Football Recruiting
Report
Thursday, January 29, 2015
By Sammy Batten |
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Ruff brings another 'son' into the family
Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Inspired by a father-figure type
mentor as a high school football player, Justin Sandifer was hoping to
find someone similar to help guide his college career.
Sandifer believes he found that person in
East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill, which is why the Mississippi native
decided to make a verbal commitment to play for the Pirates last week.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive lineman
played the last two years at Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS, where
he earned all-region and all-state junior college honors this season
protecting another ECU recruit, quarterback James Summers.
Southeastern Conference schools Florida,
Georgia and Mississippi State also offered Sandifer scholarships. But he
seemed destined to play for Louisville after an official visit with the
Cardinals in December. Before Louisville could extend a scholarship offer,
however, the coaching staff wanted Sandifer to complete an online course so
he could be eligible to enroll for the spring semester.
When Sandifer didn't complete the task,
the deal with Louisville fell threw and opened the door for East Carolina.
McNeill's personality quickly sold Sandifer on the Pirates, who will
graduate from Hinds in May and enroll at ECU next summer.
“I really like Coach Ruff,'' Sandifer
said. “He talks the talk and walks the walk. I felt like he wanted me to be
his son.''
Sandifer felt a similar bond with Cedric
McSwine, his first head coach at LeFlore County High School in Greenville,
Missisippi. McSwine was a man who was known for challenging and inspiring
young people, especially athletes, in the town of about 34,000 situated
along the Mississippi River.
McSwine had his hands full, however, with
Sandifer, who had a knack for missing school and practices during his
freshman and sophomore years.
“Coach (McSwine) was a real big fan of
Justin's,'' current LeFlore head coach Sherrod Gideon said. “When Justin
didn't come to school, he'd send guys over this his house to get him and
bring him back. Justin was just kind of lazy back then, but Coach McSwine
always saw there was a lot of potential there.''
McSwine's sudden death of a heart attack
at age 43 in February 2011 gave Sandifer a new perspective on life and
football.
“He's the one who always told me I could
be the best,'' Sandifer said. “It (McSwine's death) hurt me real bad. But it
also motivated me to be better. I've dedicated all my years of football
since to him and his family.''
Gideon, who had been LeFlore's offensive
coordinator, was promoted to head coach and directed Sandifer's reversal of
form.
ECU fans may recognize Gideon's name. He
scored two touchdowns on pass receptions of 4 and 26 yards against the
Pirates while helping Southern Miss to a 41-7 victory in 1998. Gideon spent
a brief time with the NFL's Houston Texans before starting his coaching
career at LeFlore County.
“All of a sudden something clicked with
him,'' Gideon said about Sandifer. “He started showing up at school every
day, on time, and has done that the last two years. He's a guy who did a
complete turnaround, and that's why he's where he is today.''
Because Sandifer waited until his junior
year to start the turnaround, he was short of qualifying academically for a
major-college scholarship at the end of his senior year. So he headed off to
Hinds where he started for two straight seasons.
Playing tackle as a sophomore, Sandifer
helped pave the way for an offense that averaged 373.1 yards of total
offense and 222.7 rushing as Hinds produced a 5-4 record.
Even though the Pirates will return both
their starting tackles and top backups in 2015, Sandifer believes he's
capable of making an immediate contribution next fall.
“I think I fit perfectly into their
system,'' he said. “It's the same thing we do here. They pass the ball and
I'm a really good pass blocker. I like to run block, too, but I'm a great
pass blocker.''
Sandifer is the 14th player to join ECU's
recruiting Class of 2015, and is the third offensive lineman. His addition
helped the Pirates offset a significant recruiting loss last weekend.
Charlotte defensive end
Emmanuel Olenga, who made a verbal
commitment to ECU in December, backed off his pledge over the weekend after
taking an official visit to N.C. State. Olenga later switched his commitment
to the Wolfpack.
Olenga is the third player to defect from
ECU's 2015 class after making a verbal commitment to the Pirates. The others
are Tallahassee, FL, linebacker
Danny Thomas, who committed in May
to ECU, then switched to South Florida in August and North Augusta, GA,
offensive lineman
Victor Johnson, a June pledge to the
Pirates before flipping to Appalachian State in September.
E-mail Sammy Batten
PAGE UPDATED
01/29/15 10:07 PM.
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