Weekly recruiting roundup
Sixteen down, two to go.
That’s the status of the high school seasons of Maryland’s 18 football commitments for the class of 2008. Sixteen seasons have been completed, but two future Terps are still in the running for state championships.
Cody Blue and the Wilde Lake Wildecats (10-2) are up first, squaring off against Damascus (11-1) tonight in the Class 3A semifinals. The Washington Post previews the matchup, and gives Blue some credit for Wilde Lake’s improved running game.
[Wilde Lake junior Ashton] Hayes was averaging 87 yards per game through 14th-ranked Wilde Lake's first 11 contests. But behind an offensive line led by hefty seniors Dave Klotz (6 feet 3, 245 pounds), Ryan Smith (6-2, 295) and Cody Blue (6-5, 280), Hayes tripled that number and reached the end zone four times -- on runs of 75, 53, 32 and 3 yards.
On Saturday, Kerry Boykins and the Oscar Smith Tigers (13-0) will have their turn when they take on Westfield in a Virginia Division 6 semifinal. The Post previews the contest and gives special mention to Boykins and his wideout teammates.
The Tigers, with a big-play offense and attacking defense, boast three Division I receivers -- Todd Harrelson (North Carolina), Kerry Boykins (Maryland) and Jamal Wilson (Marshall or Northern Illinois, his coach said).
A fourth receiver, junior Tim Smith, is receiving similar attention, giving sophomore quarterback Phillip Sims plenty of targets and senior running back Lonnie Andrews ample help.
That receiving quartet also makes up the secondary and returns kicks.
For further Oscar Smith reading (and an additional Boykins quote), check out this profile/column from The Virginian-Pilot on Tigers head coach Richard Morgan.
• One future Terp who came up short in his state championship quest was running back Davin Meggett, whose Surrattsville squad fell to Dunbar and 2009 Terp target Tavon Austin. While the Hornets fell short of their ultimate goal, Meggett gets major credit for the best season in Surrattsville history in this Post article.
Meggett finished with 81 yards on 16 carries. For the season, Meggett finished with 1,784 yards rushing (148.6 per game), currently third best in the Washington area.
"He made some tough runs," Green said. "Hopefully he'll use this as motivation when he goes to college and uses this to play even harder."
• If Terps fan are hoping to add another defensive lineman to the mix for 2008, they need look no further than Paterson, N.J., where Jarel Lowery resides. It remains to be seen how serious the mutual interest between the two parties is, but according to the Herald News, the interest is there on Lowery’s end.
At Paterson Catholic, the top two recruits are defensive tackle Jarel Lowery, who has received offers from Maryland and Wake Forest and lists Maryland as his leader, and defensive end Doug Alston, a strong candidate for Herald News Defensive Player of the Year, who recently garnered his first offers from Wofford (S.C.) College and Winston-Salem (N.C.) State.
• Columbus, Ohio running back/defensive back Isaiah Pead is like most Ohioans these days -- he’s a Buckeye fanatic. But according to Scout.com, Maryland’s got a shot if they want to take it – so long as OSU doesn't come through with an offer.
Pead says the Buckeyes lead solidly over West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Pittsburgh. The Illini also have not offered.
"I've gone to almost all of Ohio State's home games this year," Pead said. "I love the coaches there and I hang out with the players a lot. They are only like 15 minutes from here, so everybody follows the Buckeyes. It's like a dream to be able to play for them. I've always wanted to go there.”
