'12 PA RB Rushel Shell (Pitt Signee; Transfer to West Virginia)

[WoodyWorshiper]

To add to your list (off the top of my head as well):
Jordan Mabin is at Northwestern as a CB
Marcus Hall ended up at Cincinnati after OSU
Donnie Johnson went to PSU
Brock Bolen ended up at Louisville after Illinois
Marcus Sanders signed with Minnesota
Marc Edwards played at Notre Dame
Jeff Rogan had horrible grades, but was a D-I athlete.

Oh, and to keep it on topic, although the PA list pales in comparison to that of Ohio, Shell is better than any of the Ohioans on that list.

Shell is better than "any" of the ohioans based on what, exactly?

 

[Hodgepodge]

Shell is better than "any" of the ohioans based on what, exactly?

Talent (as it relates to post-high school potential).

 

[buchtelgrad04]

Talent (as it relates to post-high school potential).

I would disagree. I played with Tyrell Sutton from the time we were 7 years old. That guy is talented. Immensely. 9,426 career yards is nothing to sneeze at in Ohio. He did it against tough competition as well. If he was 3 inches taller, he would've been a national recruit.

 

[stowfan]

I would disagree. I played with Tyrell Sutton from the time we were 7 years old. That guy is talented. Immensely. 9,426 career yards is nothing to sneeze at in Ohio. He did it against tough competition as well. If he was 3 inches taller, he would've been a national recruit.

My feelings wont be hurt when the mods split this off Rushel's thread, but here goes. Rushel is a high school senior, Sutton I believe was all big ten at least once. Tyrell was also a NFL draft pick, I hope Rushel does that well.

What got me started on this whole thing was the Pa. top rushing list. That area has produced a ton of great college backs, none of whom were on the list. Tony Dorsett, and Chuckie Muncy are two that come to mind.

 

[Hodgepodge]

I would disagree. I played with Tyrell Sutton from the time we were 7 years old. That guy is talented. Immensely. 9,426 career yards is nothing to sneeze at in Ohio. He did it against tough competition as well. If he was 3 inches taller, he would've been a national recruit.

But he wasn't 3 inches taller, and it mattered (as you pointed out). That said, he was easily the most successful college tailback of all the players listed on those two lists.

Heck, Jeff Rogan was one of the most talented players I've ever seen in Ohio-- at any position. He was being talked about in the same sentence as Herschel Walker when he was in high school, and for good reason, but he lacked the talent between the ears to make it in college. Former Warren Harding star Omar Provitt is another that falls in that category, albeit as a WR.

As such, Rogan, no matter how physically talented he may have been, was not the talent of Shell in terms of how it relates to the next level. Some of the kids on these two lists lacked the size, speed, grades, or something else that didn't translate to them being able to be successes going forward to college and beyond. Shell is probably the only one on this list who doesn't have any of these negatives. It doesn't mean he will necessarily excel in college, but at the same stage, none of the other kids on the lists have the same combination of traits that would enable them to dominate at a major college like Shell has. That's all I'm saying, and in no way am I trying to slight the successes of any of these kids at the high school level. They worked awfully hard to gain the yards they did, and ought to be awfully proud that they are on these lists.

 

[Hodgepodge]

What got me started on this whole thing was the Pa. top rushing list. That area has produced a ton of great college backs, none of whom were on the list. Tony Dorsett, and Chuckie Muncy are two that come to mind.

Same could be said about Ohio, of course. Robert Smith, Marion Motley, Chris Wells, Archie Griffin, Ted Bell, just off the top of my head. Certainly high school career stats don't necessarily translate to college success.

 

[cheetah]

They all came from very small schools except Gavrish and he was a 5'6" white kid. And none of them were busts. They weren't even elite prospects.

By the way, tonight Shell had 302 more rushing yards and they won 26-22.

 

[HotMic]

Man, I just wish the staff knew what they were doing....

 

[westbuck04]

It's not like we stopped recruiting him.

If he still wants to be a Buckeye, I think the staff would find a way to take him even with the low numbers. I doubt he ends up here, but not because we don't want him...

 

[EgonSchiele]

Man, I just wish the staff knew what they were doing....

Ain't that the truth? I think when they come around to renaming the Big Ten a good option would be the Bush League.

 

[wadc45]

WPIAL Class AAA: Hopwell holds off Central Valley, 26-22

Rushel Shell moved up to No. 4 on the WPIAL's all-time rushing list, as Hopewell kept its playoff hopes alive with a 26-22 Parkway Conference victory against visiting Central Valley Friday night.

Shell rushed for 302 yards on 35 carries and scored on a 92-yard run in the first quarter and on runs of 4 and 6 yards in the fourth quarter. He leads the WPIAL with 1,705 yards for the season, and has 5,961 yards for his career.

Hopewell (3-4, 2-3) also scored on a 1-yard run by Nathan Harmotto. Central Valley (4-3, 2-3) scored on touchdown runs by Curtis Lewis, Aaron Law, and Lukas Turley.

