It is a subject that is hush-hush among college football coaches. It is the issue about why they don't recruit white athletes to play certain skill positions--running back, cornerback and wide receiver. Even the media often doesn't want to go down that road.

Wheaton North's Mike Trumpy was confronted by the stigma while he was scrutinizing the recruiting process and weighing all of his options before he opted to commit to Northwestern last week.

Trumpy has all the tools. He is a 6-0, 200-pound running back with 4.5 speed. As a junior, herushed for 1,664 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaged seven yards per carry in arguably the most competitive conference in the state and was named to the Sun-Times' 25-member All-Chicago Area team.

He has good bloodlines. His uncle, Bob Trumpy, played tight end at Illinois and Utah and was a two-time All-AFL and two-time Pro Bowl selection during a 10-year NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

He also is an outstanding athlete. He is one of the leading hurdlers in the state. He has been timed in 10.7 seconds for 100 meters and 14.28 seconds for the 110-meter high hurdles. Last February, at the Proviso West indoor meet, he was timed in 7.4 seconds in the 55-meter high hurdles to tie a record set by Olympian Greg Foster.

But Trumpy is white.

"In football, when you're talking about skilled players, there is a reverse prejudice that white players have to deal with," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports. "College coaches for the most part don't believe white kids can play tailback or cornerback. Trumpy has done a great job of proving he can play at the highest level."

During his recruiting, Trumpy received only three big-time offers--from Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Stanford.

Several big-time schools, including Illinois, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Ohio State, expressed interest. Some invited him to visit the campus, some wanted him to participate in a one-day camp, others requested film. But none of them offered a scholarship.

"It's old-school prejudice," Lemming said. "College coaches don't believe white tailbacks have running instincts to be big-time tailbacks. They don't believe white tailbacks and cornerbacks have natural instinctive moves or loose hips on offense or the ability to turn quickly and backpedal on defense.

"A lot of times over the 30 years I have been evaluating high school players I have mentioned a tailback I like who happens to be white and the college coaches won't even bother to see him. They don't get a chance to play in college. And how many white tailbacks and cornerbacks do you see in the NFL?"

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Bloomington-based recruiting analyst Bill "Flash" Flanagan has been hosting his Flash's Spring Hoops Review at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington for 12 years. It is a showcase for many of the top high school basketball players in the state.

His most recent camp, by his own admission, was one of the best. "Based on talent and depth, it was one of our better camps," he said. "Out of 250 kids who participated, there were at least 75 Division I prospects."

Mike Mullins, coach of the Illinois Wolves' AAU program, boosted the talent level by bringing three teams of 15, 16 and 17-and-under players.

The No. 1 player in the camp was 6-1 junior guard Dyricus Sims-Edwards of Washington, who had a breakout season while playing with Indiana-bound Mike Roth and leading their team to the Final Four in the state tournament. Illinois State has offered a scholarship and Kansas and Duke are showing interest.

"Other than (former Peoria Central star, 2004 Illinois Player of the Year and NBA lottery pick) Shaun Livingston, he is the best player I've seen come out of the Peoria area," Flanagan said.

While Sims-Edwards is well known, Flanagan admitted that he had never seen 6-6 junior Mikel Brigham of Danville before the camp. It was quite an eyeful. Brigham clearly was the No. 2 player in the field.

"He has been talked about as a Big 10 football prospect," Flanagan said. "But he can play basketball in the Big 10, too. He can run the floor. At 6-6 and 190 pounds, he dominated the boards. He is strong and athletic. But he might have to attend a junior college or prep school."

The other top performers in the camp (in order), according to Flanagan, were 6-3 junior guard Diamond Taylor of St. Joseph, who is committed to Wisconsin; 6-4 junior guard Joseph Bertrand of Sterling, who is committed to Illinois; 6-1 sophomore point guard Dre McCamey of St. Joseph; 5-11 freshman point guard Donivine Stewart of Bartonville Limestone; and 6-9 junior Zeke Schneider of Metamora.

Also 6-7 junior Conrad Krutwig of Jacobs; 6-5 freshman guard Andrew Taylor of Peoria Woodruff; 6-8 junior Nick Washburn of Mahomet-Seymour; 6-2 junior guard James Kinney of Champaign Centennial; 6-4 junior guard Tim Traversa of St. Patrick; 6-5 sophomore guard Alex Dragicevich of Glenbrook North; 6-4 senior guard Derek Tartt of Fenwick, who will attend a prep school, Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, next fall; and 6-7 junior Troy Snyder of Bolingbrook.

