(Joey Alfieri 6-2 220 Jr. LB Jesuit) One of the top junior linebackers in the entire Pacific NW |
(David Ajamu (6-5 230 Sr. TE Shelton WA) received Oregon St and Portland St offers Saturday |
(Xavier Griggs 6-1 215 Sr. LB Central Catholic) garnered his first two offers from Portland St & E.Washington |
TE
The star of the day on the TE front wan none other then David Ajamu (6-5 230 Sr. TE) of Shelton. The big superstar from Washington added Oregon St and Portland St to his offer from Wyoming. Ajamu looked the part all day and is considered one of the top TE’s on the West coast. He could forseeably see quite a few other offers roll in, after going off in 2011 and looking great coming into this season.
Cole Madison (6-5 255 Sr. TE) was another top kid that recently committed to Washington St and had a good day. Madison is just a big dude and very athletic. Mike Leach made a good move getting a kid that can play multiple positions. Mike Ralston (6-6 240 Sr TE) out of Sheldon also holds a D1aa offer from Northern Colorado, and has gotten looks from plenty of other legit D1’s, as his testing is through the roof and he can play multiple spots.
The TE group was potentially the best position of the day as every kid was ranked in their respective state’s top 10 list. Kyle Self (6-4 225 Sr. TE) is a very talented athlete out of Peninsula, and is currently being looked at by multiple Big Sky schools. Add in Griffin McClain (6-5 245 Sr. TE) who is also right on that D1aa bubble and you have some big physical athletes. McClain in a 3 sport kid, with a 90 MPH fastball. He will eventually find a good home.
Canadian standout Blake Whitley (6-5 220 Sr. TE) of Vancouver Secondary has gotten plenty of looks. He is a kid that did very well once again, and should be on quite a few D1 radars. His size and speed are unique and he loves the game of football. We are big fans of this kid.
Two other athletes that did very well and closed out the showcase event in style were Josh Harper (6-5 190 Sr TE/DE Marist) and Matt Malcuit (6-4 235 Sr. TE Rogers). Malcuit has had an outstanding off season, with a breakout regional camp/combine at Peninsula and a very impressive showcase event. He will need to have a good regular season and show that he can block as well as catch. Harper lead the class 5a classification level in sacks last season from his D end spot, but is valuable catching the ball and someone that Ivy league type schools could be eating up with his 4.1 GPA
Isaiah Richmond (6-6 235 Sr. TE) out of Skyline will be another kid that could move up quickly on the recruiting front with the nation’s #1 QB getting him the ball. He has made football his focus and has the size and athleticism to do very well. PJ Smith (6-2 245 Sr. TE) has NFL Genes and
made the switch from O line to TE and should be considered one of the top TE’s in the PIL.
There are a host of young TE’s that were in attendance that we will here a lot about over the next couple season’s, but Cole Ford (6-4 205 So. TE) of Bothell, WA could be one of the best.. He could get significant playing time on this years talented Bothell team as a sophomore at either TE or DE.
Others top TE’s to Mention:
Kyle Wells Del Oro, CA Jr., Tyree Rutter Jr. Everett, Ross Martin So. Wenatchee, Dario Haynes So. N Thurston, Bryce Laperle Jr. Beaverton
LB
When referencing the top positions we spoke about the TE’s, but the LB’s also had a great deal of talent that was exposed on Saturday. Xavier Griggs (6-1 215 Sr. LB Central Catholic) maybe had the best day of all, hauling in his first two offers from Portland St and Eastern Washington. Griggs is a kid with legit skills and an upside that won’t quit. With continued work Griggs could be one of the best in the region.
Two other high profile LB’s out of Oregon that had impressive days were Johnny Ragin (6-3 210 Sr. LB/HB) of Wilsonville and Evan Colorito (6-4 230 Sr. TE) of Beaverton. Ragin has been offered by BYU and Portland St and Colorito has racked up offers from Colorado, Colorado St, Portland St, and Montana..
Ragin has blown up in the last month earning an invite to the Prestigious "Opening" at NIKE Headquarters, Winning LB MVP Honors at the NIKE NFTC in Eugene, and finishing 1st among 600 competitors at the NIKE SPARQ event at Tigard HS. He looked great at the showcase and sits right on that Pac 12 bubble. He has all of the intangibles, including a 4.0 GPA as this a kid that we will hear a great deal more about over the summer.
Colorito is ranked the top LB in Oregon, and felt good about his day. He is a kid with an upside that won’t quit, and his frame makes him a viable DE at the next level with added size. His father was an All American at USC and played in two super bowls with Denver.
