Second Season: October 2007 Archives

I attended the Wheaton North/Morgan Park and New Trier/Maine South playoff games last weekend and came away very impressed with four juniors--Morgan Park defensive end Craig Drummond, Maine South quarterback Charlie Goro and running backs Mike Trumpy of Wheaton North and Dominique Bell of Morgan Park.

In fact, I believe Drummond or Goro will be the No. 1 player in the Chicago area next year.

Notre Dame, whose incoming recruiting class is universally regarded as the best in the country, got even better on Sunday when coach Charlie Weis received an oral commitment from wide receiver Michael Floyd of St. Paul, Minn.

Floyd, rated as the No. 11 player in the country, chose Notre Dame over Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota. As a junior, he was Minnesota's high school player of the year.

He is the go-to player that Notre Dame's offense is lacking this season. He ranks as the No. 3 wide receiver in the nation behind Julio Jones of Foley, Ala., and Georgia-bound A.J. Green of Summerville, S.C.

Some of the top-rated juniors in the Class of 2009 have made recent commitments, another indication how accelerated the recruiting process has become and why college coaches aren't reluctant to offer scholarships to 15-year-olds.

USC has landed two of the top juniors in California, 6-1, 215-pound linebacker Marquis Simmons of Compton and 6-2, 280-pound offensive lineman Kevin Graff of Agoura Hills. Simmons is the No. 1 linebacker in California for 2009 and Graff is the No. 1 offensive lineman in the state's junior class.

Ohio State has a commitment from one of its state's top juniors, 6-3, 225-pound linebacker/running back Storm Klein of Newark.

Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski, the former Bears wide receiver, asked me to attend his team's game against Vernon Hills last Friday. He wanted me to evaluate Brad Wisniewski, a 6-2, 230-pound fullback whom he believes is a big-time prospect that colleges are overlooking.

After watching Wisniewski rush for nearly 200 yards, I believe he is the best fullback prospect in the state. He doesn't have any scholarship offers but he shows Division I skills. His quickness (4.79) is suspect and is the likely reason why college recruiters aren't knocking on his door.

But he reminds me of an old-school Woody Hayes-type fullback. He can block, run and catch. It takes several tacklers to get him down on every play. I counted eight on one play. He runs like a bull, low to the ground and over tacklers. He can get the tough inside yards. He also is an excellent blocker.

More than 100 players who made early commitments last year opted to de-commit and attend other schools. And the number will be just as many or more this year. Already 30 have changed their minds.

Russell Ellington of Homewood-Flossmoor, a wide receiver/linebacker, committed to Iowa State a few months ago, then de-committed and recently committed to Iowa as a wide receiver.

It may be a good decision for Ellington because Iowa has no speed receiver on its roster. The Hawkeyes can't stretch a defense so Ellington could earn some early playing time.

My right-hand man in the Chicago area, Greg Georgeles, and I observed a couple of high school games last Friday and we came away impressed with several players who could be Division I prospects, especially offensive lineman Mark Zielinski of New Trier.

Zielinski, a 6-5, 300-pound junior, plays offensive right tackle for the Trevians but he likely will be an offensive guard in college. He could be the best junior lineman in the Chicago area. And he could be New Trier's best recruit since Clay Matthews, who was an all-stater in 1973 and went on to play at USC and in the NFL.

The best prospect on the field in Saturday's thrilling Mount Carmel/Loyola game in Wilmette--the top-rated Caravan won in double overtime--was Loyola's Chance Carter.

Carter,a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end, will be special with more strength. As he is, the 15-year-old junior is one of the best defensive players in the state. He is very athletic and also plays basetball but his future is in football. He will be one of the most recruited players in the country as a senior. He is aggressive and very nimble footed. He will weigh 260-280 pounds in a couple of years with his frame.

It was too good a matchup to pass up. Marian Central's Notre Dame-bound Sean Cwynar vs. Montini's Ohio State-bound Garrett Goebel, two of the three best linemen in the state going head-to-head on Friday night in Woodstock.

There has been a lot of hoopla written about the two on recruiting Websites. One service rates Goebel No. 2 in the state behind Mount Carmel linebacker Steve Filer with Cwynar rated No. 4 behind St. Rita defensive end Darius Fleming.

So who is better? One game doesn't make a season. But on Friday, I was disappointed. Neither one stood out. Neither one made a difference on defense. I have seen their film and I expected more.