Football Recruiting
Report
Friday, April 4, 2014
By Sammy Batten |
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Texas Tech ties still fruitful for ECU
Juco transfer Kemp plugs Pirates'
quarterback recruiting gap
Recruiting Class of 2014 Thumbnail Sketches...
By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Despite a senior season in which he
directed Hamilton High School in Chandler, AZ, to a 13-1 record and
passed for 2,580 yards, quarterback Blake Kemp received only one offer
to continue his football career in college and that was from nearby Mesa
Community College.
"It was either that or go get a job,''
Kemp said. "It's only 25 minutes from my home, so I figured it was worth a
shot.''
The decision has turned out to be a solid
one for both Kemp and Mesa. He contributed to a dramatic turnaround that's
seen the Thunderbirds post two straight winning seasons. Along the way Kemp
set numerous school passing records that ultimately caught the attention of
the coaches at East Carolina.
The Pirates had two high school
quarterback prospects back out of verbal commitments while recruiting the
signing class of 2014 in February. When the coaching staff learned Kemp was
available through mutual Texas Tech connections, they jumped on the chance
to sign the 6-foot-2, 205-pound left-hander in early March after a whirlwind
courtship.
Kemp will have three years to play two
seasons at ECU, which means he could work in right away as a backup to
senior Shane Carden or he could red-shirt in 2014 and compete to become the
Pirate starter in 2015 with Kurt Benkert or Cody Keith.
Either way, Kemp is happy to be a Pirate.
"Everyone I talked to spoke highly of
(head coach) Ruffin McNeill,'' Kemp said. "The atmosphere in Greenville is
awesome because it's all centered around the university. The offense that
(coordinator) Coach (Lincoln) Riley runs is close to the one we run here at
Mesa, so it was just a good fit all around.''
Kemp did have another offer from Football
Championship Subdivision Southeast Missouri State, but was also receiving
interest from Georgia State, New Mexico, New Mexico State and UNLV.
The recruiting interest was a little
higher than what Kemp experienced as a senior at Hamilton High School in
2011. He played tight end as a junior for a Hamilton squad that won a third
straight Division I state title while waiting for a veteran quarterback to
graduate. Kemp took over as the quarterback starter the following season and
directed the Huskies to the 13 consecutive victories before dropping a 45-19
decision to Desert Vista in the state finals that ended a 53-game winning
streak for Hamilton.
Kemp completed 175 of 268 passes for
2,580 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior for the Huskies, while also
rushing 83 times for 374 yards and nine more scores.
While Kemp was leading Hamilton to the
state championship game, Mesa's program was finishing off a 1-10 season. The
Thunderbirds had fallen on hard times in recent years and in September 2012
brought Ryan Felker in to rejuvenate the program.
Felker became immediately aware of Kemp
and sought to bring him to help rebuild Mesa.
"He was under-recruited,'' Felker said.
"He played on a really talented team that's probably one of the best in the
entire nation on a year basis. I think his success was attributed too much
to the talent around him.
“But you spend 10 minutes with this kid
and you understand. He has the confidence. He has the work ethic and the
leadership. When you have a conversation with the guy you know you can trust
him. So I had to take a kid no one believed in and bring him into a program
no one believed in to turn this thing around.''
Kemp entered the 2012 preseason at Mesa
as the backup quarterback, but when the starter went down in the first
preseason scrimmage with an injury he moved up to the first team.
"Blake went lights out,'' Felker said.
In just his third collegiate game against
New Mexico Military, Kemp set Mesa single-game records by completing 44 of
66 passes for 432 yards. When sophomore Jaymason Lee returned from his
injury, he shared the quarterback duties with Kemp. But Kemp led the
Thunderbirds with 167 completions in 267 attempts for 1,611 yards and 16
touchdowns.
Mesa posted a 6-5 record that was its
first above .500 in years.
As Mesa's full-time starter in 2013, Kemp
helped the Thunderbirds produce an 8-3 overall record and earn a berth in
the Heart of Texas Bowl. He completed 175 of 268 throws for 2,580 yards and
24 touchdowns last season, while also rushing 83 times for 374 yards and
nine more scores. Kemp was unable to play in the Heart of Texas Bowl,
however, due to an injury.
"He's a creator,'' Felker said in
describing Kemp's attributes at quarterback. "He knows where everybody is
supposed to be on every play. He gets himself out of trouble with his
decisions. When you call the wrong play, he somehow makes it right.
"You watch his highlight film. He's a
winner. He knows when to pull it down and go. He never puts you in a bad
situation.''
East Carolina actually became aware of
Kemp due to a connection Mesa and ECU both have with Texas Tech.
Of course, ECU's head coach Ruffin
McNeill and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley both came to Greenville
after working on the staff of Coach Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Mesa running
backs coach Alex Jacobson knew Leach and Riley because of common camps they
had attended or worked at together.
Jacobson made the initial contact with
Riley at ECU regarding Kemp.
"Coach Jacobson is good friends with
Coach Leach,'' Kemp said. "I was lucky he called (Riley) about me.''
"Blake is a people person,'' Felker
added. "I think he and Coach McNeill hit it off really well because they're
both so down to Earth.
"When he went there on his visit, one of
the favorite parts of the trip was sitting down and talking offense with
Coach Riley. Those are two guys who are excited about offense. Blake
probably walked into that meeting room with the same book he's been taking
notes in since his freshman year in high school. He walked away from that
meeting pretty excited.''
Due to the late nature of Kemp's
recruitment, he won't enroll at ECU until the first summer school session in
mid-May. But he's already met academic qualifying standards and is
continuing work in the honors program at Mesa this spring.
"I'm excited to get in there and start
working,'' Kemp said. "My goal is to do everything I can to help their
program be successful.''
E-mail Sammy Batten
PAGE UPDATED
04/04/14 06:04 PM.
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