Hampton Is All Business
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
QB David Watford (Photo: Dan Trevino)
Hampton Head Coach Mike Smith is old school. That’s one way to put it when a man is entering his 40th season as a head coach and has a 408-64-2 record. All of Smith’s coaching has been done at Hampton High School. Mike Smith IS Hampton Football.
The Hampton football program is in good hands. Smith knows how to teach the Xs and Os. His quarterback, David Watford, is a good student of the game. Watford (SR 6-2 180) has matured into quite a quarterback. He’s already gotten the vote of approval from University of Virginia Head Coach Mike London. Watford will be on his way to Charlottesville after giving a verbal commitment to the Cavaliers. There’s other talent on this Crabber team too.
Offensively, Hampton will get the job done on the ground. Supporting Watford’s passing game is Daquan Charity (SR RB 5-10 175), Kavon Bellamy (JR RB 6-0 200) and workhorse Dallas Cogdale (JR FB 6-2 220). Cogdale is a beast of a runner. There’s not much east-west to his game, but with his size and strength, Cogdale can run over smaller defenders. Get him to the second level of the defense and look out! In fact, last year Cogdale was moved from linebacker to defensive tackle because of his size and strength. Cogdale will go both ways again this year.
The O-Line is led by Trei Banks (SR 6-2 315). The rest of the line lacks some of the size of Banks, but makes up for it in quickness and precision. That line will its work protecting Watford and opening holes for bruising backs like Cogdale and the swift of foot like Bellamy and Charity.
Hampton moves the ball downfield via the pass as well. Wide Receivers Jamall Brown (JR 6-1 180) and Daquin Moore (SO 6-3 180) will be primary targets this year. The strength of Hampton’s running game will open up the pass and that will only make things easier for David Watford.
Defensively, Hampton benefits from a bevy of skilled players. The linebacking corps is headed by Charity, Bellamy, and Lydell Washington (SR 5-10 205). The D-Line is keyed by Cogdale and Terrence Mack (SR 6-0 205). The line is small at Hampton but don’t feel sorry for them… see their speed on the field first.
The secondary is capped by Brown and Moore, who both double as wide receivers and safeties. Depth could be an issue for Hampton this year, but Coach Smith claims to have his Crabbers in the best condition ever, which he’ll need for a winning season and a playoff run.
Outside of the recruitment of David Watford who’s already committed to Virginia, the recruitment of players has been a little quiet overall. A few schools have shown interest in Cogsdale already, even though he’s just entering his junior year. The seniors, Washington, Mack, Charity and Bellamy should garner lots of interest by the end of the sesason.
This Hampton team is not one that’s going to intimidate their opponents the moment they step off the bus. For the most part, they lack prototypical size as far as college prospects are concerned. Still, this team wins. What makes the difference? 40 years of coaching from Mike Smith.
- Andy Hilton
Peninsula District Preview
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Phoebus Coach Stan Sexton (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
The Peninsula District kicks off play tomorrow night as Denbigh faces Heritage. Thursday and Friday bring more games from a district that plays the majority of its games in only two stadiums: Todd Stadium in Newport News and Darling Stadium in Hampton. That gives PD football fans more opportunity to check out the opposition since it’s routing for Varsity games to be played on Thursday night, Friday night and even Saturday afternoon on the Peninsula.
Maybe that’s why PD Football is so tradition rich. Maybe that’s why the competition is so intense. For whatever reason, Peninsula District football is certainly a crowd pleaser.
Playoff Bound: These days, any PD Football conversation has to start with Phoebus. They’re the team of the decade for Virginia Football. In the last ten years, Phoebus has a record of 120-12 and has won the State Championship with an undefeated season three times in the decade. Phoebus hasn’t been stockpiled with stars over the years, but the coaching staff there knows how to produce winners. It’s only been more recently that colleges have caught on to the talent that’s there. Sure, we’ve seen Tajh Boyd go to Clemson and Dominick Davenport go to West Virginia, but we’ve also seen Phoebus’ talent stay local and contribute at schools like Hampton and Old Dominion.
