'07 LA DT Luther Davis
Scout Profile
Defensive tackle
West Monroe (LA) West Monroe
Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 254 lbs
Forty: 4.8 secs
Bench max: 325 pounds
Squat max: 505 pounds
Vertical: 31 inches
2005 stats: 88 tackles, 8 sacks
GPA: 3.1
ACT: 19
Scout $
7/14
Luther has offers from every major program in the nation and tOSU has recently offered. He had originally planned to announce his decision on 8/19 on ESPN, but says he will likely postpone that announcement. Luther says his list changes frequently, but his current favorites include Florida, LSU, USC, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Florida State.
My take:
My immediate thought was "Will Smith." Luther has freakish athleticism and plays much faster than his listed 4.8 time. His lateral movement is excellent as is his acceleration. He needs to use his hands more on the DL and improve his burst off the snap, but right now he is dominant at the HS level.
Link
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West Monroe's Blackwell, Davis are getting a serious taste of the college recruiting wars
By Michael Kern
http://forums.thenewsstar.com/check...Value=BBvalue1=SPORTS10&cacheTime=5&display=1
West Monroe defensive linemen Will Blackwell and Luther Davis may be preparing for their senior season, but it appears their days of starring on the gridiron are far from over.Not since linebackers Brian West and Bradie James from the Class of 1999 have the Rebels had two players on the defensive side of the ball who were this heavily recruited. Even those two didn't receive the national interest that this year's duo has drawn, West Monroe coach Don Shows said.
The list of schools recruiting Blackwell and Davis is a who's who of college football.
Both have received a heavy dose of interest from the home state school, LSU — where they visited this weekend. Notre Dame has also come calling for both with Irish coach Charlie Weis even making a trip to West Monroe in May during spring practice.Blackwell is also receiving heavy attention from nearly all of the SEC — Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Davis, meanwhile, has narrowed his top five list to LSU, Notre Dame, USC, Florida State and Miami.
"I get a really big kick out of it," Blackwell said of all the attention. "It's always nice to hear new stuff every day. It gets stressful at times. It puts a lot of pressure on you. I think it's been a great experience, and (we're) lucky enough go through it."
It's important not to get too caught up in the hype, though.
The attention given to college recruiting has exploded in the last few years, especially over the internet. The Rivals.com network and similar services count millions of subscribers to school-specific Web sites across the country where fans follow the latest recruiting news as passionately as they do the action of their favorite team on the field.
Stars are made of players before they ever set foot on a college campus. Davis and Sterlington wide receiver Ahmad Paige, for example, have agreed to announce their college decisions together live on ESPN on Aug. 26.
"Anything like this is a positive, not just for just the school but the whole community," Shows said. "The thing I always worry about is how well the players accept that attention and handle all this. Sometimes kids get recruited like this and then don't perform their senior season because they aren't thinking about the team. They are thinking about themselves. It's one of the pitfalls of college recruiting."
In that respect, both players consider them lucky to have family and friends to keep them grounded and help guide them through the recruiting process.
Blackwell's grandfather Jerry Arledge, the West Monroe defensive coordinator, was a college coach at Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech, so he knows the other side of the recruiting game well.
Davis has tabbed his brother Lucas Jackson and cousin Toby Zeigler to help manage his recruitment. Calls and letters go through them. Jackson played at Arkansas and, like his younger brother, was recruited by Notre Dame. Zeigler, meanwhile, just finished his senior season at Northwestern State.
"They go online and research the schools that are recruiting me," Davis said. "They also call those schools and have the (sports information department) send a media guide, so we can look at the depth chart and things like that."
As of right now, the two are on much different timetables in the process.
Having already narrowed his list down to five, Davis is trying to see as many of the schools on that list as possible and continue to trim it down further in time for his August decision. With Paige's recruitment also factoring heavily into his decision, it's important to him to find a school that fits both their criteria.
Blackwell, on the other hand, has no intention of making a decision soon. He hopes to have his top five before the season starts but will wait until after West Monroe's season ends before taking his official visits. That means a commitment likely won't come until close to the February signing day.
What's the best advice that Arledge has given him?
"I'd say the main thing is to soak it all in and take things slowly," Blackwell said. "He said that this is something I have to decide for myself. I'm not just deciding where I want go to play college football. It's somewhere I plan on living for a while."
Link
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<!-- ARTICLE HEADLINE --><!--HEADLINE--> Area duo among top 100 recruits
By Michael Kern
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --><!--ARTICLE TEXT--><!-- enable comment on for this story --> http://forums.thenewsstar.com/check...Value=BBvalue1=SPORTS10&cacheTime=5&display=1The scholarship offers just keep pouring in for Sterlington senior-to-be Ahmad Paige. The Panthers wide receiver is up to 18 offers from schools all across the country.It's for good reason. Paige is part of a 2007 class that is shaping up to be one of the most talented ever in northeast Louisiana.
