TRACKING THE STARS OF THE FUTURE
 

Football Recruiting Report
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

By Sammy Batten


Pirates lure RB from familiar program

KEYSHAWN CANADY

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By Sammy Batten
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Johnnie Glaspie has been clear on his college destination for more than two months, but he was waiting for the right time to make it public.

The dynamic running back for the reigning North Carolina state 1-AA champion Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs decided that time had arrived on July 20 when he made a verbal commitment to play for the East Carolina Pirates.

Glaspie's decision followed by one week the decision of his teammate, running back-cornerback Keyshawn Canady, to choose the Pirates. But in reality it was the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Glaspie, who actually decided on ECU first, according to WRH head coach Joey Price.

“Johnnie always knew he was going to commit to East Carolina,'' Price said. “He was just waiting for a day when his Mom could go up and visit the campus. That was last week while we were at the (N.C. high school) coaches' clinic.''

Glaspie became solidly sold on becoming a Pirate back in April when he and Canady made an unofficial visit to Greenville and dropped by ECU's spring practice. The duo got the red-carpet treatment from ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill.

McNeill's folksy, down-to-Earth personality appealed to Canady and Glaspie.

“They were the only ones on campus,'' Price said. “Coach McNeill really made an impression. He let them know he would look out for them and make them part of a family.

“I think Coach McNeill can identify with Johnnie because he's from a small town in this part of the state, too. He and Johnnie really hit it off.''

The connection with McNeill led to Glaspie choosing ECU over offers from Appalachian State, Charlotte, North Carolina, Wake Forest and West Virginia.

Glaspie's emergence as a college prospect occurred a bit later than Canady. Price first noticed him in middle school, but it wasn't until he was a sophomore at Wallace-Rose Hill that Glaspie began to show his potential.

“The one thing we did recognize early on was his speed,'' Price said. “You can't coach speed, but you can recognize it anywhere. So we noticed his speed in middle school, but it wasn't like we were expecting him to play for East Carolina or Wake Forest some day.

“As a matter of fact, it wasn't until last year he finally came into his own and showed he could play at the next level. About midway through the season he really turned things around.''

After toiling for the Wallace-Rose Hill junior varsity, Glaspie really made a major impact as a safety on defense during his sophomore year on the varsity. He collected 76 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and made seven interceptions, while also picking up 306 yards and six touchdowns rushing on 31 attempts playing offense.

But as promising as those results were, Glaspie still had some maturing to do as his junior year unfolded. Despite some impressive performances on both sides of the ball, Glaspie was suspended for a game by Price due to a “bad attitude.'' Glaspie sat out an October 17 game against Midway, but returned a week later determined to prove himself.

“We had a come to Jesus meeting,'' Price said. “After that, it turned around.''

Canady and Glaspie would spearhead a second-half run to the state 1-AA title for Wallace-Rose Hill. Glaspie, who has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, would amass 1,040 yards and 23 touchdowns on 110 carries as a running back, pile up almost 500 yards in return yards and make 69 tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks on defense.

The effort earned him first-team All-Area honors from the Wilmington Star-News.

When the Bulldogs needed Glaspie the most, he came through in a big way during the final two games of the season.

In a 34-31 state semifinal victory against area rival James Kenan, Glaspie racked up 231 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He followed that up by rushing for two scores and returning a kickoff 73 yards for another touchdown in a 34-21 state championship win against Starmount. Glaspie finished with 113 yards rushing to earn game most valuable player honors.

“In that game against James Kenan he broke off a 75-yard run,'' Price said. “I don't know that I've had two or three kids who could have made that same run. He just broke about two ankles and then ran away from them.''

Price compares Glaspie's running style to one of his former players at South Columbus High School, Antonie Nealy, who wound up playing safety for ECU 2003.

“Antonie was a national recruit, too,'' Price said. “They (Nealy and Glaspie) have lot of similarities in style. They are both long and lean athletes.''

Price noted the Pirates are getting two competitive, hard-working athletes in Canady and Glaspie along with the support of the Wallace-Rose Hill community.

“They are part of a competitive senior class,'' Price said. “They're liable to fight each other about who had the most yards on a Friday night … and I'm talking a real fist fight. They grew up like that, competing with one another.

“East Carolina is getting two good kids who'll play hard for them. They're also going to get a lot of support from our community. There is already a lot of purple-and-gold fans around here. Now I think they'll be even more.''

Glaspie is the lone running back in ECU's recruiting class of 2016, which now numbers 10 players.

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07/29/2015 01:36 PM