Dunbar football notes: McManus lines up visits
DeonTay McManus committed to West Virginia in June, but was up front in his intentions to take trips to other schools.
Now the time has come for the Dunbar senior wide receiver to start taking his five official visits.
“We’re setting them up this week,” Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith said Tuesday. “He is a solid commitment to West Virginia. The coaches are fine” with McManus taking visits elsewhere.
Smith said McManus plans to make trips to Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Oregon and West Virginia.
McManus, a four-star prospect and Rivals.com's No. 165 player nationally, has helped the No. 7 Poets to a 5-1 record this season. In the classroom, Smith said McManus’ GPA is up to a 2.8, putting him in good position to meet NCAA qualifying standards.
“He’s going to be ready to go,” said Smith, who added that McManus is under consideration for the Under Armour All-America Game in January.
Other Dunbar recruiting notes
• Cornerback Terrence Williams is taking an official visit to UTEP on Oct. 29. He’ll set up a visit to Toledo after that. “Terrence is a shutdown corner,” Smith said. “I call him Williams Island. No question he’s top shelf, one of the best" in the state.
• Linebacker Lavar Highsmith has offers from Elon, Marshall and Youngstown State. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior will take an official visit to Marshall after the season. “He’s an explosive, aggressive linebacker,” Smith said.
• Linebacker Ernest Hawkins, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior, is being heavily recruited by Purdue. “He’s taking an official there after the season,” Smith said. “He still has a lot of schools showing a lot of interest.”
• At least two young Poets are already being closely monitored by a couple notable college programs. Junior defensive end Marvin Gross has interest from Maryland and an offer from UTEP. Sophomore quarterback William Crest, meanwhile, has “an unofficial offer” from West Virginia. “West Virginia was his first offer,” Smith said. “He’s already been to Maryland for two visits. [Terps coach] Randy Edsall was on the sideline for one of our games. He was excited about him.”
• UTEP is 2,000 miles away from Baltimore in El Paso, Texas. So what's the connection to Dunbar? Miners sophomore defensive end Horace Miller, a former All-Metro player who led the Poets to three straight state titles. “Horace laid the groundwork for Dunbar,” Smith said. “Andre Patterson recruited Horace at UNLV. [Miller] signed with Louisville [and later transferred to UTEP, in part because] Coach Patterson is [now] the defensive coordinator at UTEP. Coach [Mike] Price and Coach Patterson, they really love what our guys bring. They’re interested in bringing out more of our kids.”
Baltimore Sun photo of DeonTay McManus by Lloyd Fox / Sept. 17, 2011
