Football Recruiting Report
Sunday, January 11, 2015

By Sammy Batten

Pirates tap Texas for scholarly lineman

By Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE

Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...

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

Sammy Batten's Archives

Copyright 2015 Bonesville.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without specific written permission, and then only in accordance with the terms and restrictions of that permission. Contact editor@bonesville.net for more information about permissions and restrictions on use and about syndication opportunities.

01/11/2015 02:24 PM