Friday, September 18, 2009
Close look at Northside, Cave Spring stars
Hokie chip chooses Penn State
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.
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When asked to speak on the radio, which I did three times last week and forgot to do a fourth time, I almost never inquire about the topic.
In theory, it’s more spontaneous that way.
However, I was caught off guard minutes before the Cave Spring-Northside game when pregame host Justin Ditmore asked about the degree to which any of the players was being recruited.
All I knew for a fact was that Virginia Tech and Virginia are aware of Nick Sigmon, Northside’s 6-foot-2, 236-pound senior linebacker.
In The Roanoke Times’ special section on Timesland-area football, it was noted that Sigmon had made an oral commitment to Liberty. That was incorrect, from what I understand.
Sigmon could end up at Liberty, but I think that he is receptive to any overtures at this point. UVa assistant coach Wayne Lineburg made an appearance at the Cave Spring-Northside game after spending the first part of the evening in Harrisonburg.
Lineburg arrived at Dwight Bogle Stadium too late to witness Sigmon’s early red-zone interception and 66-yard return. I believe that Sigmon later recovered a fumble – and, maybe more than one fumble – as there were eight turnovers in the game and my 57-year-old eyes are getting a little weak.
(The previous week, I had covered another eight-turnover affair as Virginia opened its season with a 26-14 loss to William and Mary. On back-to-back assignments, I witnessed 16 turnovers in four halves of football.)
Sigmon plays inside linebacker for Northside and was particularly stout against the run. He first caught my attention when I saw him play in back-to-back games as a junior. I can see why scouts continue to watch him.
He is listed at 6 foot 2 and 236 pounds, and appears to be every bit of that. I can see where upper-echelon Division I-A teams might wonder about his speed, but he’s as tough as they come and nobody’s going to run over him.
I can’t imagine there are many linebacker duos better than Sigmon and 6-3, 224-pound sophomore Dakota Jackson. Jackson is a little taller than Sigmon and a little leaner, which makes it seem that he might be faster, but I’ve got to think that recruiters will be observing him for the next two years.
If I were a Division I-AA recruiter, I also might look at 6-4, 352-pound Northside senior Cameron Carter, who is agile enough to play on the defensive side of the ball. I was particularly impressed when Cave Spring ran a play to the opposite side and Carter dragged down the ball-carrier from behind.
WITH ITS 10-7 VICTORY, Cave Spring pushed its record to 3-0 and exceeded its victory total for each of the past three seasons, when the Knights had consecutive 2-8 seasons.
The Knights’ new spread offense has been a success to date, but I think the main reason is the quarterback who has been running it, 6-3, 185-pound junior Josh Woodrum. Woodrum had 241 yards in total offense (198 passing and 43 rushing) and it’s time to start looking at him as a college prospect.
It’s no surprise that Woodrum can throw the ball, although the Knights have not previously utilized him in that fashion. What struck me was his toughness and his willingness to run the ball. He’s smart, he’s got good size, he’s got a good arm and he can run. What’s not to like?
The same can be said for Woodrum’s fellow junior, 6-2, 190-pound tailback Michael Cole. Cole didn’t get many carries the night I saw him and carries may be scarce in the spread, but he made two touchdown-saving tackles on defense. At his size, it probably wouldn’t require a whole lot of body-building to make him into a college linebacker.
Among the seniors, second-hand information indicates that 6-4, 292-pound offensive tackle Alex Berry has an offer from Liberty and I like the way that 6-4, 188-pound wide receiver Eric Jacobsen catches the ball, but he’s too skinny right now to be a tight end and I don’t have a really good read on his speed.
ON THE NATIONAL FRONT, I see where Penn State has taken a commitment from 6-3, 245-pound Zach Zwinak from Linganore High School in Frederick, Md.
Zwinak, rated the No. 1 fullback in the country by rivals.com, is the son of one-time Virginia Tech linebacker B.J. Zwinak and had the Hokies in his final two with the Nittany Lions.
“Tech is a great school,” Zwinak told the Frederick News Post. “My dad played there. I grew up rooting for them. That was my team for years. I couldn't even tell you what my deciding factor was.”
Penn State is recruiting another player from Linganore, 6-7, 330-pound offensive lineman Robby Havenstein, who went to last year’s Penn State-Michigan game with Zwinak. Penn State is on a list of Havenstein finalists that includes Virginia.
VIRGINIA TECH MIGHT be able to seal the deal today with Nick Dew, an uncommitted 6-2, 195-pound defensive back from First Colonial in Virginia Beach.
Dew is expected to be in attendance for the Hokies’ game Saturday with Nebraska at Lane Stadium after taking in last week’s UVa-Texas Christian game in Charlottesville.
Dew has long been considered a Tech “lean” but the environment at Scott Stadium last week apparently has lowered the Cavaliers in his estimation. It appears that West Virginia has supplanted UVa as Tech’s most legitimate challenger.