On Monday, Paige and West Monroe defensive tackle Will Blackwell both cracked Rivals.com's list of the top 100 recruits in the country. Paige ranked at No. 91 and Blackwell at No. 100.
The list of scholarship offers for both tells a story of just how hotly they are being pursued. Both have offers from LSU among a handful of SEC schools. Paige is also partial to the Florida schools— Florida, Florida State, and Miami — while Blackwell has Notre Dame high on his list.Still, the recognition shocked Paige, who had no idea he'd made the list.
"I thought I'd get a little bit of attention but nothing like this," Paige said. "It has been such a great year. It's really been fun."
Two other recruits from Louisiana were ranked in the top 100. John Curtis runningback/cornerback Joe McKnight was the highest ranked player from Louisiana at No. 14, while Southern Lab defensive back Chad Jones made the list at No. 35.
A few others from northeast Louisiana may have come close. Rivals.com will release its top 250 next week, and a few more area names could pop up on the list.
One is Blackwell's teammate Luther Davis. The defensive end is ranked No. 34 in the country by Scout.com and has scholarship offers from LSU, USC, Notre Dame, and Florida State just to name a few.
Blackwell and Davis have similar lists of offers and have contemplated attending the same college. But Blackwell said the pair isn't a package.
"We're kind of doing our own thing right now," Blackwell said. "It would be great to end up at same school because it would be great to go somewhere you know someone. We've flirted with the idea, but we'll see what happens."
While they go to separate high schools, Paige and Davis have struck up a close friendship and are considering choosing the same school. Paige said they plan to have a press conference at the Monroe Civic Center in August where they may announce for the same college if everything works out right.
"Most likely I think we will go to the same school, but it's not definite," Paige said. "In this type of process, you kind of have to be a little selfish because you have to go with what fits you best. I might want to go someplace that doesn't have many receivers but has a lot of defensive lineman and isn't a good spot for Luther.
"But I think it would be great to go to the same school."
Scout Profile
Defensive tackle
West Monroe (LA) West Monroe
Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 254 lbs
Forty: 4.8 secs
Bench max: 325 pounds
Squat max: 505 pounds
Vertical: 31 inches
2005 stats: 88 tackles, 8 sacks
GPA: 3.1
ACT: 19
Scout $
7/14
Luther has offers from every major program in the nation and tOSU has recently offered. He had originally planned to announce his decision on 8/19 on ESPN, but says he will likely postpone that announcement. Luther says his list changes frequently, but his current favorites include Florida, LSU, USC, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Florida State.
My take:
My immediate thought was "Will Smith." Luther has freakish athleticism and plays much faster than his listed 4.8 time. His lateral movement is excellent as is his acceleration. He needs to use his hands more on the DL and improve his burst off the snap, but right now he is dominant at the HS level.
Link
<!-- MAIN CONTENT --> <!-- LEADERBOARD AD -->
<!-- ARTICLE HEADLINE --><!--HEADLINE--> Wanted men
West Monroe's Blackwell, Davis are getting a serious taste of the college recruiting wars
By Michael Kern
http://forums.thenewsstar.com/check...Value=BBvalue1=SPORTS10&cacheTime=5&display=1
West Monroe defensive linemen Will Blackwell and Luther Davis may be preparing for their senior season, but it appears their days of starring on the gridiron are far from over.Not since linebackers Brian West and Bradie James from the Class of 1999 have the Rebels had two players on the defensive side of the ball who were this heavily recruited. Even those two didn't receive the national interest that this year's duo has drawn, West Monroe coach Don Shows said.
The list of schools recruiting Blackwell and Davis is a who's who of college football.
Both have received a heavy dose of interest from the home state school, LSU — where they visited this weekend. Notre Dame has also come calling for both with Irish coach Charlie Weis even making a trip to West Monroe in May during spring practice.Blackwell is also receiving heavy attention from nearly all of the SEC — Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Davis, meanwhile, has narrowed his top five list to LSU, Notre Dame, USC, Florida State and Miami.
"I get a really big kick out of it," Blackwell said of all the attention. "It's always nice to hear new stuff every day. It gets stressful at times. It puts a lot of pressure on you. I think it's been a great experience, and (we're) lucky enough go through it."
It's important not to get too caught up in the hype, though.