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Most college football coaches haven't completed their task of offering scholarships to the top-rated players in the class of 2009, next fall's seniors. But recruiters already are scouring the country, evaluating the leading prospects in the class of 2010, next fall's juniors.

It is a process that is never-ending. Coaches realize a fundamental rule in recruiting, something that Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest understood during the Civil War almost 150 years ago. "Get thar the firstest with the mostest," he said. Forrest might not have been eloguent but he was very effective. He didn't lose any battles.

Translated in modern terminology, coaches are aware that it is important to contact young prospects as quickly as possible because they always keep tabs on schools that show them a lot of love early. In many cases, the first school they hear from is the one they choose.

At the moment, two players stand out above the rest--6-6, 275-pound offensive tackle Chris Lombard of Fremd and 6-4, 230-pound defensive end Chance Carter of Loyola.

Veteran Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said Lombard is "as good a lineman as anyone I've seen" and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CSTV rates him as the No. 1 player in his class in the Chicago area.

Carter could be the best athlete in the class.

Another outstanding athlete is 6-7, 228-pound wide receiver C.J. Fedorowicz of Johnsburg, who caught 76 passes for 1,046 yards and 22 touchdowns last year.

Quarterbacks to watch are Chandler Whitmer of Downers Grove South, who passed for 1,271 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, John Whitelaw of Hinsdale Central, Miles Osei of Prospect and Billy VandeMerkt of Riverside-Brookfield.

Best linemen are John Thibideau (6-5, 265) and Zach Fulton (6-5, 275) of Homewood-Flossmoor, Frank Boenzi (6-3, 285) of Geneva, Shawn Afryl (6-4, 295) of Niles West, Kevin Schlitter (6-5, 245) of Maine South, Matt Mautone (6-3, 285) of St. Charles North, Laken Tomlinson (6-6, 280) of Lane Tech, Bergeau Saintil (6-2, 265) of Niles North, Austin Teitsma (6-2, 210) of Glenbard South, Danny Kiebler (6-3, 225) of Leyden and Joey Riddle (6-4, 220) of Joliet.

The list of running backs includes Cameron Gillespie of Round Lake, Julian Banuelos of Wheaton Warrenville South, Greg Kennedy of Warren, Darnell Swanigan of Proviso East and LaSteven McKinney of Nazareth.

Receivers? Dan Hohenstein of Wheaton Warrenville South, Corey Cooper of Proviso East, Daron Brown of Morgan Park, Rodney Lloyd of Fenger and Peter Houlihan of Providence.

And what about the class of 2011? Next fall's sophomores?

Victor Nelson, a 6-7, 282-pound offensive tackle at Maine South, could emerge as the best prospect the Park Ridge school has produced since All-Pro lineman Dave Butz in 1968.

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Bill Self is universally regarded as a big-time recruiter, one of the best in college basketball. The coach of the newly crowned NCAA championship team once signed Dee Brown, Luther Head, Deron Williams and most of the players who took Illinois to second place in the 2005 NCAA tournament and wooed Julian Wright and Sherron Collins to Kansas.

But Self isn't the most accomplished salesman who ever sold a high school prospect on spending four years in Lawrence, Kan.

Meet Sam Miranda.

In an era before cell phones, text messaging and other outside influences such as the Internet, summer coaches and street agents, Miranda served as Ted Owens' assistant coach and recruiter from 1963 to 1976. His primary responsibility? Recruiting talent in Illinois, from Chicago to East St. Louis.

Miranda knew the state well. An all-stater at Collinsville in 1948, he played for Branch McCracken at Indiana. He coached at Galatia for one year, Vandalia for two years and Kankakee for five years. Then he was an assistant coach at New Mexico for two years before joining Owens at Kansas.

It didn't take him long to make an impact. He had persuaded Collinsville star Rodger Bohnenstiehl to commit to New Mexico. But when Miranda left to Kansas, Bohnenstiehl followed. And that was just the beginning.

"I was from Illinois and knew it was a great basketball star," Miranda said. "I knew a lot of high school coaches. I figured we had to outwork people. I was on the phone every night from 7 to 10 talking to players in Illinois. We had practice on Friday afternoon. Afterward, I'd catch a flight in Kansas City, fly to Illinois, see a game, visit with parents, go to dinner, then fly back on a 12:45 flight to Kansas City."