Be sure of this… as sure as the sun rises in the east, Phoebus will be the team to beat in the PD this year. Add quarterbacking to Eric Enderson’s duties of kicking and punting. Watch UVA commit Caleb Taylor and UNC commit Daquan Romero command the defense. Watch up and comers like Romond Deloatch and Justin Lyles make their contributions. Phoebus always plays like a team and this year will be no different.
Hampton is led by their own BCS-level commit. Quarterback David Watford will be a Virginia Cavalier next year. This year he has some unfinished business to take care of. Not only did Watford watch his Crabber team fall to Lake Taylor in the second round of the playoffs on a questionable call last year, but Hampton has not beaten Phoebus in his time there. Since Watford’s freshman year, the Crabbers have only managed six regular season points against the Phantoms. Hampton will play well throughout the season because Coach Mike Smith has a talented young team that’s almost complete from last year’s squad. Phoebus could be the only stumbling block for Hampton this year.
Warwick QB Donnell Staton (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Warwick moves up the ladder this year as a few other teams might have problems maintaining their position from last year. Coach Juan Jackson has a solid offense returning, led by Quarterback Donnell Staton. Staton has looked impressive in practice and in 7×7 work this summer, plus his receiving corps has gelled around him. Line play is going to be key for the Raiders because the team has solid talent at the skill positions. Warwick draws Menchville in the first week, then gets thrown into the fire with consecutive games against Booker T. Washington (who defeated the Raiders soundly in the ODU 7×7 semi-final), Phoebus, Woodside and Hampton. From there the rest of the schedule is a downhill sprint by comparison. They can’t get off to a 1-4 start and be pressured to make the playoffs.
Bethel graduated 27 seniors from last year’s team and 18 of them went on to college scholarships. That’s quite a feat for any high school program. While the scholarship offers are a source of pride, the gaping hole it leaves in this year’s team is tough to ignore. Bethel breeds excellence however. Their JV team went undefeated last year and a portion of that talent is coming up to the varsity level this year. Bethel will pull it together again. Their first five games are against teams that had a combined 13-37 record last year. As long as they work out the kinks in the first half of the schedule, they should be well prepared for the second half when they face Woodside, Hampton, Menchville, Warwick and Phoebus. Bethel could be 5-0 coming into the Woodside game and a victory over the Wolverines would give them a 6-0 record and the confidence they need to take on the Crabbers.
In The Hunt: Woodside deserves to be considered as a playoff team. Their solid showing last year landed them in the Division 6 Regional Final against Oscar Smith and almost got them to the State Semifinals. Woodside was small and quick last year. They’re going to be young, small and quick this year. Woodside graduated their top skill position players in Aaron Evans, Jarrell Cooper and Marquis Frazier. Fortunately, they have a wealth of skill position guys. The line will make or break the Wolverines this year. Expect more inconsistency than last year, but this year’s squad is a playoff team.
Kecoughtan Coach Scott Woodlief (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
On The Rise:
Kecoughtan is on the verge of turning the corner. They were 5-5 last year and start this year with a new head coach. Scott Woodlief has come back to the area in order to guide the Chiefs. They have a wealth of talent, including two able quarterbacks in Bruce Bailey and Marcus Hofler. Kecoughtan also boasts one of the regions best skill athletes in Aaron Mathews. Coach Woodlief brings a new system in with him. Will the Chiefs adapt? If it doesn’t happen this year, Kecoughtan certainly has the talent to back in the mix again next year.
Room To Grow: Denbigh went 5-5 last year after two consecutive seasons at 3-7. Coach Marcellus Harris has the program headed in the right direction. Now it’s up to the players to execute and the development will continue. Denbigh started off the season 3-0 last year and have a legitimate shot at doing it again with opening games against Heritage, Granby and Kecoughtan. Kecoughtan will be no pushover, but the Chiefs face Bethel and Lake Taylor in their opening pair. Coach Harris acknowleges that his team won the games they should have and lost to better teams last year. Their five losses were to playoff teams from the PD. In order to break through this year, Denbigh has to beat some tougher opponents while continuing to win the ‘winnable’ games.
