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Majority of talented Texas prep receivers playing hard to get
07/28/2006
By Jake Shaw/texasfootball.com
Quick. Here's an IQ test (likely that last test you'll ever take involving football).
Pick out the trend from the first-team Super Team offense from the chart below:
SUPER TEAM FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Position/Name HT WT 40 High School Commitment
QB Ryan Mallett 6'7 240 4.9 Texarkana Michigan
RB Colton Johnson 6'0 240 4.5 Waller UT
RB Bradley Stephens 5'11 200 4.4 McAllen Memorial Texas A&M
WR Ron Brooks 5'11 180 4.4 Irving MacArthur None
WR Terrance Toliver 6'5 185 4.5 Hempstead None
WR Dez Bryant 6'2 200 4.5 Lufkin None
OL Trey Allen 6'4 305 5.1 South Grand Prairie UT
OL Michael Huey 6'4 285 5.3 Kilgore UT
OL Matt Nader 6'6 310 5.1 Westlake UT
OL Aundre McCaskey 6'4 270 5.2 LaMarque UT
OL Kyle Hix 6'5 295 5.2 Aledo UT
UTIL John Chiles 6'2 190 4.3 Mansfield Summit UT
You're first guess might be that the Longhorns' future at offensive line is pretty much set.
While that's true, that wasn't the point of this exercise.
Looking back at the chart, the only position with "None" in the commitment column is at WR. Ron Brooks, Terrance Toliver and Dez Bryant have numerous coaches (and thousands of fans) waiting and hoping they'll soon commit to their program.
It doesn't stop there. Of the seven Super Team receivers, only Garland's Malcolm Williams (second team) has chosen his next destination. And a host of Texas Top 300 receivers (see list below) likewise are holding out.
Since quarterbacks got all the love from the 2006 DCTF cover (and every coverboy, conversely, has committed), are receivers just trying to catch some of attention?
It varies on who you're talking about. The best of the bunch, at least according to recruiting web sites such as rivals.com, could be months away from a decision.
Hempstead head coach Ricky Sargent said Terrance Toliver, the school's biggest recruit ever, has no timetable for his pledging.
"Terrance is just being open-minded," Sargent said Friday. "He's taking a lot of visits, unofficial visits, and he's going to take some official visits this fall. He just wants to see where he's the best fit.
"He's not pressured by anything."
Not by recruiters, not by his coaches, not by the masses of Texas preps around him committing, including teammate Chris Tate, a defensive back who recently pledged to Baylor.
"He's going to wait until he takes all his visits," Sargent said. "He'll probably ride it out until signing day."
Curenski Gilleylan, a third-team Super Team pick from Leander, also will put a lot of thought into his decision. But that's just the kind of kid he is, Leander head coach Steve Gideon says.
"Curenski is a strong academian," he said. "I think he and his family both are intrigued by the offer from Duke, and so that's a million-dollar education right there. He's that type.
"He's going to listen to his parents' advice, and he's looking for an education along with an offer to be in a great program."
Gilleylan isn't drawing quite the national interest as Toliver, whose offers range from USC to OU and A&M to Miami. But Gilleylan's numbers (41-720 yards, 7 TDs), aside from his smarts, will continue to draw a bevy of interest. Gideon says he's one of the more coachable players he's had.
"No doubt, he is a super human being," Gideon said. "You want your kids to turn out like him. He's always going to be where he's supposed to be."
What could ultimately explain why the receivers have not committed? They're playing hard to get.
With prep athletes unable to take official visits until the fall, it's hard, as Brenham coach Glen West put it, "to tell Lincoln, Nebraska you commit when you haven't even seen Lincoln, Nebraska."
Brian Basil -- coach of first-teamer Ron Brooks at Irving MacArthur -- said it's a matter of being well-equipped before making a tough call.
"We tell our players it's like dating," Basil said. "You don't get married without first going on a date. You look around, find out what you like. I really think that's what (Brooks) is doing."
Brooks has visited Texas A&M and Oklahoma, campuses that involve relatively short drives. But with offers from coast-to-coast, it's hard for Brooks to say no when he doesn't really know who he's saying it to.
"He's got other places he talks about, like LSU and Florida," Basil said, "but it's just tougher for him to get out there. If I were a 17-year old getting offered by LSU, Florida -- I don't know how I'd handle it."
Coach, just reverse the situation. If you followed the lead of Brooks, Toliver, Gilleylan and other receivers in the Class of 2007, you'd likely end up just fine.
