In 30 years of evaluating high school football talent, I've never singled out an offensive lineman as the No. 1 player in the nation--until now.

Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden and Bill Fralic came close. But no cigar.

In my view, 6-7, 300-pound offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson of Cretin-Derham High School in St. Paul, Minn., is the No. 1 player in the class of 2010.

Henderson hails from the same school that produced Heisman Trophy winner Chris Wienke, American League batting chapion Joe Mauer and wide receiver Michael Floyd, who will be a freshman at Notre Dame next fall.

He has been offered by Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Florida, Iowa and Minnesota and USC will offer in May. He is only 15 years old. He has 4.7 speed, runs like a linebacker, has great feet, great athleticism, plays right and left tackle at times and looks thin at 300 pounds.

Barring injury, he will be a No. 1 choice in the NFL draft. Before his junior year, he will have 20 offers. Many schools got a jump on him because they noticed him while they were scouting Floyd last year. His teammate, lineman Joe Schafer, committed to Wisconsin--and Henderson is better than he is.

I was impressed with Henderson when I saw him at the U.S. Army Combine in San Antonio in January. He is on a par with Pace, whom I saw coming out of high school in Sandusky, Ohio, in the early 1990s.

The best seniors in Minnesota are 6-6, 250-pound tight end Ra'Shede Hageman of Minneapolis, 6-2, 175-pound wide receiver Bryce McNeal of Minneapolis and 6-6, 230-pound quarterback Moses Alipate of Bloomington.

Every school in the Big Ten except Illinois and Ohio State has offered McNeal. Alipate, whose father played for the Minnesota Vikings, is committed to Minnesota.

Iowa's three best players are 5-11, 190-pound running back Brandon Wegher of Sioux City, 6-7, 285-pound offensive tackle Dave Barret of Des Moines and 6-3, 190-pound wide receiver Keenan Davis of Cedar Rapids.

Wegher, who reminds me of running back Sam McGuffie, a Michigan signee, averaged nine yards per carry last year and ran 100 meters in 10.8 seconds as a sophomore. He has been offered by Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, Auburn and Texas Tech.

Barret has been offered by Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan State. Davis has been offered by Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Two Missouri quarterbacks to watch are 6-2, 190-pound Nathan Scheelhaase of Kansas City Rockhurst and 6-0, 200-pound Jordan Webb of Union.

Scheelhaase, who has 4.5 speed and can run a spread offense, impressed at the U.S. Army Combine in San Antonio. He has been offered by Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Stanford.

Webb, who has an outstanding arm, has been offered by Kansas.

Posted by Second Season at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Illinois could be setting itself up for signing the best recruiting class under coach Ron Zook, the best since the Mike White era in the early 1980s.

The Illini don't have any major commitments yet but they are in on more big-time prospects this year than ever before. Two years ago, virtually no one was talking about the Illini when I made my trips around the country. Now several top-rated players from Florida and North and South Carolina are mentioning the Illini in a serious tone.

While Zook and his staff are launching a nationwide recruiting campaign, there is one player in Illinois that they should be considering--Michael Buchanan, Homewood-Flossmoor's 6-6, 220-pound defensive end.

I am very impressed with Buchanan. If he concentrates completely on football instead of basketball, he has the potential to be the best player in Illinois. He is very athletic and quick and could be a 260-pounder in college once he begins to concentrate on weight lifting and putting on weight.

Meanwhile, for the first time in memory, the state of Indiana has four Division I quarterbacks wh are beginning to attract attention from a majority of Big Ten schools.

They are Jordan Luallen of Greenwood, a 6-3, 190-pounder who first caught my attention at the U.S. Army Combine in San Antonio last January; Morgan Newton of Carmel, a 6-5, 205-pounder whose father played at Grambling; Dustin Kiel of Columbus, a 6-3, 215-pounder whose uncle Blair was on my 1980 All-America team, played at Notre Dame and played in the NFL for 10 years; and Delapo Macarthy of Merrillville, a 6-6, 210-pounder who is the best prospect to come out of his area since Notre Dame running back James Aldridge.

Indiana normally is known for basketball but this year the Hoosier State could produce 10 to 15 football players that a majority of Big Ten schools will recruit.

Two offensive linemen who are attracting a lot of attention are 6-6, 310-pound Kyle Koehne and 6-6, 270-pound Zach Martin, both of Indianapolis.

After three or four years of producing average to below average talent, Indiana looks like it will have a banner year at a time when most other states in the Midwest are down.

Posted by Second Season at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Everywhere I go in my travels to meet and evaluate the best football players in the country, Illinois' staff has already been there. The Illini have to be among the top two or three schools in the nation in offering scholarships. They have offered more than anyone else in the Big Ten.

No doubt about it, coach Ron Zook and his staff have graduated from being Illinois recruiters to being national recruiters, which is the next step when you are successful.

Early reports indicate that Illinois and Ohio State coaches are popping up everywhere. The two conferences that seem to be dominating nationally are the ACC and the SEC. So the Big Ten must catch up.

Talent-wise, it is an average to below-average year in the Midwest. To remain competitive, Big Ten schools must expand their recruiting horizons beyond the Midwest and Illinois is doing that, especially in Florida and the Carolinas, which traditionally produce talented prospects.

