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Recruiting Wars: Defensive Line
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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(NOTE: This is the fifth
in a position-by-position series where we look at high school or junior
college prospects East Carolina has offered scholarships to already in
the recruiting Class of 2016. This time we focus on the defensive line
recruits.)
East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill
proudly points out every chance he gets and rightly so that three of
the last four Super Bowl champions included a former Pirate on its
roster.
But a fascinating sidebar to the
achievement, in my opinion, is that the ex-Pirates who were part of
those title teams don't play the glamour offensive positions considered
trademarks of the ECU program. Instead, they were defensive players, and
more specifically defensive linemen.
Defensive end C.J. Wilson and tackle
Jay Ross started a three-year streak of ex-Pirates on world champion
clubs with the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. Defensive tackle
Linval Joseph followed with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI and
tackle Michael Brooks picked up a world champion ring with the Seattle
Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVII.
The New England Patriots ended the
ECU defensive line run this year, but free-agent signee Terry Williams,
a nose tackle, will try to start a new one in 2015 with the Chicago
Bears.
Williams was one of three prominent
defensive linemen who completed their eligibility with the Pirates last
season along with Chrishon Rose and Terry Biles. Rose and Williams were
two of ECU's top three defensive linemen in 2014, statistically
speaking. Rose led the linemen with 41 tackles and Williams picked up
All-American Athletic Conference honors after ranking fourth in team
tackles for loss with 7.5. Biles was a top front-line reserve who
appeared in all 13 games.
The return of Terrell Stanley to the
defensive front will help offset those departures in 2015. Stanley was
expected to be an all-star candidate in 2014 before a preseason car
accident sidelined him for the entire year.
But Stanley and starting end
Johnathan White will both complete their eligibility after the 2015
season, further depleting ECU's defensive line corps.
Still, the Pirates have seven
freshmen or sophomore players in the program on the defensive front
along with four juniors to keep those positions fully stocked for the
near future. As result, it doesn't appear the defensive line is a major
need in the Class of 2016 recruiting effort.
Yet no less than 12 defensive line
prospects have reportedly been extended scholarship offers by ECU.
Here's a closer look at those prospects and our early projections on how
serious these players are about playing for Pirates. The players are
listed in alphabetical order.
DARIUS ANDERSON, DT (6-1,
301) Hightower HS, Missouri City, TX
NOTABLES: OK, so one Darius
Anderson on the roster isn't enough for ECU, which signed an offensive
lineman of the same name from Mundy's Mill, GA, in February. This Darius
is a powerful (325 bench press) bull rusher, who burst on the varsity
scene as a sophomore at Hightower by earning District 23-5A Newcomer of
the Year honors. He followed up with a stellar junior season in which he
delivered 11 sacks and 20 tackles for loss.
COLLEGE OFFERS: East
Carolina, South Dakota.
THE ECU ANGLE: ECU identified
Anderson earlier than anyone else, extending the first offer to him in
July 2014. Many other schools are expressing interest, but none have
pulled the trigger on an offer except the Pirates. Anderson seems to be
in a wait-and-see mode in hopes of collecting a few more offers from
schools closer to home. But he's a perfect fit for the nose tackle spot
in ECU's 3-4 defense and a prospect of HIGH INTEREST for the Pirates.
DERRICK BROWN, DT (6-4, 305)
Lanier HS, Sugar Hill, GA
NOTABLES: Rivals.com ranks
Brown the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle prospect in the Class of 2016.
He's earned it by displaying a rare combination of speed (5.0 seconds in
the 40-yard dash), size and strength (335-pound bench press, 505 squad).
Brown dominated opposing offenses as a junior when he collected 101
tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 17.5 quarterback sacks. The performance
earned him first-team Class AAAAA all-state honors.
COLLEGE OFFERS: More than 27
total offers highlighted by Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Stanford,
Southern California and Texas.
THE ECU ANGLE: Brown is
considered almost a sure-fire bet to pick an SEC program with Alabama,
Auburn, LSU, Mississippi and Tennessee among the top suitors. ECU
doesn't appear be a player beyond its scholarship offer, so we'd have to
list Brown as a LOW INTEREST prospect in regards to the Pirates.
