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'06 MN DT Walker Ashley (Minny...no, maybe USC......no, PSU...no, Minnesota commit)

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crazybuckeye said:
Guys, wstripes did not call this one, I did.
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Didn't a Minneapolis paper say, "but contrary to what has appeared on one of the recruiting services on the Internet, Ashley didn't commit to the Trojans"? Don't pat yourself on the back yet...
 
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I was able to make it home last weekend. I went to the Eden Prairie Section Final game. Walker looked good but not great. He had 2 sacks and several tackles. But he could not make the catch to save his team season. EP was down by 10 with 4 minutes left and they tried to throw a fade to him in order to get a first down so the drive would continue. He couldn't get off the line in order to make the catch. So Eden Prairie lost and their season is now over.
 
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He watched "the game" on TV and was very impressed. He talks to Coach Heacock and both Coach Tressel's alot. The coaches have told him that he is a high priority for tOSU and could come in and play immediately.

He says USC is in the lead because of the great visit he had but "something about tOSU is drawing him there"

He will be visiting tOSU next weekend and then Minny, OU and PSU.
 
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Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year

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Metro Player of the Year Walker Lee Ashley (right) is ready to take the next step — playing college football — as he follows in the footsteps of his father, Walker Lee Ashley Sr., a linebacker for the Vikings in the late 1980s.
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http://www.startribune.com/stories/526/5104274.html

Born to be great: Eden Prairie's Walker Ashley
John Millea, Star Tribune
November 25, 2004 MPOY1125

Nine years ago, the father routinely took his video camera along when his third-grade son was in his first season of tackle football. After a postgame treat and the ride home, dad would pop in the tape so they could watch and enjoy.

Occasionally, the former NFL linebacker would give his child pointers on technique and things to look for on each play.

Dad has been there every step of the way, and now he is ready to send his son on to another phase of his life. But before Eden Prairie senior defensive lineman Walker Ashley goes off to the college of his choice (Southern California, Ohio State, the Gophers, Oklahoma or Penn State), he receives one final high school honor today: He is the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year.

"The video was more for me than for him," said Walker Lee Ashley, a Vikings linebacker from 1983 to 1988 and in 1990. Dad played at Penn State and was the Vikings' third-round draft pick in 1983. "It was something that was fun to do."

Walker Ashley is ready to follow in his dad's footsteps.Carlos GonzalezStar TribuneFather has been schooling son ever since, helping him train and prepare for each football season. The youngster, now 6-4 and 290 pounds, is the state's top recruit. The three-year starter has been one of the hallmarks of an Eden Prairie program that won the Class 5A state championship when he was a sophomore and was ranked No. 1 at times in both of his final two seasons.

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant knows about fathers and sons and football; he is the son of former Vikings coach Bud Grant.

"Walker's dad has been a tremendous parent for us, just tremendous," Grant said. "Occasionally he would come to practice and we would look forward to his input. He didn't do anything but help Walker play better. He was always completely in line with what we were doing and he was always supportive."

Walker Sr. said along with wanting to assist his son, he also was passing on what he learned from his own coaches, including Joe Paterno at Penn State and Bud Grant.

"I had some very good coaches when I was playing, and they were very influential on me," he said. "I tried to pass on some of that knowledge."

He taught his son a lot, but much of what Walker Ashley has become cannot be learned. Things like quick feet and great hands. His normal position was defensive tackle, but on occasion he also lined up at running back, fullback and wide receiver.

"It just depended on what we wanted to do against who we were playing," Grant said. "He's got great hands. He'd be an outstanding tight end. The colleges look at him as a defensive lineman, but could easily play in the offensive line, too."

Those great hands contributed to two of Ashley's highlights this season. Against Apple Valley during the regular season, he caught a 17-yard touchdown pass. He leaped over a shorter defender, tipped the ball and then grabbed it as he fell to the ground in the end zone. It was his first touchdown since third grade.

But the greatest highlight came in the postseason, again against Apple Valley. In the final 2 minutes of a close section playoff game, he got in front of a swing pass, deflected it, then tipped it three times and managed to make the catch.

"They went no-huddle and ran the same play twice in a row," he said. "I heard the same audible and I just figured it was going to the other side. I read it and got out there."

Grant said when college coaches watched that play, they had this reaction: " 'Geez, I saw that interception, and that's what really sets him apart.' If there were any doubts about him being a true Division I player, not many kids make that play," Grant said. "To be that big and make that play on the outside. That's special."

And you can be sure of this: his dad has it on film.
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He has never been to C-bus, so he is looking forward to his first visit this weekend. He claims not to have committed to USC and says he will take all his visits before making a decision. J. Rich or David Patterson will be his host.

He admits he was down a bit on tOSU during their three game losing streak but that is a thing of the past and he was really impressed on how they "handled" scUM.

He also claims that the MoC stuff means nothing to him.

He will see Minny and OU this month and PSU next month to round his remaining three official visits (after USC and tOSU).
 
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