Football Recruiting
Report
Monday, October 14, 2013
By Sammy Batten |
|
Tidewater pipeline still
flowing
Prep star
Walton grooming for 'stand-up' linebacker slot
By
Sammy Batten
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Tapping into established
relationships around the Tidewater area of Virginia has paid big
dividends for East Carolina recently, especially at Ocean Lakes High
School in Virginia Beach.
Over the last three years the
Pirates have signed offensive tackle/tight end Chaz Lowery and defensive
lineman Demetri McGill from Coach Chris Scott's Ocean Lakes squad. They
returned to the Ocean Lakes talent pool last fall and came away impressed
with one Masaddiq Walton.
"The relationship with East
Carolina had been built a couple of years before,'' Scott said. "Masaddiq
played on the defensive line with Demetri last year and they are close
teammates. They live in the same neighborhood and their mothers conversate
back and forth. So he (Walton) started to hear about visits and the players
and coaches at East Carolina while Demetri was going through the
(recruiting) process.
"Plus, (ECU assistant
head/inside linebackers) Coach (John) Wiley just has been persistent in
recruiting here. He's established as a familiar face in our school and with
our players.''
Walton, a 6-foot-3,
240-pounder who has been timed at 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash, plays
offensive left tackle and defensive end for the Dolphins. Wiley quickly
recognized his athletic talent and invited him to ECU's summer camp, where
he earned a scholarship offer from the Pirates in June. Walton eventually
committed to ECU over an offer from Navy in August.
"He just fell in love with the
football atmosphere down there,'' Scott said. "The fans and the college are
great.''
With a college decision behind
him, Walton has been able to concentrate on his senior year at Ocean Lakes.
The Dolphins are off to a 5-0 start and Walton has been a key contributor to
that success.
"He's having a great year for
us,'' Scott said. "He's done everything we expected and hoped for as a
senior in regards to leadership on and off the field. It sounds cliché, but
for us to have a great year our seniors have to have their best seasons. I
think he's doing that right now.
"He's starting both ways, at
left tackle and defensive end. He's going to end up playing a stand-up
(outside) linebacker for ECU. We've been able to move him around a lot,
including playing him at fullback in short-yardage situations.''
This marks Walton's third full
season on the Ocean Lakes varsity. He saw most of his playing time as a
freshman on the junior varsity squad, but dressed and traveled every Friday
with the varsity. As the season wore on, Walton eventually saw some limited
action with the varsity, too.
"When we got him as a freshmen
it was one of those things where, 'Do we play him (on varsity) because he
has good size?''' Scott said. "He came in bigger than most of the other
kids, so we started out by sticking him on the offensive line with the JVs
at first. All of a sudden we realized this young man wasn't just big, he was
also athletic.
"You can see he has the build.
He's really cut up in his shoulders and chest. He's physically built and
looks like a linebacker. But then he started showing that athletic ability.
In seven-on-sevens, he'd line up as a linebacker and cover our receivers.
Then, on the offensive line he'd be blocking these 300-pound guys.''
Walton became a varsity
starter as a sophomore and hasn't missed a beat since. He produced seven
quarterback sacks as a junior, but was mostly overshadowed by McGill and
fellow end Tony Baird, who had 16 sacks as the Dolphins advanced to the
state finals before falling, 14-10, against Bird High School. It was the
only loss of the season for 14-1 Ocean Lakes.
This season the Dolphins have
state championship aspirations again, and Walton will be a pivotal player in
getting them to the finals.
"He's made some incredible
plays this year on both sides of the ball,'' Scott said. "He's so powerful
when he blocks. He'll pull around, and he doesn't just move somebody out of
the way. He explodes into them like he's hitting a blocking sled.
"On the defensive side, he
made a play a week or so ago where he was double-teamed. But using his
strength and technique, he defeated both blockers, then ran down the
quarterback. He used all these skill sets on one play. To me, that play
sticks out and is a great example of what kind of athlete he is.''
Scott believes Walton will be
ready to earn some early playing time with the Pirates next fall, like
McGill has done this season.
"Demetri has seen some
unexpected playing time and we're really proud of him,'' Scott said. "Masaddiq
is so competitive, I know he'll do all he can to get on the field. When we
do our running, he never goes by the offensive or defensive line times. He
goes by the linebacker or running back standards. That's just how
competitive he is.
"I know the college transition
will be difficult. But he has the size and the speed to work through it. I
think he'll be ready to play.''
E-mail Sammy Batten
PAGE UPDATED
10/14/13 12:05 AM.
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