Nobody was more successful. Miranda wooed JoJo White from St. Louis to Kansas. White wanted to go to Cincinnati because of Oscar Robertson. But Cincinnati couldn't get film on him. "You don't have to see him play," a coach told Miranda. "He can play." Miranda didn't hesitate to make an offer.

"I went to Kansas because I couldn't talk to any other coaches. I was always on the phone with Sam," White later said.

Miranda also recruited Bob and Tom Kivisto out of East Aurora, Tom, now an oilman in Tulsa, Okla., donated millions of dollars to renovate Kansas' football stadium. He also recruited Rich Bradshaw (Marshall), Roger Brown (Englewood) and Donnie Von Moore (Kenwood) out of Chicago, Roger Morningstar from Dundee, Dave Robisch from Springfield, Dale Greenlee from Rockford Guilford, Tommie Smith from Kewanee and Rick Suttle from East St. Louis Assumption.

Oh, he lost a few along the way. Collinsville great Tom Parker was set to attend Kansas, then was wooed by Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall to Kentucky. Marion's Greg Starrick also opted for Kentucky.

"I once stayed in Joliet for a week to recruit Roger Powell," Miranda recalled. "I saw his mother every morning and took them out to dinner at night. He signed with Kansas but didn't pass the test. He ended up at Illinois State."

Now retired and living in Lawrence, Kan., Miranda admires Self, who has a philosophy of recruiting in Illinois. His predecessor, Roy Williams, preferred California. "Self believes there is nobody he can't get," Miranda said.

"I always felt the key point was to sell yourself. There always was one person in the family that you had to get on your side. If you sold him or her, chances are you would get the kid. I'd talk about Kansas' success and Wilt Chamberlain. Everybody had heard of Wilt."

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In 2000, longtime sports columnist Loren Tate of the Champaign News-Gazette conducted an exhaustive survey of high school football in Illinois. Even today, it makes for compelling reading.

Tate selected his all-time teams from 1934-1959 and from 1960-1999 and came to the conclusion that an overwhelming percentage of the best players being produced in Illinois high schools weren't choosing to attend the University of Illinois.

I'm sure Illinois coach Ron Zook is aware of the history. The Illini football program doesn't command a loyal following within the state as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State do within their borders. Perhaps that is why Zook has become more of a national recruiter.

In 2000, Tate noted a Chicago Sun-Times article that revealed only three of the 20 all-time best linemen in the Chicago area had attended Illinois--Evanston's Alex Agase, Wheaton North's Jim Juriga and Clifton Central's Bill Burrell.

Today, the list could be expanded to include Martin O'Donnell of Downers Grove South and Xavier Fulton of Homewood-Flossmoor.

But Illinois' inability to recruit the top prospects in the Chicago area extended to other positions--only three of the top 20 receivers, only three of the top 20 linebackers, only one of the top 10 quarterbacks and only six of the top 20 running backs.

Tate also pointed out that only two of the 22 Players of the Year on the News-Gazette's all-state teams picked Illinois--Montini receiver Bob Westerkamp and Belleville West linebacker Matt Studtman--and never made an impact in the Illini program.

Of the 48 players named to the News-Gazette's all-time teams, 18 attended Illinois while 30 went elsewhere.

Sure, some of the selections are arbitrary. But no one questioned the talent and potential of Bloom's Bryant Young (Notre Dame), New Trier East's Clay Matthews (USC), Farragut's Otis Armstrong (Purdue), St. Rita's Dennis Lick (Wisconsin), Blue Island Eisenhower's Jimmy Smith (Michigan), Maine South's Dave Butz (Purdue) or Proviso West's Flozell Adams (Michigan State).

"What we do know, what has become unmistakably clear over the decades," Tate wrote at the time, "is that unlike Ohio and Pennsylvania, in-state athletes are no pushovers for the state university. The feelings of loyalty aren't the same as we see in Georgia and Nebraska. That traditional fact speaks directly to the question of why it is so difficult to pull the Illini over the hump and keep them there."

The issue is as mainstream today as it was in 2000. It is as much a challenge to Ron Zook in 2008 as it was to Pete Elliott in 1960.

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Tom Lemming, the recruiting analyst, and I have had a friendly disagreement for years.

