One recruit reminds his
former high school coach of NFL Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin.
Another member of East Carolina’s recruiting Class of 2008 conjures
memories of Clemson cornerback Crezdon Butler for his prep mentor.
But that’s just an example
of the talent Dayon Arrington and Rakheem Morgan will be bringing to
Greenville next fall. The dynamic pair were just two of the 18 players
officially bound to the Pirates after signing national letters-of-intent
last Wednesday.
Arrington, from Silver
Spring, MD, spent this past season catching passes at Hargrave Military
Academy in Chatham, VA. Playing for Hargrave’s star-studded
post-graduate team, Arrington had several outstanding performances in
the team’s 5-3-1 finish.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder
scored his first touchdown of the year on a 20-yard run on Sept. 3
versus Robert Morris, but his biggest outing came on Oct. 14 against
Louisburg. Arrington hauled in six catches for 115 yards and two scores
versus the Hurricanes.
It was at Paint Branch
High School in Burtonsville, MD, that Arrington’s career got off the
ground.
“From they day he walked
in the door as a freshman, he was about 6 feet and about 165 or 170
pounds,’’ said former Paint Branch head coach Ernie Williams. “He was
very athletic. He’s just one of those kids from the moment he walked
through the door you knew he was special.’’
Arrington began his
football career at Paint Branch playing quarterback, running back and
wide receiver on the freshman team. But before that season ended,
Williams had promoted Arrington to the varsity as a utility player.
Over the next three years,
Arrington would become a star at Paint Branch in football, basketball
and track. He led the basketball team in scoring as a junior and senior
and was one of the state’s top high jumpers in track (he has a 31-inch
vertical leap).
On the football field, he
developed into one of the area’s best receivers, and as a senior led
Montgomery County with 40 catches for 914 yards and three touchdowns.
“I remember one game we
were playing our arch rivals on television,’’ Williams said. “On the
first pass of the game we threw a deep route to him, but the ball was
overthrown over his opposite shoulder. But he reached up, snagged the
ball with one hand and fell backwards. It was one of the greatest
catches I’ve seen from a high school kid.’’
Despite the prep success,
Arrington wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, mainly because
many scouts felt his speed – he was running a 4.65-second 40-yard dash
at the time – was too slow for a major-college wide out. But after
working with a personal trainer and spending a season at Hargrave he’s
trimmed that to 4.5.
Virginia seemed destined
to sign Arrington out of Hargrave. Arrington had been a Cavalier fan
growing up. But once the Pirates got involved in early December,
Arrington’s plans began to change. He eventually chose ECU over offers
from Kent and Virginia.
ECU head coach Skip Holtz
said on national signing day that he thought Arrington was the one
player in this year’s recruiting class who is most likely to see action
as a true freshman in 2008.
Williams, who now coaches
at Blake High School, understands why.
“He reminds me of Michael
Irvin when you watch him play because he’s a big kid,’’ Williams said.
“He’s physical and he doesn’t run away from people. When he gets in a
tight corner he uses his body extremely well and has great hands.’’
Morgan’s path to the
major-college football ranks has been similar to his former high school
teammate at Asheville High School, Crezdon Butler.
Butler preceded Morgan as
the quarterback for the Cougars. While Morgan toiled on the varsity as a
cornerback on defense and wide receiver on offense during his freshman
and sophomore years, Butler was spearheading Asheville’s drive to the
state 3-A championship in 2005. On the way Butler broke the school’s
63-year-old career rushing mark previously held by legendary Charlie “Choo-Choo’’
Justice with 5,030.
A year later Butler earned
freshman All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors from The Sporting News
after playing extensively at cornerback for Clemson.
Morgan was already showing
his talent, however, even when Butler was still on the Asheville team.
He caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Butler as a sophomore in
the state championship contest.
Upon Butler’s graduation,
Asheville coach Danny Wilkins tabbed Morgan as his successor at
quarterback.
“He put up some pretty
good numbers for us,’’ Wilkins said. “He became our all-time leading
passer over the last two years and this year he was named by the
Asheville Citizen Times as the Western N.C. Player of the Year.
“He’s been one of our
leaders. He can beat you with his legs as well as his arm from the
quarterback spot.’’
Morgan, a 6-foot,
180-pounder, passed for 3,084 career yards, including 1,810 for 22
touchdowns as a senior. He also added 1,173 yard and 12 more touchdowns
on the ground.
Buffalo, Marshall, Elon,
Gardner-Webb and Georgia Southern were just some of the schools
recruiting Morgan. But Wilkins said once the Pirates made it clear they
wanted Morgan, he was ready to commit.
“They came in sort of in
the middle of the process,’’ Wilkins said. “They had to tie up some
other things on their (recruiting) board before they made an offer. They
were telling him all along they wanted him. But once they offered it was
a done deal.
“He was real excited. He’s
been wearing purple to school every day since he committed.’’
The Pirates are expected
to use Morgan at safety or cornerback. Wilkins likens Morgan’s skills at
corner to Butler’s.
“Crezdon is a little
faster on the hoof than Rahkeem, but I really believe Rahkeem’s best
days are ahead of him,’’ Wilkins said. “He’s not even close to
fulfilling his potential physically. But he has great closing speed and
a really good instinct for the game.’’
©2008 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
[View
thumbnail sketches of all players in ECU's football
recruiting class of 2008.]