TYRELL CHAVIS, DT (6-5, 305)
Varina HS/Nassau CC, Richmond, VA
NOTABLES: Chavis originally
signed after a stint at Fork Union Military Academy with Virginia, where
he was red-shirted as a true freshman in 2013. He had been a first-team
all region pick at Varina High as both an offensive and defensive
lineman. On defense, he made 70 tackles and 14 sacks as a prep senior.
But Chavis left Virginia after his defensive line coach was fired and
wound up enrolling at Nassau Community College for the 2014 season. He
made 23 tackles, six tackles for loss and registered half a sack at
Nassau and was named the league special teams player of the week after
blocking two field goals in a game against Erie.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Central
Florida, East Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami, Penn
State, Rutgers.
THE ECU ANGLE: Because Chavis
plans to graduate from Nassau in December and enroll at his next school
come January, his decision is expected to come this summer after he's
able to make some unofficial campus visits. Marshall, Miami and Penn
State look like the teams to beat, but ECU is definitely still in the
picture. We'll make the Pirates a MEDIUM INTEREST along with everyone
else.
NICK COE, DE (6-6, 265)
Asheboro HS, Asheboro, NC
NOTABLES: Coe is an agile,
aggressive defender who racked up 40 tackles, four tackles for loss and
six sacks as a sophomore and 70 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 19
sacks as a junior. The latter statistics earned Coe team defensive MVP
honors as well as Defensive Player of the Year for the Mid-Piedmont 3-A
Conference. But as good as Coe was on the football field, he may have
been even better on the wrestling mat. He finished second in the state
3-A ranks as a sophomore in the 220-pound class, then won the state
crown at 285 pounds in February as a junior. Coe completed his junior
year with a record of 47-3.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Charlotte,
East Carolina, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, West
Virginia.
THE ECU ANGLE: Although he's
not said it publicly, Coe is believed to be a UNC lean at this point by
folks in the Asheboro area. But ECU is still very much in the game after
offering a scholarship in April. Coe made an unofficial visit to
Greenville during the football season to watch the SMU game, and we
expect he'll drop in again sometime this summer. So label him a HIGH
INTEREST prospect for the Pirates.
MARLON DUNLAP, DT (6-4, 290)
West Charlotte HS, Charlotte, NC
NOTABLES: Dunlap is another
wide-body tackle prospect who really began coming into his own as a
junior at West Charlotte. He picked up All-Meck 4-A Conference honors
after recording 57 tackles and five sacks. Dunlap simply overpowers
blockers at the prep level with his size and quick first step.
COLLEGE OFFERS: East
Carolina, Georgia Southern, North Carolina.
THE ECU ANGLE: As the first
to offer in April, ECU has a HIGH INTEREST in Dunlap and vise versa. But
Dunlap has grown up a UNC fan, so the battle for his services may come
down to the Pirates and Tar Heels.
SUAIMAN KAMARA, DT (6-2,
286) Hermitage HS, Richmond, VA
NOTABLES: Kamara has been
blowing up ballcarriers since becoming a starter as a freshman at
Hermitage High. By his sophomore year, Kamara was the team's leading
tackler and last season he made the Richmond Times-Dispatch's All-Metro
squad after compiling 108 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
Recruiters first took notice of Kamara after his appearance at the U.S.
Army National Combine in January 2014 after his sophomore season.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Charlotte,
Duke, East Carolina, James Madison, Marshall, North Carolina, Old
Dominion, Penn State, Virginia, Wake Forest.
THE ECU ANGLE: Kamara has
certainly spoken highly of the Pirates publicly since they offered him
in January, and he's stated his intentions to unofficially visit
Greenville sometime this spring, although I'm not sure that trip has
occurred just yet. The picture may be clearer by the end of the summer,
but for now Kamara is definitely a HIGH INTEREST prospect for ECU.
JAVON KINLAW, DE (6-7, 275)
Goose Creek HS, Goose Creek, SC
NOTABLES: Kinlaw went from
being a prospect at offensive tackle as a sophomore to a nationally
regarded defensive end recruit as a junior. He racked up 50 tackles as a
junior, including eight sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and batted down
six passes. The performance was enough to earn him an invite to the
prestigious U.S. Army All-American Game for 2016.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Alabama,
Clemson, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, South
Carolina.