He claims that Illinois is one of the leading states in the nation for producing high school football talent. And he always reminds me that the Chicago area has sent more players to the NFL than any other metropolitan region outside of southern California.

I insist that Illinois talent is overrated. Check the recent college All-America teams. Even the All-Big 10 listings. There are very few, if any, representatives from the Chicago area. Basketball, I argue, is taking good athletes away from football.

Sure, there was a time when Chicagoans were among the elite players in college and professional football...Otto Graham, Dale Samuels, Alex Agase, Ray Nitschke, Dick Butkus, George Connor, Dick Barwegan, Tony Canadeo, Johnny Lattner, Buddy Young, Pete Pihos. All are Hall of Famers, college or NFL or both.

Interestingly, one of the best players to come out of Chicago never played high school football--even though he is listed on some all-time teams. Leo Nomellini was born in Italy, came to Chicago as an infant and attended Crane Tech. But he worked in a foundry while going to high school and didn't play football until he joined the Marines in 1942.

After serving in the Pacific during World War II, he was given a scholarship to Minnesota. He was a two-time All-American in 1948 and 1949, was the San Francisco 49ers' first draft choice in 1950, earned All-Pro recognition seven times and never missed a game in 14 years. He is a member of the college and pro football Halls of Fame.

But that was a long time ago.

How about the last 25 years? Who are the best players to be produced in the Chicago area since 1980? How many Hall of Famers?

The list is slim.

It is headed by defensive lineman Bryant Young of Notre Dame and fullback Mike Alstott of Joliet Catholic. Ironically, both retired from the NFL after last season.

Young starred at Notre Dame and enjoyed an All-Pro career with the San Francisco 49ers. Alstott starred at Purdue and had a highly successful career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The rest?

Mike Tomczak of Thornton Fractional North was on four 9-3 teams at Ohio State and was a journeyman quarterback in the NFL.

Flozell Adams of Proviso West starred at Michigan State and is an All-Pro offensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys.

Wheaton North's Jim Juriga was a three-time All-Big 10 offensive lineman at Illinois and was a starter for the Denver Broncos.

Mount Carmel's Simeon Rice was a two-time All-America defensive end at Illinois and starred in the NFL before being released after last season.

Mount Carmel's Donovan McNabb had an outstanding career at Syracuse, the only college that recruited him to be a quarterback, and has had a very successful career with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.

Richards' Dwayne Goodrich, Bolingbrook's Todd Howard and Marian Catholic's Mike Prior were standout defensive backs. Thornton's Tai Streets was a talented receiver.

Only time will tell if two other Thornton graduates, receiver Antwaan Randle El and linebacker Napoleon Harris, will make their mark. Or if running back Rashard Mendenhall of Niles West and Illinois, who is projected as a top 10 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, will eventually be compared to the great stars of yesteryear.

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Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports and Van Coleman of Hoopmasters, who have been evaluating high school basketball talent for 30 years, know a good thing when they see it. And they agree that Derrick Rose is one of the best point guards in the history of the game.

Based on his freshman performance, Gibbons and Coleman rank the former Simeon star in a class with--are you ready for this?--Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. And you can toss in Allen Iverson is you want to.

"Rose has more explosive athleticism than Paul and more offensive ability than Kidd," Gibbons said. "And he is stronger physically and every bit as quick as Isiah Thomas.

"He ranks with the truly elite players at that position that I have seen since 1978. It is remarkable what he has accomplished as a freshman. There is no way that Memphis gets to the Final Four without him.

"What is unique about him is he seems to have no fear. His confidence level is high but his ego isn't. He has all the qualifications to be an outstanding floor leader for an NBA team. It speaks volumes for a kid with one year of experience in college."

Coleman said he will reserve judgment on comparisons with such Hall of Fame players as Robertson, Johnson and Thomas until Rose arrives in the NBA. "We didn't see him long enough in college," he said.

"But he lifted a team of great athletes and turned them into a great team. If he has a fault, he doesn't keep the ball in his hands long enough. But, as a freshman, he is in a class with those people, equal to or better."

Will Rose continue to improve and develop at the next level? He certainly was better as a senior at Simeon than he was as a junior. And he was even better as a freshman at Memphis. Who knows how much better he can get?

"If you're looking ahead 10 to 12 years to build around a point guard who will help your team to become an NBA championship contender, he's the guy," Coleman said. "He has an edge in quickness. When you put the whole package together, he is ahead of the others."

Posted by Taylor Bell at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) |