ShakerBuck
Hall of Fame
unfortunately a verbal committment at this point won't mean much...just like Joe Bauserman's (sp.?)
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- Thread starter akronbuck
- Start date
This article covers a few Ohio guys, but Torrence is the only major tOSU target right now...
Canton Rep
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]THE INCREDIBLES[/FONT]
Monday, August 21, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By TODD PORTER[/FONT]
Collectively, they are the best Stark County football has to offer. Maybe even the state. Look around Ohio. Chances are, you won’t find three better high school football players on different teams in the same 20-mile radius.
And you won’t find three players so good, so smooth, so athletic on the field, and yet all have their own kryptonite. They have something to prove. Behind the uniforms, the big hits, the long runs, amazing catches and leadership is a weakness. It’s the chip they play with this season.
That is just the way it’s going to be for Massillon’s Brian Gamble, McKinley’s Morgan Williams and Canton South’s Devon Torrence.
Gamble led Massillon to a Division I state runner-up title last year. He led them with crushing hits — from his safety and running back positions — that intimidated opponents.
He led. Teammates followed.
They’re hungry again.
Williams led McKinley through, over and around Massillon, 38-8, in Week 10. He made it look easy. He gained 239 yards and scored four touchdowns.
When the season ended after a loss to Massillon in the playoffs, Williams had 2,417 yards and 31 TDs. His 335 yards against Hoover tied a school record. He is fifth all-time on McKinley’s rushing list.
He has something more this season. Something to prove.
Torrence is the only one of the three with a Big Ten scholarship offer. Canton South coaches haven’t found a thing on the field he can’t do.
But Torrence is torn. Is he a football player, a baseball player? Or both?
Devon Torrence:
The Shutdown
Torrence is wickedly smooth and abnormally talented — the kind of player who walks through the halls of a high school the size of Canton South once in a generation. Statistically, he is one in a half-million.
He is the rare high school athlete — Deion Sanders-rare. When his senior year ends, Torrence may have to choose between professional baseball and college football at a Top 10 program. Either path could lead to riches.
“A lot of people don’t have an appreciation for just how good he is because all people pay attention to is offense and numbers,” Louisville head coach Paul Farrah said.
Torrence ran for 721 yards at Canton South. It will be different this season. New head coach Moe Daniska will run a version of the spread offense that Louisville uses. Torrence will line up at running back and wide receiver, maybe elsewhere.
Defensively, he is an opposing team’s worst nightmare.
“He’s a missile playing safety,” Farrah said.
College programs want him in their defensive backfield because he isn’t like running into a brick wall; the brick wall is running into you.
As good as Torrence is in football — Ohio State has offered a scholarship — he could be better in baseball. His summer has been filled with baseball showcases, an opportunity for high school players to perform in front of big league scouts. He could be drafted next summer.
Baseball has taken time. Torrence hasn’t been to every football workout this summer.
But he wasn’t eating potato chips, either.
“He’s such a pure athlete,” Daniska said. “He has missed a lot of time going to baseball, but he has a lot of opportunities other kids don’t have. He works hard all summer.”
Torrence’s offense is a bonus. Defensively, he doesn’t get beaten and doesn’t miss tackles. He had 99 of them last year and returned an interception for a TD. All told, he had 1,133 all-purpose yards.
“He’s like our Teddy Ginn,” Daniska said.
Brian Gamble:
The Hit Man
Tom Stacy has been around talent before. When he was an assistant at Akron, the Zips had Jason Taylor — a future NFL All-Pro — and Charlie Frye. All things equal, the best player he has coached didn’t come through Akron.
He came from Mansfield.
Brian Gamble was born in Mansfield. His family moved to Stark County when he was 2. He went to kindergarten in Jackson Local Schools before he moved into Massillon in the first grade.
“When you’re talking apples to apples, he’s the best I’ve been around,” Stacy said. “The amazing thing about him, he knows every position on the field, offense and defense. He knows what each guy should do, where everyone should line up. He has great instincts.”
Almost like a sixth sense.
All he did in his first year as a running back (he was moved there from receiver by the new staff) was rush for 1,512 yards and score 17 TDs.
He led the team in tackles. He returned kicks. He was a long snapper.
More impressive than his big hits from safety were the ones he delivered running the ball. Gamble rarely got tackled. Gravity brought him down, after he pummeled a linebacker or defensive back for having the nerve to come at him.