Menchville has been the Clifton Richardson show for some time now. Opposing defenses can key on that, and Coach John Byron is doing his best to get the ball in Richardson’s hands while still keeping defenses guessing. The talent on this Menchville team is developing, but it’s still young. There’s plenty of speed on this team, but everyone else in the district has speed too. What’s going to set the Monarchs apart? They’re going to need consistent execution from players who aren’t proven yet. Menchville won’t be able to coast through the season, but three of their final four are against Bethel, Hampton and Phoebus. If the wins don’t come early, the sledding is only going to get tougher for the Monarchs.
Heritage has a State Championship to hang its hat on. The only problem is that they’re ten years removed from that season and have only seen the playoffs once since that year. New Head Coach Dan Tomblin comes in with high hopes, but realistic expectations. It’s going to take some rebuilding, so the wins aren’t going to come right away. Senior quarterback Andrew Warren will lead the offense, but he only has four varsity games under his belt. Senior wideout Andre Cooper will be the top option for the passing game, but the majority of the offense should come on the ground as the Hurricanes run the triple option this year. Tomblin will accentuate the positive, but this year is a development year for Heritage.
Gloucester has languished in the PD’s cellar for a few years now. They’ve been consistent, with a 1-9 record each year from 2006 to 2008 before finishing 0-10 last year. Coach Sonny Merchant inherited an undermanned team, which is odd considering that Gloucester is the only high school in the county. The school has an enrollment of almost 2,000 but the wins haven’t come easily. Gloucester hasn’t had a winning season since 1987 and this year will be no different. From here, there’s no where to go but up.
Expect the Peninsula District to put at least five teams in the playoffs. The bottom of the district will have its struggles, but the top of the district will more than make up for it in their successes.
- - Andy Hilton
Richardson Waiting On College Decision
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Jaston George (L) and Raysean Richardson (R) of Oscar Smith (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Raysean Richardson (OLB 6-1 190) is one of several Oscar Smith players that seem destined for a Division I scholarship. Last year’s Tigers sent players to Penn State, Alabama and Old Dominion, Christopher Newport, Delaware State and Norfolk State. This year’s squad could be the most college prospect laden bunch yet to come out of Oscar Smith.
Teammate Jaston George has already committed to Syracuse. Wideout Quinta Funderburk has somewhere in the range of 30 college offers. There’s also lots of senior WR/DB talent on the squad including Jaquan Darden, Mylon Blueford and Marquie Mays. How does Richardson fit into the recruiting mix?
Richardson claims offers from Syracuse, Temple, East Carolina, Illinois and Kent State. Richardson also got interest from North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the spring visitation period. Those schools are looking hard at him and expecting to see more of him in the fall. “I’m also getting a lot of interest from Old Dominion and Hampton, the local schools,” Richardson stated.
There had been some concern about Richardson’s academics in the past, but according to the Tiger linebacker, he’s going to be in good shape. “I’ve tightened it up this year.”
Richardson has spent a lot of his summer on conditioning with a heavy dose of team 7 on 7 events. It’s increased his field awareness and agility even more. Richardson is known for being a heavy hitter with great instincts and great hands for a linebacker. You can see Richardson’s 2009 season highlight package from recruit757 here.
Raysean is ready to put up a big senior year which would nail down more offers and give him more choices. “I feel good about my senior year. We have a chance (to make a run) this year. We have a lot of people coming back that are familiar with the system and we have some good newcomers, so I’m feeling pretty good,” Richardson said.
Oscar Smith is certainly on top of the Southeastern District until someone knocks them off. The Tigers had several close calls last year, but seemed primed to win the state championship again until they fell against Thomas Dale on a sloppy, cold field near Richmond. Richardson will anchor the Tiger defense and earn himself many more college looks as the season wears on this year.
Andy Hilton
David Watford Picks UVA
Chalk another one up for the home team.
