Mailbag | April 27th

By Charles Drake | 4/27/10 | Email

I have been seeing somewhat lately that the prospects from Junipero Serra High School in California have shown interest in the University of Miami. Is there any chance that one of the trio ends up at Miami? What about Jalen Grimble?
-cavsjags

The Serra trio is more likely to end up a quartet with the emergence of LB Woodson
Greer this past season (Michigan recently offered). I can't see any of the three
you spoke of (George Farmer, Jason Gibson, and Marqise Lee) leaving the West
region. There are just too many schools on the left coast that want them and are
treating them as such.

Gibson looks like a Cal/USC battle with the Trojans holding the edge when or if
they offer. Farmer, the five star receiver, is all USC -- I'd be shocked if he
didn't end up a Trojan. Lee is the only one I could see leaving the West coast
(slim chance), but he still really hasn't gotten heavy into the recruiting process
so it's a wait and see approach with him.

Jalen Grimble looks to be down to UCLA, Nebraska, LSU, and USC. Think right now it's a UCLA/Nebraska battle with me thinking UCLA.



Early projection on Brandon Fulse? Which position do you believe maximizes his potential in the long run?
-truballa5

Defensive end, PERIOD.. When you watch film on Fulse at defensive end he just
jumps out at you. Great hand use/disengage skills, perfect frame, great motor,
pretty strong and just ultra athletic off the edge. Also, shows a great first
step. At tight end Fulse strikes me as a nice talent, but not quite as eye popping
even though a number of his offers from major programs are at tight end (probably
due to his preference to play there).

In my opinion, he's a 6.0/4-star at defensive end and a 5.8/4-star at tight end.

His recruitment is shaping up to be a dogfight between some southern powers. He
probably won't decide until next year so Georgia, Auburn, Miami, Florida, and
Florida State will all have ample time to sell their programs to Brandon. A big
key in his decision will be how comfortable he feels with each coaching staff. He
really likes all three coaching staffs in-state (UF, FSU, Miami) and while Brandon
actually grew up a Miami fan -- his dad is a 'Nole.

Early projection... FSU/Miami battle with FSU being the choice right now.




Who is the better safety prospect -- Wayne Lyons or Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, and why?
-Jackal

Tough. Both players are blue chip caliber guys and I think both will be elite
talents in college, but I'd go with Clinton-Dix here.

Reason... Dix just has a ton of upside and honestly is underrated on this very
site. Behind Erique Florence he's the top safety in the country for me. Dix has
the explosion you don't see in too many players. He's fast, aggressive, durable, is
excellent at going back on the ball, has amazing closing speed, and just looks
like a caged beast let loose on the football field. Lyons is an elite talent in
his own right -- he has great tackling fundamentals, times the blitz well, and
makes quick reads.




With all the chatter about O'leary's recent top four and the absence of UGA/OSU, is it now safe to say that he is pretty open to the Big 3 despite all the popular beliefs prior regarding his family connections? Or is it all just a smokescreen?
-truballa5

Don't think it's a smokescreen.. I fully expect Georgia to be mentioned again with
O'leary, but it does look like Ohio State is out of it with the Heuerman
commitment and the likely verbal of Nick Vannett.

O'leary really hasn't even begun the recruiting process full scale so any lists
released I take with a grain of salt. That said, I do like where Florida and
Miami sit at this time for the 4-star tight end from Dwyer.




Name three prospects you think deserve a lot more hype on the recruiting trail right now (or who you think will blow up this summer)?
-NoleThruandThru

I'm going to go four...

Lamar Dawson (Boyle County, KY) - The #1 player in the state of Kentucky on this
site and I tend to agree. He currently has 9 offers which includes Stanford,
Louisville, Texas Tech, Kentucky, and Illinois. He's getting a little bit of run
but I think he's a top 100 player in the country and just a matter of time before
he explodes nationally if he stays uncommitted. Florida, Ohio State, and Notre
Dame are all showing lots of interest at this moment.

Tre Mason (Park Vista, FL) - If he was 6'0" instead of 5'8" the offers would
already be there. As it currently stands, he has 7 including Wisconsin, Maryland,
and Ole Miss. Mason is a playmaker anyway you look at it - 1,500 yards and 26
touchdowns as a Junior. He's one of those smaller backs that teams don't think can
run through the tackles, but I wouldn't be so sure. He shows great balance,
vision, and instinct on the football field. I expect a good number of BCS schools
to offer before the summer is done and it might start with Florida.

Corey Waller (Poly, CA) - Currently sitting at just two offers.. Are you kidding
me?? Washington and Idaho are the only two at this time and that just boggles my
mind. At 6'3", 220-pounds, Corey is somewhat of an outside linebacker/defensive
end tweener to some scouts. To me, he's a defensive end with great burst and
leverage. I expect some big offers coming his way before too long.

Percy Johnson (Kenton, OH) - Tackling machine, great instincts, football player.
Percy transferred from Madison Heights in Michigan to Kenton recently and has yet
to receive the offers I would expect to come. Toledo and Bowling Green the only
ones to jump on board. Three other Ohio kids I considered were Nicholas Grigsby
(Trootwood-Madison, OH), Antwan Gilbert (Trotwood-Madison, OH), Benson Browne
(Walnut Hills, OH).


Thanks to everybody that submitted questions. If you would like to submit a question for next Monday's mailbag do so HERE .