6'6 220 4.90 South Jordan Bingham Utah
2 Daniel Sorensen DB/WR/PK 6'0 175 Colton California
3 Justin Sorensen PK/LB 6'2 215 South Jordan Bingham Utah
4 Cameron Comer DB/WR 6'1 170 4.56 Springville Utah
5 Jerry Bruner RB 6'2 225 Vancouver Evergreen Oregon




17. West Virginia

The most recent verbals for West Virginia are Addae, Smith and Robinson. I like Addae the best of the trio as he is an instinctive runner with great moves. His older brother played at WVU.

Jenkins is among the nation's elite prospects and Rich Rodriguez is going to have to hold off the rest of world in keeping him a Mountaineer.

1 Josh Jenkins OL/DL 6'3 282 5.20 Parkersburg West Virginia
2 Jeff Braun DL/OL 6'5 315 5.50 Winters Mill Maryland
3 Jahleel Addae RB 5'11 170 4.87 Riverview Florida
4 Chris Smith WR/QB/ATH 5'11 175 4.63 Boothwyn Chichester Pennsylvania
5 Jermaine Robinson DB/LB/QB/ATH 6'3 180 Pittsburgh Brashear Pennsylvania


18. LSU

LSU has pickd up four talented in-staters and a former Louisiana native in Theriot, a real a,thlete who stars at QB in high school but could play several positions at the next level. The Taylor brothers recently committed and are vastly underrated. Spencer and Lonergan are solid linemen.

A nice early start, but most of the elite in-state talent is still open.

1 Kellen Theriot RB/LB/QB/TE/ATH 6'2 225 4.50 Bellaire Episcopal Texas
2 Brandon Taylor WR/DB 5'11 176 4.49 Franklinton Louisiana
3 Jyryn Taylor WR 6'0 175 4.50 Franklinton Louisiana
4 Clay Spencer OL 6'5 285 Baton Rouge Parkview Baptist Louisiana
5 Pat "P.J." Lonergan OL 6'4 288 5.93 Metairie Archbishop Rummel Louisiana


19. Minnesota


1 Sam Maresh LB/DL/TE 6'3 257 4.70 Champlin Park Minnesota
2 Brendan Kelly DL 6'6 222 Richfield Academy of Holy Angels Minnesota
3 John Nance QB/WR/ATH 6'3 165 St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall Minnesota
4 Shady Salamon RB/DB 5'10 180 St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall Minnesota
5 Kevan Walker WR/DB/RB 6'1 189 4.50 Arcadia California
6 Ryan Grant QB/DB/LB 6'2 215 Eden Prairie Minnesota
7 Roszell Gayden DL/OL 6'7 240 Cooper Minnesota


20. Virginia Tech

Taylor is a monster and among the nation's elite linebackers. McCoy is a nice-sized receiver with good ball skills. Fuller is another pretty decent possession receiver.

1 Bruce Taylor LB/DL 6'3 230 4.65 Myrtle Beach South Carolina
2 Derrick McCoy WR/LB/DB 6'3 210 4.55 Amherst County Virginia
3 Austin Fuller WR 6'3 200 4.69 Richlands Virginia

posted by Jim Stefani @ 9:38 AM