David Watford of Hampton High School has verbally committed to the Virginia Cavaliers. Watford (6-2 185) becomes the 20th player to commit to Coach Mike London and the Cavaliers in this recruiting class, and he becomes the first quarterback in Virginia’s 2011 class.
Coach London has aggressively recruited the state since his arrival in the off season. Of the 20 players verbally committed to Virginia, twelve of them are in-state recruits and six of them are 757 area players. Watford joins David Dean (Green Run), Caleb Taylor (Phoebus), Ross Burbank (Cox), Kameron Mack (I.C. Norcom) and Clifton Richardson (Menchville). Richardson’s commitment to Virginia has been debated, but as of now he’s penciled in as a Cavalier next season. National Signing Day is February 2, 2011. That’s the first day that recruits and colleges can official cement scholarship agreements with a signed letter of intent.
Watford’s commitment to Virginia is unique or unusual for several reasons. Firstly, Virginia already has six quarterbacks on it’s roster including four quarterbacks from the 2010 recruiting class. This year’s starter, Marc Verica, is a senior and will exhaust his eligibility after this season, but the depth chart will still be clogged unless Coach London moves players to other positions. Secondly, Hampton High School hasn’t sent a player to Virginia since Marques Hagans in 2001. Coach Mike Smith of Hampton has sent a number of players to Virginia Tech in the past ten years, most notably current Hokie QB Tyrod Taylor.
Oddly enough, Marques Hagans is Watford’s first cousin. Like Hagans, David Watford wears number 5 for the Crabbers.
Watford had narrowed his decision down to West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia, and made his announcement at a press conference held at nearby Christopher Newport University. Watford will be a fantastic fit at Virginia academically. He currently holds a 3.8 GPA and is enrolled in the International Baccalaurate program at Hampton High School. The “IB” program is internationally standardized and recognized as an academically ambitious and rigorous course of study.
Reading Between The Lines on Watford, Thourogood Recruitment
QB Lafonte Thourogood of Ocean Lakes (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757.com)
At first, you might think the two players are unconnected. One is the star quarterback for the Hampton Crabbers, playing in the Peninsula District. The other is the star quarterback for the Ocean Lakes Dolphins, playing in the Beach District. Look closer.
Both David Watford of Hampton and Lafonte Thourogood of Ocean Lakes are rising seniors. Both have been courted and offered by multiple colleges. Watford’s offer list includes Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Thourogood claims offers from Tennessee, Arkansas, UNC, NC State, West Virginia, Stanford, Virginia and Virginia Tech. There’s some cross over in that group, but look even deeper.
Thourogood has reported that his list has been narrowed down to Virginia Tech, Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas. Arkansas is a relatively new addition and a wildcard in the bunch.
Watford has narrowed his list to UVA, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. He’s set to announce his decision on Saturday in a ceremony at Christopher Newport University.
Here’s how the circumstances stack up. Both QBs are highly desirable and very unlikely to pick the same destination. Watford’s head coach, Mike Smith, has sent players to Virginia Tech including their current quarterback, Tyrod Taylor. Virginia Tech’s recruiter for the area, Curt Newsome, used to coach against Mike Smith when Newsome coached at neighboring Kecoughtan High School. Virginia Tech is still the “big dog” in-state school and Watford would be a good, traditional “get” for Coach Frank Beamer. Beamer has no fewer than four quarterbacks on his roster now, but it’s not at all unheard of for Beamer to move a player off the QB depth chart and into another position.
While UVA Coach Mike London would love to have Watford, London already has 19 of a projected 25 scholarships committed already. London has six quarterbacks in his system now after giving scholarships to four QBs in the 2010 class. Marc Verica is London’s only senior signal caller. Face it, there’s a glut of quarterbacks at Virginia. London could move two of his QB prospects to other positions and still have plenty of depth.
That leads us to Thourogood’s status. First of all, it’s interesting to note that Tennessee was not enticing for Thourogood. His teammate Justin Hunter committed to the Vols in the 2010 class. He’s stated an interest in Virginia Tech, Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas. He’s also stated that he has no desire to move out of the quarterback position. Thourogood has announced that no decision is imminent, but that he’ll decide before the start of the season. That should mean that Virginia’s out from a depth chart standpoint no matter how much he likes the coaches there and the Charlottesville campus. If Watford commits to Virginia Tech as anticipated, then it should mean that Tech is out for Thourogood. That leaves West Virginia and Arkansas.
