Football Recruiting
Report
Sunday, January 11, 2015
By Sammy Batten |
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Pirates tap Texas for scholarly lineman
Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
In the football-crazed town of
Corinth, Texas, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area,
they're known for producing college quarterbacks.
In fact, the last three signal callers at
one of Corinth's local high schools, Lake Dallas, have gone on to earn
college scholarships. They include former Missouri starter James Franklin,
Chase Baine (ex-of North Texas) and current Dartmouth starter Dalyn
Williams. Even Lake Dallas's current starting quarterback, junior Dagen
Haehn, is starting to draw college attention.
But while quarterbacks may lead the
prospect lists at Lake Dallas, head coach Michael Young believes East
Carolina may have found another gem on the Falcons roster.
The Pirates capped 2014 by securing a
verbal commitment from Lake Dallas senior offensive offensive tackle Dalton
Montgomery on December 30 to increase their
recruiting Class of 2015 to
14 players. Montgomery, a 6-foot-6, 255-pounder, was recommended to the ECU
coaching staff by Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, according
to Young.
Bedenbaugh is familiar with many on the
ECU coaching staff, especially offensive line coach Brandon Jones. Jones was
the starting center at Texas Tech in 2005 and 2006 when Bedenbaugh served as
offensive line coach for the Red Raiders under Mike Leach.
“Their (Oklahoma) offensive line coach
has been around here quite a bit eyeballing a sophomore kid we have,'' Young
said. “But he's (Bedenbaugh) always liked Dalton. Because he coached at
Texas Tech, he's good friends with the staff at East Carolina. He mentioned
to them what a good player Dalton is and told them they may want to take a
look.
“They (ECU) came down to see a game in
person and made the offer to him.''
Montgomery, who is ranked No. 1 in his
high school graduating class, was being recruited by strong academic schools
like Dartmouth and Davidson for football. Rice was also showing interest,
but ECU was the first to extend a scholarship offer.
Even though he's yet to visit the ECU
campus in Greenville, Montgomery's familiarity with the football program
prompted him to go ahead and commit.
“East Carolina is a name our kids
recognize,'' Young said. “They've been successful, they were nationally
ranked at times this year and it helps that we see them play on ESPN all the
time. They have coaches who are familiar with our area, and our kids really
like the Texas Tech offense, where a lot of their (ECU) coaches came from.
“Dalton really liked their school. One
big thing is he's No. 1 in his class, so he was going to go to college for
free where ever he wanted to go. But he liked their school and I think he
was kind of interested in going to play on the East Coast. He's not afraid
to get away from home.''
Young said Montgomery will make an
official visit to Greenville sometime later this month.
Montgomery grew up in the Corinth
community where his mother is a teacher. He joined the Lake Dallas varsity
on a part-time basis as a sophomore and has been a starter the last two
seasons. Montgomery earned second-team All-District 6 5-A honors as a
junior, then was named first-team all-district and honorable mention
all-state 4-A by the Associated Press Sports Editors as a senior.
“He's always been a real tall kid,''
Young said. “He was just kind of lanky and has sort of filled into his body.
We thought he had the potential to be a really good player though because he
was also athletic. He's really gained a lot of weight and a lot of muscle
the last couple of years. I think that's why he's been under the
(recruiting) radar a little bit. But those are the kind of kids who seem to
work out best – kids who grow into their bodies later, have quick feet and
are athletic tend to be be really successful.''
Another asset that differentiates
Montgomery is his attitude, Young said.
“I think one thing that sets him apart
from a lot of these big offensive linemen is that he's really competitive
and has a mean, nasty streak,'' Young said. “A lot of time the big, young
offensive lineman isn't as mean as you'd like them to be.
“But Dalton is different. He has a little
edge about him and he really plays hard. That's going to help him when he
gets to college.''
Although Lake Dallas is known more for
producing quarterbacks, it has also developed some impressive blockers, too.
A case in point is Daryl Williams, who has been a starting tackle at
Oklahoma the last three seasons. The 6-6, 329-pounder was an All-Big 12
Conference selection this season and is being projected as an NFL draft
pick.
Young said Montgomery's development has
been like that of Williams in many ways.
“He's (Montgomery) similar to him
(Williams) in that both were undersized as freshmen and sophomores, then put
on weight later,'' Young said. “I don't know if Dalton is quite as athletic
as Daryl, but they have similar frames and mentality in regards to the way
they work.''
Lake Dallas also runs an offensive system
similar to ECU's “Air Raid'' attack, so Young believes Montgomery will
adjust quickly to the college game.
“He's excited for the opportunity,''
Young said. “This is a football town and we've been successful. East
Carolina is also a football town and they've been successful. He enjoys
being part of big games and that football environment.''
E-mail Sammy Batten
PAGE UPDATED
01/11/15 02:31 PM.
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