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Pirates dial up a 'gem' in 252
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
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Recruiting Class of 2016 Thumbnail Sketches...
Riverside High School coach Asim
McGill has a message for college football recruiters – don't ignore
players from the 252 area code.
“People forget about us in the 252
area code,'' McGill said. “We're not in the big 910 or 919 areas. But
we've got good players down here. We have a lot of hidden gems.''
The latest “hidden gem'' from that
corridor in Northeast part of North Carolina has toiled for McGill's
Riverside varsity the last two seasons. Jalen Price is a rising senior
lineman, whose talents didn't escape the astute eye of East Carolina
defensive line coach Marc Yellock.
Yellock's interest started early and
resulted in Price attending ECU's summer camp prior to his junior
season. The relationship that developed between Price and the Pirates in
the year since that initial visit resulted in the 6-foot-3 285-pounder
joining the recruiting Class of 2016 on June 20.
Football Bowl Subdivision programs
like Elon and N.C. Central had also offered scholarships to Price, and
Wake Forest was showing serious interest, according to McGill. But Price
was pretty much sold on ECU from the very first visit to campus.
“He went to camp (before his junior
year) and fell in love with it (ECU),'' McGill said. “He came back for
spring practice this year and just felt it was the right fit for him. A
lot of people just don't know about him. But the East Carolina coaches
know this area, and they didn't miss him.''
McGill first encountered Price as a
middle schooler, who used to attend practices and games at old
Williamston High School. Price's older brothers, Darik and Eric, both
played on the offensive and defensive lines for McGill, who was then
head coach at Williamston.
“They were both pretty good
players,'' McGill said. “Eric actually started at left tackle for me in
the state championship in 2008 against Mount Airy.
“So I already knew about Jalen
because of his older brothers. He'd come to their games. So by the time
he got here in the ninth grade we thought he'd be a good player.
“I knew as a ninth grader he had the
frame to play at the next level, if he'd work at it. He came in as a
ninth grader, worked hard and got his body in shape. He's improved every
year as he's progressed through high school.''
Price played for the Riverside junior
varsity as a freshman before earning a starting varsity job at left
offensive tackle as a sophomore. He also produced 14 tackles that season
on defense for a 9-5 team that reached the second round of the state
1-AA playoffs.
As a junior, Price rarely came off
the field as a starter at both left guard on offense and tackle on
defense. Price responded by making 40 solo tackles, 10 assists and one
tackle for loss on the defensive side, which is where he's expected to
play for East Carolina.
“He made so many good plays for us
last year,'' McGill said. “I can show you dozens of times he'd be lined
up on ... the defensive line and the offense would run to the opposite
side. He'd engage an offensive lineman, shed him and chase down the
play.
“He can play from sideline to
sideline. He has really good lateral movement. I remember a play against
Tarboro when he was a sophomore when he pursued down the line of
scrimmage a made a heck of a play. He has the strength and agility to
make plays like that.''
Price is one of two defensive tackle
prospects to make a verbal commitment to the Pirates over the last week.
He joins
Rondre Knowles-Tener,
a 6-1, 285-pounder from Lynchburg, Va., who made a pledge to the Pirates
on June 19. We'll take a closer look at Knowles-Tener in an upcoming
story.
Even though McGill expects other
schools will continue to pursue Price, he believes ECU has this recruit
locked down.
“Recruiting is kind of a copy cat
game,'' McGill said. “A kid commits to someone and everybody else
suddenly wants him. But I think Jalen is pretty solid with East
Carolina. He's happy with his commitment, and his family is happy.
Somebody would have to do a great job recruiting to change his mind.''
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07/06/2015 02:19 AM |