Arkansas is a late arrival and they should lose their starting QB Ryan Mallett to the NFL draft after this season. Arkansas’ depth chart is a little more shallow than most at the QB position and there could be a possibility for Thourgood to earn playing time early. At West Virginia, there’s the Chris Beatty connection. Beatty coached Landstown High School only a few years ago and Beatty sports tons of connections in The 757. The Mountaineers will be led by sophomore Geno Smith this season, and they have 2010 class QB phenom Barry Brunetti of Memphis waiting in the wings.
Arkansas is truly a quality wildcard, but expect proximity and familiarity to win out. Thourogood looks like a future Mountaineer. Watford should be a Hokie. It could make for an interesting VA Tech/WVU game if we can ever get that rivalry going again.
VHSL Schedule Released – Peninsula District Edition
Rodriguez Jones moved from Denbigh to Phoebus in the offseason, bolstering the Phantoms' offense
Many would argue that the Peninsula District is the most competitive in the entire region. It’s hard to argue against that. Phoebus has been dominant over the past decade, but that doesn’t blunt the consistent strength and competitiveness of programs like Hampton and Bethel. Kecoughtan, Woodside and Warwick will make plenty of noise in the PD too. The Peninsula District sent five teams to the Eastern Region playoffs last year. If they didn’t have to beat up on each other, the PD could have easily seen six of their ten teams in the playoffs in 2009.
2010 won’t be a carbon copy of 2009, but you can expect some familiar names at the top. Phoebus will be the favorite to repeat in 2010 and the Phantoms have a good shot at a third straight State Championship and undefeated season. Phoebus loses a number of key players from the 2009 championship team, QB Paul Morant, RB Colby Goodwyn, LB/RB Chaz Robinson and Lineman Micah Blakely among them, but the Phoebus program is established enough to reload. Defensive End Daquan Romero and Linebacker Caleb Taylor provide stability on the defensive side of the ball while last year’s P/K and backup QB Eric Enderson will take on the starting QB job. Denbigh WR and BCS recruiting target Rodriguez Jones will bolster the passing game along with class of 2012 target Romond DeLoatch. The running game for Phoebus should be solid with RB/DBs Tyree Lee and Justin “Boombox” Lyles in the backfield. Many of the key positions on offense will require players to step up in their responsibilities, but the Phoebus coaching staff should have them ready. Phoebus starts off with Gloucester but hits what could be a rough month with consecutive games against Woodside, Kecoughtan, Menchville and Hampton in weeks five through eight. Phoebus gets Bethel in the last week of their schedule.
The Hampton Crabbers are an intriguing bunch in 2010. They were young and a little unseasoned in 2009, but their growth from last year should show in the clutch. Hampton loses few seniors of consequence, KR/PR/WR/DB Dion Futch is perhaps the biggest contributor from 2009 that will be absent in 2010. The Crabbers finished third in the district and lost a heartbreaker to Lake Taylor in the Division 5 playoffs in 2009. This year could be different with the return of rising senior QB David Watford (6-2 180), rising junior Fullback and D-Lineman Dallas Cogdell (6-2 220). Hampton only had 13 seniors on the roster in 2009 so the underclassmen gained lots of experience. Hampton gets Bethel and Phoebus back to back, which will be tough on the Crabbers. Hampton goes to Woodside to kickoff the season and closes out the season with a four game run against Bethel, Phoebus, Kecoughtan and Menchville.
Bethel may be a bit of mystery in 2010. Coach Jeff Nelson had the greatest success in getting his seniors off to college in the 2010 class. There were in excess of ten Bruins (I’m missing an official count) that signed LOIs, and will head off to schools like Virginia, Old Dominion and Hampton to play college ball. Those departures leave Coach Nelson’s squad much thinner for 2010. Kendel Montgomery (RB/S 6-0 175) should carry a good bit of the offensive load next year.
