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Vandy connection pays dividend
By
Sammy Batten
©2016 Bonesville.net
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Recruiting Class of 2016 Thumbnail Sketches...
East Carolina's new coaching staff
tapped into old connections to make its second addition to the
recruiting Class of 2016.
Kenwick Thompson
was the first assistant hired by
rookie head coach Scottie Montgomery in late December to coordinate the
East Carolina defense. Montgomery lured Thompson away from Vanderbilt,
where he served as associate head coach and linebackers coach for two
seasons under Derek Mason.
One of the high school prospects
Thompson had been recruiting at Vanderbilt was a defensive lineman from
Houston, Texas, named Alex Turner. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Turner had
enjoyed a solid three-year varsity career at Jersey Village High just
outside Houston and had a serious interest in playing for Thompson and
the Commodores.
“They ended up running out of
scholarships at Vanderbilt, so I never received an offer,'' the
6-foot-3, 280-pound Turner said last week. “But when Coach Thompson
moved to East Carolina they had some spots left there, so he called
me.''
Thompson not only called, he flew to
Houston to visit with Turner on January 14, and while there also offered
a scholarship to play for the Pirates. Three days later Turner was in
Greenville for an official recruiting visit during which he made a
verbal commitment to play for ECU.
The pledge was the second for the
Pirates since Montgomery replaced Ruffin McNeill as head coach in early
December. Turner
follows
linebacker Aaron Ramseur from Shelby, NC, who became
Montgomery's first recruit on January 6.
The path to a earning a college
scholarship for Turner wasn't exactly typical, despite a strong family
connection to football.
Turner's father, Chris, is a former
major college tight end who lettered at Mississippi between 1991-94. But
even with influence, and growing up in the passionate world of Texas
high school football, Alex got a late start playing the game himself.
“I really didn't enjoy football until
my seventh grade year,'' Turner said. “I didn't have an interest in it
until the coach convinced me to try out for the team. I made the team
and enjoyed it. I've been playing ever since then.''
Turner made the Jersey Village
varsity as a sophomore, then after a junior campaign in which he earned
first-team All-District 17-6A honors, college recruiters began to take
notice. Schools like Eastern Kentucky, Lamar and Tennessee State started
to recruit Turner after he earned overall MVP honors at the NUC Texas
5-Star Showcase last summer.
Those remained his major suitors,
along with Vanderbilt, through the 2015 season in which Turner made the
all-district second team.
Enter Thompson, who embarked on a
whirlwind courtship that moved rapidly from offer to official visit.
“I have to say, first off, the campus
is just so beautiful,'' Turner said. “I really enjoyed the campus, and
the weather there. Houston doesn't have four seasons. And just
everywhere I went that weekend, the people there that I met just seemed
like honest people. It's a great college town and that stood out to
me.''
Turner also came away impressed with
ECU's new leader and former Duke offensive coordinator Montgomery.
“I really like his energy and just
who he is as a person,'' Turner said. “I really feel like he wants to
make a change at East Carolina and start something different that maybe
the culture at East Carolina hasn't experienced before. He's a hard
coach, but really an understanding coach at the same time.''
The commitment from Turner increases
the ECU class to 13 with just over a week remaining
before the national signing period begins. He is the second defensive
tackle prospect to join the Pirates along with
Jalen Price
from Williamston, NC.
“Rentless'' is the way Turner
describes his style of play as a defensive lineman.
“I have a good, explosive, quick move
off the line,'' he said. “I like to say I hit the offensive linemen in
their mouth real quick and knock them off guard. I use my hands to
position myself to make plays. I'm the type of player who'll run 20
yards down the field to get the ball carrier.''
Since his pledge to the Pirates, a
handful of other schools have now reached out to Jersey Village coach
David Snokhous regarding Turner. Turner said Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M
and Tulsa have have come by the school or contacted Snokhous, although
none have extended a scholarship offer at this point.
“Honestly, I was blown away by East
Carolina on my official visit,'' Turner said. “There wasn't one negative
thing the whole time I was there. It's the right school for me until
somebody else can impress me more. I expect to be staying with ECU.''
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01/22/2016 04:21 PM |