 

[wadc45]

Keystone State Gridiron Notes: Rushel Shell had a little competition Friday evening | PennLive.com

Super Shell
Speaking of Shell - he now has 1,705 yards and 14 touchdowns this year, giving the Vikings' star 5,960 yards for his career. Shell has at least two more games to go in 2010 plus his senior season to add to that mark.

Friday night marked the second time I'd seen Shell play in person - the other came 2008, in Shell's freshman season soon after he became the starting running back. He torched Montour for more than 200 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 26-13 victory.

Personally, I don't think it's going out on a limb to say Shell will finish his career making a strong push for 9,000 yards rushing. In the last two weeks, Shell has run for 694 yards and six touchdowns. Ambridge won't be able to slow Shell down this coming week, and #1 has always played well against West Allegheny. I'd expect Shell to finish with somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,300 to 2,400 yards rushing this year. And the way Shell's running now (and also if the Vikings make a run in the playoffs should they qualify), that may be a conservative guess.

Question of the week ....... Running into the playoffs

Running is best

It looks like Hopewell's Rushel Shell will win the WPIAL rushing title this season. But there is a chance his team won't make the WPIAL playoffs. Did you know that it would be only the fourth time since 1997 that the WPIAL's leading rusher did not make the playoffs? The other times were 2005 (Ringgold's Robert "Bean" Heller), 2002 (Elizabeth Forward's Ryan Abels) and 1997 (Valley's Brandon Williams).

Meanwhile, the WPIAL's leading passer hasn't made the playoffs the past three seasons. So, it looks like passing isn't the best way to find success in the WPIAL.

 

[Buckskin86]

Hopewell wins, controls playoff fate
By David Sandora, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, October 23, 2010

Hopewell was running for its playoff life. That didn't change its formula, though.

The Vikings gave the ball to Rushel Shell time and time again, and the junior did not disappoint, rushing for 204 yards and five touchdowns ? all before halftime ? in a 42-20 win over Ambridge on Friday at Tony Dorsett Stadium.

Shell, with 6,164 career yards, moved into 20th place on the PIAA's all-time rushing list and moved within 140 yards of No. 3 in WPIAL history. But his focus was on the win that kept Hopewell (4-4, 3-3 Parkway Conference) alive in the playoff chase.

"Not right now. The only thing that matters is the team, the overall record and making the playoffs," Shell said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/highschool/s_705755.html

 

[wadc45]

High School Football Notebook: Hopewell-West A. still a big game

Monday, October 25, 2010
By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Mike Caputo -- Hasn't played since injuring ankle in September

It was eight weeks ago when the Hopewell-West Allegheny game lost some of its appeal. That's when West Allegheny star running back Mike Caputo went down with an ankle injury in the first game of the season.

The injury meant there would be no highly-anticipated showdown between Caputo and Hopewell running back Rushel Shell in the regular-season finale, because Caputo hasn't played since the injury.

So maybe the Hopewell-West Allegheny game three days from now won't be the Thursday Thrilla between two standout running backs. But there is plenty that still make this a big game.

Continued...

 

[Buckskin86]

Shell sets record as Hopewell tops West Allegheny
Friday, October 29, 2010
By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Hopewell's Rushel Shell carries against West Allegheny Thursday.

Overtime. Four plays from the 10-yard line. One of the greatest runners in the history of the WPIAL in the backfield.

So, what did Hopewell do?

Not give the ball to Rushel Shell. And it worked.

Quarterback Nolan Harmotto faked a handoff to Shell and ran 10 yards for a touchdown in overtime to give Hopewell a thrilling, 34-31 victory against host West Allegheny Thursday night.

On a night when Shell wrote his name into the record books a few more times, it was Harmotto's score that gave Hopewell something to look forward to next week: A playoff game.

A loss would pretty much have doomed Hopewell's playoff chances. Now the Vikings qualify for the Class AAA postseason with a 4-3 record in the Parkway Conference (5-4 overall).

The game was tied, 28-28, after regulation. In overtime, each teams get a chance to score from the 10. If the game remains tied, the process is repeated.

West Allegheny had the ball first in overtime and had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Steve Amic. Hopewell took the ball and coach Dave Vestal's plan was to give Shell the ball on second down -- and likely on third and fourth, if needed. But on first down, he used Shell as a decoy.

"I knew if we ran play-action to Rushel, they would be all over him," Vestal said of the winning play. "We had three guys in the route, and it was a run-pass option. Our quarterback is a playmaker. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was going to make a play for us."

But Shell is still all over the WPIAL record books. He finished with 193 yards on 35 carries and scored three touchdowns, despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in the second half. But Shell got the shoulder to pop back into place and finished the game.

He became the first running back in WPIAL history to run for 2,000 yards in consecutive regular seasons. He finished with 2,102 yards, second-best in regular-season history behind Mars' Bill Bair, who ran for 2,112 in 2007.

Shell also passed West Greene's Rodney Wilson and moved into third place on the WPIAL all-time list with 6,358 yards.

"I don't really care about those personal stats. I just want to win," Shell said. "We knew they'd be keying on me in overtime. Sometimes, you have to go to your other big players."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10302/1099019-365.stm#ixzz13kWtXPBo