Menchville benefits from athlete Clifton Richardson who will do his best to carry the Monarchs in his senior year. Richardson verbally committed to Virginia this spring, but that commitment is questionable. A one man team won’t win many games, so the pressure is on Richardson’s supporting cast to take some responsibility and carry the team to some upsets in 2010.
Woodside made it all the way to the Eastern Region Division 6 Finals in 2009, but fell to Oscar Smith. Coach Danny Dodson lost a good number of senior starters to graduation, so you could expect the Wolverines to take a step back this year.
Warwick should be on the rise. The Raiders have a tough stretch of games against Phoebus, Woodside and Hampton in weeks three through five after opening against Menchville and Booker T. Washington. If Warwick starts the season off on the wrong foot, their hopes for a playoff bid could be over early.
Here’s the Peninsula District schedule for 2010:
Friday 9/3: Denbigh @ Heritage (9/1); Hampton @ Woodside (9/2); Phoebus @ Gloucester (9/2); Kecoughtan @ Bethel; Menchville @ Warwick; Denbigh @ Heritage
Friday 9/10: Hampton @ Gloucester; Heritage @ Norcom; Lake Taylor @ Kecoughtan; Wilson @ Menchville; Phoebus @ Churchland; Warwick @ Booker T. Washington; Woodside @ Maury; Granby @ Denbigh; Bethel @ Norview
Friday 9/17: Churchland @ Hampton (9/16); Menchville @ Woodside; Warwick @ Phoebus; Gloucester @ Granby; Bethel @ Heritage (9/18); Denbigh @ Kecoughtan (9/18)
Friday 9/24: Heritage @ Phoebus (9/23); Bethel @ Gloucester; Denbigh @ Hampton; Woodside @ Warwick; Kecoughtan @ Menchville (9/25)
Frday 10/1: Denbigh @ Bethel (9/30); Hampton @ Warwick; Heritage @ Kecoughtan; Gloucester @ Menchville (10/2); Phoebus @ Woodside (10/2)
Friday 10/8: Hampton @ Heritage (10/7); Menchville @ Denbigh; Warwick @ Gloucester; Kecoughtan @ Phoebus; Bethel @ Woodside (10/9);
Friday 10/15: Bethel @ Hampton; Denbigh @ Woodside; Kecoughtan @ Gloucester; Heritage @ Warwick; Phoebus @ Menchville (10/16)
Friday 10/22: Woodside @ Kecoughtan (10/21); Warwick @ Denbigh; Hampton @ Phoebus; Menchville @ Bethel (10/23); Gloucester @ Heritage (10/23);
Friday 10/29: Denbigh @ Phoebus (10/28); Kecoughtan @ Hampton; Heritage @ Menchville; Bethel @ Warwick (10/30); Gloucester @ Woodside (10/30)
Friday 11/5: Menchville @ Hampton (11/4); Phoebus @ Bethel; Woodside @ Heritage; Denbigh @ Gloucester (11/6); Warwick @ Kecoughtan (11/6)
Bethel’s Gayle Moving Up Depth Chart At Tech
There’s hot news coming out of Virginia Tech relating to the defense, and it’s all good for James Gayle of Bethel High School. Gayle redshirted last year as a defensive end. He’s now 6-4 and 245, up from the 6-4 220 frame he started with when he came to the Hokie program not even a year ago. Now Jake Johnson has announced that he’s going to transfer out of Virginia Tech, leaving a hole in the depth chart at defensive end.
James Gayle was looking good for landing some game time this coming season as we discussed just recently here on the recruit757blog. Now that Johnson has asked to transfer, a new opening has developed for Gayle.