THE ECU ANGLE: Kinlaw is
listing Clemson, Florida and South Carolina as his leaders presently,
and our projection is one of those will be his final pick. But I'm not
ready to rule ECU out of the picture just yet. So for now let's call him
a MEDIUM INTEREST prospect for the Pirates.
DEXTER LAWRENCE, DT (6-5,
290) Wake Forest HS, Wake Forest, NC
NOTABLES: If you're looking
for the state's No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2016, it will likely be
Lawrence. He's a massive, powerful, fast (5.0 seconds in the 40-yard
dash) athlete who plays tackle like an end. Lawrence saw action as a
freshman on the Wake Forest varsity, then transitioned into a starting
role as a sophomore when he made 56 tackles and five sacks. But he truly
became a dominant force a year ago when he collected 55 tackles, 25
tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Lawrence has
more than 30 scholarship offers with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and
Ohio State among the most prominent programs.
THE ECU ANGLE: Lawrence will
be making a lot of unofficial visits this summer, many off them to SEC
campuses. But while those schools, UNC and N.C. State loom as favorites
to land him, he has shown enough interest in ECU to take an unofficial
visit to Greenville during the season to see the Pirates play Florida
Atlantic. Lawrence is a longshot for the Pirates, but still a MEDIUM
INTEREST prospect at this stage.
JALEN PRICE, DT (6-3, 290)
Riverside HS, Williamston, NC
NOTABLES: Price has the
thick, sturdy frame every team covets in the middle of its defensive
front, yet he's also quick enough to blow by blockers. He doubles as an
offensive guard at Riverside, but excelled at defensive tackle where he
made 40 solo hits, 10 assists and one tackle for loss as a junior. Price
also used his athleticism and strength to finish third in the conference
shot put as a junior with a toss of 38 feet, 7.75 inches.
COLLEGE OFFERS: East
Carolina, Elon.
THE ECU ANGLE: Price received
an offer from the Pirates after attending football camp in Greenville
last year. He was back again for a Junior Day in January. As a prospect
in ECU's own backyard, you can consider him a HIGH INTEREST recruit.
JULIAN ROCHESTER, DT (6-5,
295) McEachern HS, Powder Springs, GA
NOTABLES: After playing his
freshman year in Greenville, SC, Rochester moved south and immediately
became a dominant defensive lineman at McEachern as a sophomore. He
emerged as one of Georgia's top players last season when he earned Class
6-A Defensive Player of the Year honors. Rochester produced 116 tackles,
19 tackles for loss and 11 sacks to earn the honor.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Far too many
to list, but it starts with the programs that own the last two national
championships Florida State and Ohio State.
THE ECU ANGLE: Rochester is a
LOW INTEREST recruit for ECU since the Pirates weren't included in his
list of nine favorites announced in May (Auburn, Clemson, Florida,
Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee). He did
leave a 10th space open for anybody that can open my eyes,'' but I'm
not sure that will be ECU.
KORDELL SLATER, DE (6-5,
250) Port Charlotte HS, Port Charlotte, FL
NOTABLES: Slater has some
filling out to do, but he's got the speed (5.0 in 40-yard dash) and
strength (300-pound bench press) to develop into a playmaker at the next
level.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Duke, East
Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kent State, Marshall, Miami
(Ohio), South Florida, Virginia.
THE ECU ANGLE: Slater named
the Pirates as one of this top three schools in May along with Indiana
and Virginia. He is a HIGH INTEREST prospect for ECU, which we believe
has a slight edge over the other two currently.
JIMMIE TAYLOR, DE (6-3, 220)
SouthWest Onslow, Jacksonville, NC
NOTABLES: Taylor is the
latest in a long line of college-level talent developed in the Southwest
Onslow program. He's a relentless performer who produced 71 tackles, 11
tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks as a junior. Taylor expects to graduate
in December, so a college decision is likely by the end of the summer.
He's been timed at 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard dash and carries a 3.9
grade point average.
COLLEGE OFFERS: Appalachian
State, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, N.C.
State, Tennessee, Wake Forest.
THE ECU ANGLE: Although he's
receiving some pretty major attention, Taylor has grown up in ECU
territory and is expected to give the Pirates a serious look in
recruiting. HIGH INTEREST is the best way to describe Taylor as a
prospect for ECU.
Next up in our series on ECU
recruiting prospects, we'll take a look at the linebacker positions.
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06/09/2015 01:28 AM |