James Banks (6-1 225 Sr. LB Sheldon) made the transfer from Marist during the winter and looks stronger then ever. He has had a very productive off season that saw him hit camps all along the west coast that included Stanford and Cal. Banks is a borderline genius in the classroom, and someone that Ivy League schools and other high end academic institutions should be eating up.
With all positions considered the Junior LB group out of Oregon could be the best anywhere with regards to numbers. Joey Alfieri (6-2 215 Jr. LB) and Nick Underwood (6-1 215 Jr. LB) will most likely be ranked the top 2 junior backers in the state, and have D1 written all over them. Alfieri looked at the top of his game and could be an early offer kid. He returns to Jesuit after earning 1st team all league honors as a sophomore. His father Phil has been great and provides NFL/D1 genes to the mix (NY Jets/Oregon St.)
Underwood is very similar and earned honorable mention all league honors as a sophomore on a team that won the state title. His testing is off the charts for a kid his size, and we look forward to seeing what he is going to do in 2012.
The Washington backers were still out in force lead by Albert Havili (6-3 240 Sr. Federal Way), Micah Breland (6-2 220 Sr. Foster), Trayon McNairy (6-1 220 Sr. Juanita), Mikey Tupou (6-1 225 Sr. Ingelmoor ), and Zach Cable (6-3 240 Sr. Hazen). PSU and a host of other Big Sky’s really like Havili, Breland and McNairy as all three of them have outstanding film and play with non stop motors.
Zach Cable, son of the Seahawks Tom Cable, had one of the more impressive days showing what a big linebacker is capable of. Put the pads on this kid and you don’t want to run into him. He could be one of the breakout performers in the State of Washington. Tupou is also a name many of you are familiar with after last season, and he did well at the showcase. He will return after a 1st team all league season from a year ago.
There are so many talented linebackers within the region its almost hard to summarize how good they all are. Two Junior backers from Washington that you will hear a great deal about over the next couple seasons are Nate Lewis of Arlington (6-2 220 Jr. LB) and Gianni Carbone (6-1 210 Jr. LB) of Skyview. Both of them did very well at our regional combines and showed that they were a force at the showcase.
Two other senior backers that will be the best within their conference are Devvon Gage (6-2 215 Sr. LB) and Austin Wilson (6-3 220 Sr. LB) of Sprague. Both of these kids have size and speed and an outstanding work ethic. Look for them to be two of the best players in the Central Valley Conference. Other seniors you will hear about often are Tanner Fiez (6-2 220 Sr. Crescent Valley), one of the state’s leading tacklers and David Henry (6-0 230 Sr. LB) a 2A Player of the Year candidate out of Oakland.
The top sophomore of the group, Cy Sirmon (6-2 200 So. LB) of Wenatchee, will lead the youth movement in Washington’s 2015 defensive class, while sophomore’s Elijah Clayton (6-0 210 So. Renton) and Shawn Munro (6-0 200 So. Bothell) will also rep the state well. Ulu Porter (6-1 225 Sr. Graham-Kapowsin), Eric Rauch (6-1 215 Sr. Issaquah), Harley French (6-1 200 Sr. Juanita), and Rod Jones Jr (6-2 230 Sr. Federal Way) are four of the other seniors that will be top backers in their respective conferences.
As we referenced above the Oregon junior linebacker class is super deep and had a handful of NW top backers in attendance. Marcus McGovern (6-2 210 Jr. LB) of Sheldon is big and fast and will have to replace big time athlete Dawson Housley from last season. Chase Marshall (6-3 215 Jr. LB Lakeridge) was the state’s leading tackler among sophomores and has legit size. He did outstanding at the showcase and will be a kid we pay a lot of attention to moving forward.
In closing Mike Varadi (6-0 225 Jr. LB Southridge) , and Mitch Kekel (6-0 200 Jr. LB Westview) will be two of the Metro League’s top linebackers in the state’s toughest conference. We know both kids very well from our elite events, as they will both 3 year starters and leaders on their own teams.
Others Top LB’s to Mention:
Nathan DeRider (6-1 200 Sr. Bellevue), Chris Loveless (5-10 185 Jr.Westview), Brandon Crandell (6-0 195 Sr. Skyline), Caleb Jackson ( Gahr, CA), Erwin Oliveros ( So. Renton), Tyler McCauley ( Jr. Neah Bay ), Trevonn Russell (6-0 210 Jr. Lindbergh).