Junior Linebacker Jake Johnson started the first eight games of the season in 2009. Johnson didn’t hold onto his spot and lost playing time late in the year to Lyndell Gibson of Salem High School, Virginia Beach. Johnson (6-2 232) was given a new lease on his football life at Tech when he was moved to defensive end for spring practices. The move served two purposes. It allowed Johnson an opportunity to earn a starting position again and it allowed Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster the chance to fill a DE slot with an experienced player. Foster lost both Nekos Brown and Jason Worilds and will likely rely on returning back-ups in redshirt senior Steven Friday of Phoebus and redshirt junior Chris Drager. With Johnson out of the picture, Gayle has the opportunity to be the first man off the bench at defensive end for the Hokies.
Gayle has a few competitors for that prized spot on the depth chart, but he possibly is in the best position to win the position. Redshirt senior John Graves has bounced back and forth from the DE to DT position. It’s possible that he could find a role as a DE again, but Graves is not the future at Tech. Isiah Hamlette is a redshirt sophomore defensive end, but has seen very little game time and hasn’t shown much while in the game. Tyrel Wilson is a redshirt freshman out of Hampton High School, but considering that Wilson is 6-1 220, it’s likely that Gayle will win out over Wilson for playing time.
James Gayle will still have to earn the position, but it looks like a spot on the two deep could be his to take.
Tentative Peninsula District Schedule Published
Dave Johnson at the Daily Press has the scoop. After making calls to PD schools, he’s cobbled together the tentative schedule for Peninsula District Football. The schedule isn’t official until the VHSL releases it, but here’s some of what you can look forward to this fall….
Three straight nights of football to open the season. The season will start on Wednesday, September 1 before school even starts. Denbigh plays Heritage at Todd Stadium that Wednesday night. On Thursday it’s Phoebus at Gloucester and Hampton at Woodside. On Friday night, the rest of the PD plays with Kecoughtan vs. Bethel and Menchville vs. Warwick.
Saturday games including doubleheaders. After Labor Day weekend, there’s at least one PD game on Saturdays for the rest of the season. While the games will compete against NCAA Football, one could always listen to their college football game of choice on the radio while watching the Saturday PD game or games of the week at Todd Stadium or Darling Stadium. Todd Stadium will have at least one game every week while Darling Stadium hosts only three Saturday games.
9/11 Granby at Denbigh
9/18 Denbigh at Kecoughtan and Bethel at Heritage
9/25 Kecoughtan at Menchville
10/2 Phoebus at Woodside and Gloucester at Menchville (same site Doubleheader)
10/9 Bethel at Woodside
10/16 Warwick vs. Heritage and Phoebus at Menchville (same site Doubleheader)
10/23 Gloucester at Heritage and Menchville at Bethel (same site Doubleheader)
10/30 Gloucester at Woodside and Bethel at Warwick
11/6 Warwick at Kecoughtan and Denbigh at Gloucester
Thursday Games abound. The PD spreads the games around so that fans can go to PD Varsity games on most any Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hampton hosts Churchland on 9/16, Heritage is at Phoebus on 9/23, Denbigh at Bethel on 9/30, Hampton at Heritage on 10/7, Woodside at Kecoughtan on 10/21, Denbigh at Phoebus on 10/28 and Menchville at Hampton on 11/4.
There are good games all over the schedule. Hampton vs. Woodside will be played at Todd Stadium in the opening week on September 2. Woodside had it’s best season and made it’s deepest run in the playoffs ever, losing to Oscar Smith in the Division 6 Eastern Region Championship game last fall. Woodside will be hard pressed to repeat that performance this year after losing a bunch of talented seniors. Hampton is on the rise. They were in the Division 5 playoffs last year, beating Norcom and losing a close one to Lake Taylor, all with a very young team. Quarterback David Watford is a senior this year and should lead the Crabbers to a better season and another playoff appearance.
Phoebus will be the class of the PD once again and may not be tested until week eight when they play Hampton on 10/22. This year the Phantoms get the home side of the field, not that it matters in the backyard brawl. Phoebus shut Hampton down 17-0 in 2009. If Hampton survives the game against Bethel in week seven, both teams could enter the game undefeated. That’s one to mark on your calendar.
