March 03, 2006
As the Tom Lemming football tour started its swing through talent-rich Florida, some of the best high school talent in the nation gathered at the University of Central Florida this past weekend. Lemming gave NCSA a rundown of where the Northern and Central part of the state stand in terms of talent.
"We had about 68 players meet there," he said. "We had all the kids meet and bring their film at UCF, and then we went around the campus. We took pictures, and we did a lot of stuff for the magazine."
In dealing with the players on the offensive side of the ball, Lemming wasted little time launching straight into the talent he was able to witness. "The first player I want to bring up is a quarterback by the name of John Brantley, 6'3", 185 from Trinity Catholic in Ocala." Lemming often spits out the measurables and high school like they are an extended last name, so important are they to the recruiting and evaluation process. "His father and uncle (former Florida Gator and Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker Scot Brantley) both played at Florida. Last year he threw for almost 3,000 yards and 41 touchdowns, but the kid's dilemma is that Tim Tebow also went to Florida this past year. His likely choice would be Florida, but now he's got to worry about Tebow being there and if he's going to get playing time, but he is one of the nation's premier ball players. And even though he looks skinny, he doesn't look even 185, he throws a real soft ball. He's got a real precise way about him, his release, his passing; he's got huge tools and he's going to be one of the premier players in the country in my opinion, if he allows himself to be open for recruiting."
Lemming accentuated yet again the importance of the recruiting process. You can have all the skills in the world, but if you don't allow yourself a situation where you can excel, very little can come of them.
The three other quarterbacks singled out by Lemming during his Florida visit were: Josh Miller, T. J Borcky, and Taylor Beasley. Miller, a dual-threat quarterback out of Palatka with great speed, may end up on the defensive side of the ball in college. Borcky, from Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, is a good prospect that will have to make a name for himself at some camps and combines due to his lack of numbers in high school. Taylor Beasley, out of Lake Howell High School in Oviedo, is "certainly a D-1 prospect", according to Lemming.
As for running backs, Lemming noted that "it's a great year for small tailbacks with blazing speed in the state of Florida". The first running back that he called attention to was Chris Rainey. Lemming stated, "Chris will be on of the premier players in the nation. He runs a 4.3 40-yard dash. His 10.4 100-yard meters makes him one of the fastest high school players in the country. Last year he averaged over 10 yards per carry as a tailback, which is outstanding". In fact, Lemming named Rainey as one of the three best offensive prospects in Northern and Central Florida at this point in time.
Next, Lemming pointed out Noel Devine from North Fort Myers High School, who has become something of an internet legend after film of his freshman season made its way around the country several years ago.
Lemming topped his list of offensive talent with James Wilson, a massive offensive lineman from Nease High. "He's got great feet and is a very athletic guy. I think a lot of people are going to like him".
The offensive talent from this specific stop on Tom Lemming's tour should prove enough to fill several schools' recruiting classes. But for those of you looking to improve your games in order to get to that point, Lemming had several tips on how to stand out at your specific offensive skill position.
Quarterback - "The first thing you have to have, normally, is height and arm strength. They're not really looking at six-foot quarterbacks anymore, although there's always an exception. But the fact is, you've got to have the physical skills to really get looked at. But after that, we look at production, poise, and the ability to throw the deep out with strength, because that means he's got the arm strength. A lot of guys have made it in the pros without great arms, but the majority of them are more the Tom Brady type: tall guys with live arms."
Running Backs - "Running backs don't have to be any particular height. They can be 5'7" if they are explosive, like Barry Sanders, and they have great vision and speed. I think the most important thing is vision. Obviously you can have size, but vision is very important for these guys, which is their instincts, their ability to make people miss."
Wide Receivers - "Ideally, wide receivers should have great height, but not all the time. The ideal wide receiver is Randy Moss, someone with long arms, great burst, great height and leaping ability."
Tight End - "Tight end has to be a little different (than a wide receiver) because they also have to block. Probably the ideal tight end in college would be 6'5", 245 pound guy, who can not only move his feet and run and has great hands, but it's a big bonus if he can run like Kellen Winslow or Jeremy Shockey. But the fact is they'd be fine with a blocker with great hands who can catch the ball."
Tom will be cecking in with us periodically as he continues his nationwide tour of the best high school prospects in America. We'll have an update on the defensive players in Northern and Central Florida, as well as the rest of the state, in the upcoming days.
