U Recruit

2012 QB Jeff Lindquist is a big pickup for the Washington Huskies.

When it comes to producing west coast talent, California is the state that first comes to mind. The state of Washington, on the other hand, does not produce substantial BCS-talent each year.

With star quarterback Jake Locker getting drafted this year, the Huskies need to continue to address the quarterback position. They added Nick Montana two classes ago, and now have added another talented quarterback prospect, from the state of Washington. Read the rest of this entry →

Chesapeake RB J.C. Coleman

This past weekend the Virginia Tech Hokies wrapped up spring practice with their annual spring game. Over 80 recruits were in attendance for the game, and the coaches were able to gain public commitments from three players. Not a bad pickup for one weekend eh? Read the rest of this entry →

Florida commitment RB Matt Jones.

This is the second part of our Early Conference Breakdown. You can read the SEC West Breakdown here.

Last season the South Carolina Gamecocks captured their first SEC East Title en route to the SEC Championship game. They also signed the #1 prospect in the nation, Javadeon Clowney. Here’s our breakdown of the early SEC East recruiting rankings. Read the rest of this entry →

Alabama QB/Ath commitment Justin Thomas.

National Signing Day for the class of 2012 is still many months away. However, recruiting is happening at an earlier pace every year, and many teams have chalked up commitments from players from all over the country already.

In the Early Conference Breakdown, we’ll be taking a look at each major conference, and what teams are really excelling early in the recruiting process. Read the rest of this entry →

The state of New York and “football hotbed” are not two terms with synonymous with each other. But the state does produce it’s share of great talent each year, and they are often recruited by the top teams in the nation.

This year it is no different, with massive defensive tackle Jarron Jones, a 6″5, 305-pound prospect hailing from Rochester New York.

After his junior season Jones saw the offer floodgates open, with teams like Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Connecticut, Michigan, North Carolina, South Florida, Rutgers, Penn State, and Tennessee offering him. Jones had an open mind early in his recruitment, with schools from both the North and South offering him.

But as he began to take visits one stuck out in his mind, and that was Penn State. The big tackle hit it off with stud recruiter and ace D-Line Coach Larry Johnson, and was impressed with the school and tradition as well. Today, he made it official.

On film Jarron Jones displays that quick first step off the line, and is a very strong young man. In college he’ll need to play lower and with better leverage, as most defensive lineman his size are able to simply bull rush players at the high school level.

Officially, Jones is the Nittany Lions 5th commitment in the 2012 class.

New West Virginia Coach-in-waiting/Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen has made his career so far in the state of Texas. And now that he’s at West Virginia, he and his offensive staff have made the state a priority in recruiting.

Kincaid QB Ford Childress made the trip up from Texas for the Mountaineers junior day this weekend, and with an offer on the table decided West Virginia would be the perfect fit for him.

At 6″4, 210 lbs, Childress seems to be more of a pro-style quarterback. But his high school in Texas runs the air-raid offense as well, and though the collegiate version he’ll be playing in is much more complicated and extensive, Childress should not have any trouble adjusting to the new offense in college.

Childress displays good arm strength, and very solid accuracy as well. Throwing for over 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns last year, the talented quarterback is also a very underrated runner, as he ran for 500 yards and 7 touchdowns last year as well. At the next level he’ll really need to improve upon his footwork and technical aspects of his game, but should be a solid player after redshirting his first year at West Virginia.

Ford Childress Highlights

Ford is the Mountaineers 4th known commitment in the 2012 class.

On film, Childress

Most of the top scouting companies have released their initial top prospect lists. Scout.com has released their annual Scout 300, while recently-founded 247-Sports has released their top 247 as well.

We’ll take a look at some of the top prospects on both boards, and offer our own opinions here.

1. Pleasant Grove, CA OT Arik Armstead – The consensus #1 player to both Scout.com and 247 Sports, Armstead is a player that is still growing and really just starting to tap into his potential. USC definitely got a great player when Armstead committed to them early in the process, and he could be the cornerstone tackle of a very good offensive line class for the Trojans in 2012.

2. Olney, MD Athlete Stefon Diggs – At 6″0, 188 lbs, Diggs is a silky-smooth athlete with great acceleration and speed. Rated a top 20 player by 247 and Scout, some analysts are starting to believe he may end up as a safety. Regardless of whether he plays receiver or safety in college, Diggs is a stand-out athlete that will immediately impact a recruiting class.

3. Columbus, IN QB Gunner Kiel – You won’t find a better name for a quarterback than Gunner, and at 6″4, 210 lbs with a high QB I.Q. and an accurate arm Gunner is a can’t miss QB prospect. Kiel has an offer list a mile long, but is being courted heavily by Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, and Notre Dame, with Florida coming on strong as well.

4. Raleigh, NC RB Keith Marshall – Arguably the top RB in the 2012 class, this talented running back is a 4.0 student and an outsanding speedster 4.4 as well. Marshall will need to add size in college, but he can be a terrific every-down back. Georgia and UNC are out to a very strong lead in his recruitment.

5. Washington, DC DT Eddie Goldman – He’s got great size at 6″4 305 lbs, and is amazingly quick off the ball for a man of his size. He’s taking his visits and making the rounds, but whatever player ends up with Goldman is getting an extremely talented big man.