Friday, February 05, 2010
Ferguson completes unofficial SEC trifecta
One-time UVa headliner ends up at Liberty
Doug Doughty
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On the day of that The Roanoke Times’ annual ranking of the state’s top football prospects was published Dec. 25, only one of the top 25 prospects remained uncommitted.
That was J.R. “Ego” Ferguson, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive end from Hargrave Military Academy, who was No. 6 on The Roanoke Times’ Top 25 but was No. 1 or 2 on the list of the top Virginia prospects that was published by some services.
As written at the time, Ferguson was added to the Top 25 only when it became apparent that he was in his fourth year of high school and was not a postgraduate, as opposed to most of his Hargrave teammates.
Ferguson remained uncommitted up until the signing day, at least partly due to the late involvement of Texas Tech, stemming from the Red Raiders’ hiring of Hargrave coach Robert Prunty as an assistant to new coach Tommy Tuberville.
Because he was not considering Virginia or Virginia Tech and because he was not Virginia resident, Ferguson received little attention in these parts
Ultimately, Ferguson ended up signing with LSU, making him one of three top in-state players to go the Southeastern Conference route, joining quarterback Phillip Sims from Chesapeake Oscar Smith (Alabama) and Virginia Beach Ocean Lakes wide receiver Justin Hunter (Tennessee).
Sims, Ferguson and Hunter were ranked 1-2-3 in the rankings I did later for SuperPrep magazine, followed by Penn State signee Evan Hailes at No. 4 and Miami signee Travis Williams at No. 5 before the first Tech signee, Nick Dew, at No. 6.
AS FAR AS I can tell, all of the players on the Roanoke Times Top 50 have been accounted for, including two who signed with Virginia after committing earlier to other schools.
They were No. 34 Mike Rocco, a quarterback from Liberty Christian whose earlier pledge had gone to Louisville, and No. 36 Jake McGee, a quarterback from Collegiate in Richmond, who moved his commitment from Richmond to UVa when ex-Spiders’ coach Mike London took the Cavaliers’ job.
Stephen Lawe, a lineman from Maury High School in Norfolk who was offered by UVa following the coaching change, was ranked No. 40.
Two other Top 50 prospects who had not made a commitment by Christmas were Amherst High School quarterback Anthony Rose (No. 33) and Bedford Liberty defensive end Brandon Sparrow (No. 43).
Sparrow subsequently committed to Marshall and Rose is headed to James Madison, where is expected to play wide receiver as he joins his older brothers, Jon and Peter, the latter a 2009 Virginia Tech recruit who had issues with the law.
JMU’s list of signees included Virginia Beach Green Run running back Dejor Simmons, rated No. 53 on the Roanoke Times list, Broadway defensive back Kyle Linn, No. 77, and Woodson Fairfax defensive lineman Josh Hogan, No. 83.
There were 10 Virginians in a 19-member Dukes’ recruiting class.
THE RECRUITING CLASS signed by new University of Richmond coach Latrell Scott was rated No. 2 in Division I-AA behind Appalachian State and you’ve got to believe the addition of former Southern Cal starting quarterback Aaron Corp had a lot to do with that.
If you’re not a regular reader of The Roanoke Times, you probably are unaware of the Spiders’ successful recruitment of Stephen Barnette, a terrific wide receiver and defensive back from Salem High School who was the best high-school player I saw in 7-8 games this year. Barnette will be joined by his twin brother, Reggie, a recruited walk-on.
Other than McGee, none of the Spiders’ recruits bolted to join London, although there was some talk of mutual interest involving UVa and UR defensive-line recruit Rashad Winston from Highland Springs, who stayed with the Spiders.
Richmond wasn’t alone in signing a former high-school All-America quarterback, with rival William and Mary landing Mike Paulus, a transfer from North Carolina. Cave Spring offensive lineman Alex Berry, who signed with the Tribe, was 92nd on The Roanoke Times’list.
SOME OTHER TIDBITS off the top 100:
D.J. Dinardo, the Virginia Beach Cox quarterback who is headed to Virginia Tech after his selection as Beach District offensive player of the year, was rated 91st.
Old Dominion signed four Virginia Top 100 players who previously were listed as uncommitted, including first-team All-Tidewater offensive lineman Wes Moulton (No. 65); Hampton Phoebus running back Colby Goodwyn (No. 66); 6-8, 275-pound West Springfield offensive lineman Michael Justice (No. 68), and Virginia Beach Green Run defensive end Jagger Blehm (No. 98).
By my count, I’ve got Old Dominion with seven top 100 players.
Looking at Hampton University’s recruiting list, I didn’t see any current top 100 players, but the Pirates got seven Division I-A transfers, most notably running back Marell Evans from Michigan, wide receiver Donte Davis from Syracuse and wide receiver Nu’keese Richardson from Tennessee.
Oh, here’something I almost forgot: One-time high-school All-American and Virginia signee J’Courtney Williams has surfaced at Liberty. Williams comes to Lynchburg from El Camino, Calif., Community College.
Virginia Beach Ocean Lakes linebacker Matthew Baptiste, originally listed as a Richmond commit, signed with Liberty. Baptiste was 70th on The Roanoke Times top 100.