Heritage and Kecoughtan have new coaches. Warwick could be on the rise. Bethel sent 17 players on to play in college from the 2010 class. Woodside has some key seniors that will have moved on. Hampton will grow from last year. Can Gloucester win a game? Menchville has superstar Clifton Richardson for one more year. Can Phoebus be beaten?
There are plenty of story lines falling into place for the 2010 season.
Dave Johnson’s Daily Press rundown of the 2010 schedule can be found here.
Night and Day – Recruiting Varies By Program
It’s mid-April and how’s recruiting going at your favorite college program? It all depends on where they are in the food chain, so to speak.
Big colleges aren’t necessarily better or worse when it comes to being an ideal fit for any student-athlete, but the perceived status of a program and the recruiting territory around a program will dictate how much they can control the process.
There’s no single path to filling out a recruiting class. National Signing Day is always the first Wednesday in February. On that date, student-athletes can sign a National Letter of Intent to enroll at the college of their choice (with a scholarship offer from that institution). Every program wants the best athletes they can get. They push to get verbal commitments from student-athletes so that they can plan to sign their full allotment on National Signing Day if possible. Until that point, any commitment from an athlete is only verbal.
Bigger programs have the clout to get commitments early. More athletes want to play for “big-time” programs, so the scholarship slots at those schools get filled up more quickly. Smaller schools are often forced to work harder and dig more deeply when it comes to finding scholarship eligible athletes that are a fit for their program. Here’s a current case in point….
The University of Texas is blessed with arguably the most fertile recruiting territory in all of college football. It’s not surprising that UTA can recruit just within their state and end up with a top 10 recruiting class year in and year out. Most people might be surprised that Texas is way ahead of the curve in getting commitments for next year’s class. For the 2011 class, Texas has 23 scholarships available and has 19 verbal commitments already. Of those 19, 18 of them are in-state kids. The Longhorns only have four more scholarships to give and they’re essentially done for the 2011 class. From that point, they’ll have to wait until February 2, 2011 to confirm their haul.
That kind of quick work is good if you’re confident that you’re getting the right kids for your program. A lot can change in the last 18 months before a kid enrolls in college. A school like Texas goes into the process convinced that they’re getting the highest caliber players available that fill team needs.
In contrast, Virginia Tech only has two commitments for 2011. That doesn’t mean that Tech is behind in recruiting, it just demonstrates how far ahead Texas is working the recruiting process.
On the other end of the spectrum is a school like Hampton University. Hampton is almost the polar opposite of Texas in all respects. Hampton is a small, private school here in the area and they play Division I FCS Football. Hampton is attractive to many players, but for reasons different from the reasons that players are attracted to Texas.
Hampton has a recruiting class of 21 players signed for 2010. Coach Donovan Rose still has as many as seven scholarships that he can award for the 2010 class, if he finds the right fits. Is the Hampton staff working on recruits for 2011? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the Hampton staff doesn’t have the same luxuries that the Texas staff has.
It’s a tale of two programs. There isn’t a “right way” to recruit. You recruit for need. Coaches want the best athletes possible. Whether they’re coming after kids after their sophomore year or still finishing up the class after National Signing Day, coaches and programs will do what is right for their program. There’s room for late bloomers. Just ask Coach Rose at Hampton.
David Watford Video Posted on Facebook!
As a “soft opening” of the recruit757.com site, you’re getting see some of the video that will be featured on recruit757.com.
A video highlight package from Hampton’s 2009 game against Phoebus shows David Watford working hard against the State Champs. Because the Crabbers are battling against Phoebus, you won’t see a lot of downfield passes. Hampton spread their offense that game so that they could neutralize some of Phoebus’ speed. The Crabbers fell to the Phantoms in that game 17-0, but the Hampton/Phoebus rivalry is always hotly contested.
Watford has been at the helm for the Crabbers since the departure of Tyrod Taylor. Watford hopes to follow in Taylor’s footsteps and is already receiving interest from Virginia Tech and UVA. In the clip, you’ll see some of the short passing game and scrambling ability of Watford. Hampton doesn’t lose many players from last year, so they should be stronger than they were in 2009. …not that their 2009 playoff appearance is anything to sneeze at.