The attention given to college recruiting has exploded in the last few years, especially over the internet. The Rivals.com network and similar services count millions of subscribers to school-specific Web sites across the country where fans follow the latest recruiting news as passionately as they do the action of their favorite team on the field.
Stars are made of players before they ever set foot on a college campus. Davis and Sterlington wide receiver Ahmad Paige, for example, have agreed to announce their college decisions together live on ESPN on Aug. 26.
"Anything like this is a positive, not just for just the school but the whole community," Shows said. "The thing I always worry about is how well the players accept that attention and handle all this. Sometimes kids get recruited like this and then don't perform their senior season because they aren't thinking about the team. They are thinking about themselves. It's one of the pitfalls of college recruiting."
In that respect, both players consider them lucky to have family and friends to keep them grounded and help guide them through the recruiting process.
Blackwell's grandfather Jerry Arledge, the West Monroe defensive coordinator, was a college coach at Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech, so he knows the other side of the recruiting game well.
Davis has tabbed his brother Lucas Jackson and cousin Toby Zeigler to help manage his recruitment. Calls and letters go through them. Jackson played at Arkansas and, like his younger brother, was recruited by Notre Dame. Zeigler, meanwhile, just finished his senior season at Northwestern State.
"They go online and research the schools that are recruiting me," Davis said. "They also call those schools and have the (sports information department) send a media guide, so we can look at the depth chart and things like that."
As of right now, the two are on much different timetables in the process.
Having already narrowed his list down to five, Davis is trying to see as many of the schools on that list as possible and continue to trim it down further in time for his August decision. With Paige's recruitment also factoring heavily into his decision, it's important to him to find a school that fits both their criteria.
Blackwell, on the other hand, has no intention of making a decision soon. He hopes to have his top five before the season starts but will wait until after West Monroe's season ends before taking his official visits. That means a commitment likely won't come until close to the February signing day.
What's the best advice that Arledge has given him?
"I'd say the main thing is to soak it all in and take things slowly," Blackwell said. "He said that this is something I have to decide for myself. I'm not just deciding where I want go to play college football. It's somewhere I plan on living for a while."
Link
<!-- MAIN CONTENT --> <!-- LEADERBOARD AD -->
<!-- ARTICLE HEADLINE --><!--HEADLINE--> Area duo among top 100 recruits
By Michael Kern
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --><!--ARTICLE TEXT--><!-- enable comment on for this story --> http://forums.thenewsstar.com/check...Value=BBvalue1=SPORTS10&cacheTime=5&display=1The scholarship offers just keep pouring in for Sterlington senior-to-be Ahmad Paige. The Panthers wide receiver is up to 18 offers from schools all across the country.It's for good reason. Paige is part of a 2007 class that is shaping up to be one of the most talented ever in northeast Louisiana.
On Monday, Paige and West Monroe defensive tackle Will Blackwell both cracked Rivals.com's list of the top 100 recruits in the country. Paige ranked at No. 91 and Blackwell at No. 100.
The list of scholarship offers for both tells a story of just how hotly they are being pursued. Both have offers from LSU among a handful of SEC schools. Paige is also partial to the Florida schools— Florida, Florida State, and Miami — while Blackwell has Notre Dame high on his list.Still, the recognition shocked Paige, who had no idea he'd made the list.
"I thought I'd get a little bit of attention but nothing like this," Paige said. "It has been such a great year. It's really been fun."
Two other recruits from Louisiana were ranked in the top 100. John Curtis runningback/cornerback Joe McKnight was the highest ranked player from Louisiana at No. 14, while Southern Lab defensive back Chad Jones made the list at No. 35.
A few others from northeast Louisiana may have come close. Rivals.com will release its top 250 next week, and a few more area names could pop up on the list.
One is Blackwell's teammate Luther Davis. The defensive end is ranked No. 34 in the country by Scout.com and has scholarship offers from LSU, USC, Notre Dame, and Florida State just to name a few.
Blackwell and Davis have similar lists of offers and have contemplated attending the same college. But Blackwell said the pair isn't a package.
"We're kind of doing our own thing right now," Blackwell said. "It would be great to end up at same school because it would be great to go somewhere you know someone. We've flirted with the idea, but we'll see what happens."
While they go to separate high schools, Paige and Davis have struck up a close friendship and are considering choosing the same school. Paige said they plan to have a press conference at the Monroe Civic Center in August where they may announce for the same college if everything works out right.
"Most likely I think we will go to the same school, but it's not definite," Paige said. "In this type of process, you kind of have to be a little selfish because you have to go with what fits you best. I might want to go someplace that doesn't have many receivers but has a lot of defensive lineman and isn't a good spot for Luther.
"But I think it would be great to go to the same school."
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