Football Recruiting
Report
Friday, December 13, 2013
By Sammy Batten |
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Pirates pluck Virginia gem
Kempsville star Speller bypasses
Annapolis and West Point for Greenville
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By
Sammy Batten
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
James Paddyfoot believes the major
college football programs in the state of Virginia are going to regret
ignoring Kyron Speller during recruiting.
"I think some schools that probably
passed on him will look back and remember this time and think, 'Man, I wish
we would have gotten him,'' Paddyfoot said. "I think he's going to turn out
to be a diamond in the rough.''
That's good news for East Carolina, which
landed a verbal commitment earlier this week from Speller, a 6-foot-2,
250-pound multi-purpose athlete from Kempsville High School in Virginia
Beach, VA.
Speller chose ECU over offers from Army
and Navy, and the only in-state school pursuing him, James Madison. He did
so on the heels of a senior season in which he made 68 tackles, 16 tackles
for loss and seven sacks shuffling between defensive end, outside linebacker
and middle linebacker on defense, while earning first-team All-Beach
District honors at tight end as chosen by the Virginia Beach area head
coaches.
Paddyfoot has been head coach at
Kempsville since Speller arrived in the spring of his freshman year after
transferring from rival Bayside High School. Speller's size as a ninth
grader caught Paddyfoot's attention.
"He struck me immediately,'' he said.
"When I saw him, he had this big, thick neck, big head, big frame ... It
made me think, 'Man, he looks like he could play.' ''
"Spazz,'' as Speller is known to
teammates, made an immediate impact on the Kempsville varsity squad as
sophomore, playing strictly as a defensive end. He played a key role in
helping the defense overcome the graduation loss of two Football Bowl
Subdivision signees in linebacker Travis Hughes (North Carolina) and safety
Mason Thomas (Virginia).
With a year of experience under his belt,
Speller's role was expanded significantly as a junior when Paddyfoot him at
played defensive end and tight end. Second-team All-Beach District honors
went to Speller on defense after he made 85 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss,
six sacks and blocked two kicks.
Paddyfoot essentially built his defense
around Speller this season.
"Our goal was to get him around the
action,'' Paddyfoot said. "We'd put him at defensive end on the wide side of
the field if that's where the other team wanted to run. If they wanted to
attack up the middle, we'd move him into the interior at defensive tackle.
But eventually we stood him up at linebacker and that's when we were really
able to see how special and how athletic he is. He was able to make
tremendous plays and cause some vicious collisions.''
But Speller's contributions weren't
limited to defense as a senior. Although he earned his All-District honors
at tight end due to his blocking abilities, Speller also made some big plays
on offense, including one that propelled Kempsville to one of its two
victories.
Rotating between fullback and tight end,
Speller produced three touchdowns in a 25-20 win that spoiled homecoming for
Tallwood in a non-conference game. He rushed nine times for 31 yards and had
two scoring runs, but it was an 18-yard touchdown reception from quarterback
Ruben Martinez with 15 seconds to play that provided the winning points for
Kempsville.
"He does it all,'' Paddyfoot said. "We
were down around the 20-yard line (against Tallwood) and he ran about a
five-yard route. He caught the ball, then ran through three defenders to get
to the end zone.''
That kind of versatility is what
attracted ECU's associate head and inside linebackers coach John Wiley last
spring. Wiley almost immediately extended a scholarship offer a few days
later last May and Speller consequently visited campus for several ECU games
this fall.
But it was during an in-home visit on
December 6 with Wiley and ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill that Speller decided
to join the Pirates.
"He's been listening and doing his
research on the schools during this recruiting process,'' Paddyfoot said.
"He had a good relationship with all the people recruiting him. Coach Wiley
has been great, but when he (Speller) got to campus and saw the games and
the atmosphere there, I think he started feeling comfortable. By the time
Coach Wiley and Coach McNeill came up here, I think he knew that's where he
wanted to be.
"East Carolina has a family structure
down there similar to what we have here with our team. I think it just felt
like home to Kyron.''
Speller, who has been timed at 4.5
seconds in the 40-yard dash, is expected to begin his career at ECU playing
linebacker. Paddyfoot believes he's capable of getting on the field very
early in his career at one of those positions.
"They have tons of options where they can
play him,'' Paddyfoot said. "They can start him off as an edge guy who can
rush from outside linebacker, but then they've talked to him about his
potential playing middle linebacker. I think once he's padded up and playing
at full sped for them that will work itself out.
"I definitely feel like he can make an
immediate impact. Where ever they put him, no matter which side of the ball,
they are going to see a tremendous athlete and competitor who really has a
knack for being around the ball. He is always around the action and he
usually wins every battle at the point of the attack. That's something you
can't coach.''
E-mail Sammy Batten
PAGE UPDATED
12/13/13 05:12 PM.
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