Illinois has offered 6-5, 230-pound defensive end Sam Montgomery of Greenwood, S.C., 6-4, 211-pound safety Damario Jeffery of Columbia, S.C., 6-3, 190-pound defensive back Logan Heastie of Chesapeake, Va., 6-4, 185-pound defensive end Chris Bonds of Columbia, S.C., 6-3, 210-pound defensive back Devonte' Holloman of Charlotte, N.C., and 6-7, 275-pound offensive tackle Xavier Nixon of Fayetteville, N.C.

In my opinion, Nixon is the best offensive tackle in the country based on what I have seen. I saw him at the U.S. Army combine in San Antonio in January and again last week. His father is fighting in Afghanistan. He would be on my first All-America team right now if I had to pick it. He also has been offered by Notre Dame.

Montgomery, who has 30 offers, has emerged as a top 100 prospect. Bonds is the best player in South Carolina. Hollomon also has been offered by Notre Dame.

In Illinois, Morgan Park defensive end Craig Drummond and Glenbard West tackle Chris Watt likely will be named to participate in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Watt is a national recruit, the only Illinois product to be offered by Notre Dame at the moment.

Another nominee who is coming on strong as more college coaches evaluate his film is Providence lineman Patrick Ward, whose father played at Hinsdale South and Illinois. ward has a great future because of his size and potential. He has great feet and projects to be a 320-pounder in college.

Richards' 6-8 Shaun Pratl, fresh from helping to lead his team to the Class 4A state basketball championship, is getting attention in football and basketball. He looks like a wide receiver playing at tight end. But he needs to get stronger if he opts to concentrate on football.

Leo linemen Lendell Buckner and Leon Hill, who have committed to Illinois, have indicated that they want to visit other schools. Illinois was the first school they saw and they committed right away. Leo coach Mike Holmes is an Illinois graduate.

The quarterback position in the Chicago area is very good. Critics wonder why Marian Central's Jon Budmayr and Glenbard North's Evan Watkins are rated ahead of Maine South's Charlie Goro, who was the Chicago Sun-Times All-Area selection last fall. Because Budmayr and Watkins have more offers at the moment.

In my view, Budmayr is the best athlete among the three. At 6-6, Watkins is a pro-style quarterback with good feet, good enough to run a spread offense but best equipped to run a pro-style offense.

Goro is a good all-around quaraterback, a Division I prospect, who runs Maine South's spread offense to perfection. He completed 70 percent of his passes in 2007. It is only a matter of time before colleges realize he is a big-time prospect.

Posted by Second Season at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Judging by the talent level in the Midwest next fall, Big Ten schools will have to focus their recruiting nationally if they hope to compete with the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-10.

Early observations and evaluations from the Midwest indicated that it isn't heavy in talent. Michigan's No. 1 prospect in 6-4, 300-pound tackle William Campbell of Detroit.

There are several good players in Illinois but no great ones. Glenbard West lineman Chris Watt and Morgan Park defensive end Craig Drummond are the two most sought after prospects. Jon Budmayr of Marian Central and Evan Watkins of Glenbard North are the best of a good crop of quarterbacks.

Almost all of the Big Ten schools are in Florida, an indication that they are aware there isn't much underclass talent in the Midwest.

Illinois is camping out in the Sunshine State. Coach Ron Zook has offered several scholarships to some of the state's best players, including quarterback Aaron Murray of Tampa, a 6-1, 205-pounder who passed for 4,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards last season.

Murray is the most recruited player and the No. 1 prospect in Florida, one of the top two quarterbacks in the nation. If he was as tall as 6-3 Matt Barkley of Santa Ana, Calif., he would rank ahead of Barkley as the No. 1 junior in the nation. Murray is a superior runner to Barkley, who already has committed to USC. He has over 40 offers, including Notre Dame.

Illinois has offered Jarvis Giles of Tampa, one of the top three running backs in Florida; 6-3, 230-pound tight end Orson Charles of Tampa; Ryne Giddins of Senffner, one of the top defensive ends in the nation; defensive end Dyron Dye of Samford; 6-0, 230-pound defensive end Olivier Vernon of Miami, who might be close to committing to Miami; 6-0, 245-pound linebacker Petey Smith of Senffner; 6-0, 221-pound linebacker Willie Farrell of Tallahassee; 6-2, 195-pound Jawanza Starling of Tallahassee, one of the leading free safeties in the nation; and 6-3, 250-pound lineman John Gallagher and 6-2, 260-pund lineman Frank Souza, who attended Tim Tebow's high school in Fort Augustine.

Why do colleges make so many offers so early in the recruiting process? Because they don't offer bad players, only good ones. They know that a lot of them won't commit early if ever. But they also know that kids like being offered early. They often choose schools that offer early or first. The sooner they offer, the more time they have to get familiar with them. At least one school offered 200 scholarships by this time a year ago.

My choice as the biggest sleeper is 6-3, 215-pound linebacker Jarvis Jones of Columbus, Ga. He is the best linebacker I have seen. He has offers from all over the South. He hits and runs better than anyone I've seen. Other linebackers may have bigger reputations but he's the best I've seen.

Notre Dame also is in the hunt for one of the nation's leading linebackers, Dorian Bell of Pittsburgh, Pa. The Irish have offered only one prospect in Illinois to date, Watt.

Posted by Second Season at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)