Friday, May 16, 2008
Pulaski's Peak worth recruiters' look
Arrest of Tech signee Rose raised unanswered questions
Doug Doughty
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One term that I try to use very carefully is “talent scout,” particularly when describing myself.
Most of the time, these so-called talent scouts would be characterized more accurately as “recruiting analysts,” although that also might be giving them too much credit.
Nevertheless, on those rare occasions when I’m assigned a high-school game, there are players who are hard not to notice.
Such was the case at the Blacksburg-Pulaski County football game last fall, won by visiting Blacksburg 28-23 after it scored two touchdowns in the final 3:22.
It was an impressive comeback by coach Dave Crist’s club, but the most vivid image I took from the game was from a 48-yard touchdown run by Pulaski junior running back Nubian Peak. As I watched from the other side of the field, Peak blazed through the Blacksburg secondary as if the Bruins were in slow motion.
Peak had 20 carries for 193 yards that night and finished the season as the No. 3 rusher in Timesland, with 158 carries for 1,349 yards, an 8.5-yard average. When I didn’t see Peak on any lists of the state’s top juniors, I assumed that there must be a reason. Academics, perhaps?
Not so, according to Pulaski coach Jack Turner. Turner said Peak has close to a 3.0 grade-point average.
At 6 feet and 185 pounds, Peak also has good size. He has played in the secondary, so he’s got some versatility.
Speed certainly isn’t an issue. Turner said he hasn’t timed Peak for 40 yards and, the truth be known, a lot of prospects with listed 40 times haven’t been timed. But, Peak certainly passes the look test when he’s got the ball under his arm.
Fact is, southwest Virginia hasn’t been much of a mother lode for Division I football prospects in recent years, and Peak may be running into something of that. Ex-Pulaski star Jeff King played a major part in the introduction of the tight end into Virginia Tech’s passing offense, but Pulaski hasn’t turned out I-A prospects in droves.
There also might be something about the quirky nature of Pulaski’s offense, but I think it speaks more to the nature of recruiting these days. If you aren’t discovered as a sophomore, as Blacksburg coach Dave Crist was saying the other day about Bruins’ quarterback Trey Gresh, sometimes you get lost in the shuffle.
WAKE FOREST has received its third commitment from a Virginian for its 2009 class, Matt Muncy, a 6-4, 215-pound all-purpose athlete from Tazewell High School.
Muncy also had offers from Duke and Ohio University, according to rivals.com, and was attracted by the Deacons’ decision to add an H-back to their offensive scheme. Muncy said he was one of four players Wake was considering for that position, including Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic’s Tucker Windle, who committed to Virginia last week.
Wake earlier had received commitments from linebacker Mike Olson and defensive end from Loudon County’s Stone Bridge High School, the Group AAA Division 5 state champion. Olson is roughly the same size as Muncy and is representative of the rangy type of athlete that Wake covets.
JAMIE OAKES, WHO covers Virginia football for rivals.com, reports that place-kicker Robert Randolph from Naples, Fla., will be enrolling at Virginia this summer as an invited walk-on.
Coach Al Groh expressed concerns this spring over the accuracy of 2007 signee Chris Hinkebein, who was recruited as the heir apparent to Chris Gould. Adding to the mystery surrounding the kicking was the decision not to attempt field goals and extra points in the spring game.
Randolph (5-9, 161) was a third-team all-state selection off a Naples High School team that went 15-0 in winning the Florida AAA state championship. He set a school record with a 50-yard field goal.
INTEREST IS BEGINNING to pick up for Hidden Valley’s Matt Aiken, a 6-1, 190-pound wide receiver who recently was timed in 4.48 seconds for 40 yards.
Aiken, brother of UVa long snapper Danny Aiken, was the fifth-leading receiver in Timesland last year – no small feat on a Hidden Valley team whose David Turner rushed for 1,225 yards and had a Timesland-high 252 rushing attempts.
Aiken had 35 receptions for 702 yards and eight TDs, good enough for third in Timesland in that category, and had a ninth touchdown via return. He is scheduled to attend one-day camps at Louisville, UVa, Virginia Tech, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Richmond.
AS I’M HEADED out the door to the Western Valley District track meet, here comes word of a drug bust at Amherst County High School that has resulted in the arrest of five juveniles and two 18-year-olds, including the Group AA state football player of the year, Peter Rose.
Rose, a quarterback who led Amherst to the Group AA Division 4 championship, signed a letter-of-intent with Virginia Tech. None of the Tech sources with whom I’ve made quick contact would venture a guess on how this will impact his future.