“I was a little surprised at how he ran,” Stacy said. “ ... He’s only 185 pounds and he runs like he’s over 200.”
Gamble learned how to run the ball from his father, a former Mansfield standout.
“I like to hit, and I like to deliver hits,” Gamble said. “Running is instincts. Ever since I was little, my dad taught me how to lower my shoulder and lean. Whenever I get into trouble and there’s nowhere else to go, he told me to lower my shoulder and give them a blow. It helps you not get hurt.”
Every superhero has a weakness. Gamble spent the summer trying to fix his.
He didn’t have his “head on right” as a freshman. “I missed 50-some days,” he said, shaking his head. “... I’ve learned. I went from having basically no grade-point average to a 2.8 my sophomore year and maintaining a 3.0 last year.”
If he gets his high school credits turned around, Gamble can expect the offers he has from Ball State, Akron and Eastern Michigan to skyrocket from the MAC to the Big Ten.
He also has personal goals.
The Hitman is a nice nickname. Gamble wouldn’t mind being called Mr. Football.
THE GAMEBREAKER
There isn’t a yardline Morgan Williams has met that he didn’t like. 90 yards away? No problem. 91? Piece of cake. 82? 74?
One doesn’t become the gamebreaker without breaking games. Williams broke plenty of games and backs a year ago. He could score from any spot, in any situation.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder needs a tad more than 2,100 rushing yards to become McKinley’s all-time leading rusher. Laugh if you want. He had more than 2,400 last year.
“I don’t care about being the record-breaker, or anything like that,” Williams said. “All I want is a state title.”
Can he do it? Can he be the player he was with an almost entirely new offensive line?
He hears the whispers.
“I think he’s got a lot of people who are questioning how well he’ll do this year because ... we’ve got a much smaller line,” head coach Brian Cross said. “He’s taken that as a challenge to prove he is a great running back.”
Williams said he’s been offered by Indiana. Three more points on his ACT test, and the Division I floodgates will open. His favorite school is Clemson.
Maybe the amazing part of Williams is his strength and endurance. It was harder to tackle him in the fourth quarter than the first quarter during certain games last season.
He did that with 300-pounders on the best offensive line in the county. Four graduated. Now McKinley doesn’t have a lineman heavier than 240.
“They’re smaller, but they’re faster,” Williams said. “I’d rather run behind big linemen, but I run behind anyone who can block. I keep pushing the guys on the line and I think they’re playing to the best of their ability.”
He doesn’t need big holes.
Just a crack. A sliver. A keyhole. And he’s gone.
Any yardline, any time.
Canton Rep
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]THE INCREDIBLES[/FONT]
Monday, August 21, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By TODD PORTER[/FONT]
Collectively, they are the best Stark County football has to offer. Maybe even the state. Look around Ohio. Chances are, you won’t find three better high school football players on different teams in the same 20-mile radius.
And you won’t find three players so good, so smooth, so athletic on the field, and yet all have their own kryptonite. They have something to prove. Behind the uniforms, the big hits, the long runs, amazing catches and leadership is a weakness. It’s the chip they play with this season.
That is just the way it’s going to be for Massillon’s Brian Gamble, McKinley’s Morgan Williams and Canton South’s Devon Torrence.
Gamble led Massillon to a Division I state runner-up title last year. He led them with crushing hits — from his safety and running back positions — that intimidated opponents.
He led. Teammates followed.
They’re hungry again.
Williams led McKinley through, over and around Massillon, 38-8, in Week 10. He made it look easy. He gained 239 yards and scored four touchdowns.
When the season ended after a loss to Massillon in the playoffs, Williams had 2,417 yards and 31 TDs. His 335 yards against Hoover tied a school record. He is fifth all-time on McKinley’s rushing list.
He has something more this season. Something to prove.
Torrence is the only one of the three with a Big Ten scholarship offer. Canton South coaches haven’t found a thing on the field he can’t do.
But Torrence is torn. Is he a football player, a baseball player? Or both?
Devon Torrence:
The Shutdown
Torrence is wickedly smooth and abnormally talented — the kind of player who walks through the halls of a high school the size of Canton South once in a generation. Statistically, he is one in a half-million.
He is the rare high school athlete — Deion Sanders-rare. When his senior year ends, Torrence may have to choose between professional baseball and college football at a Top 10 program. Either path could lead to riches.
“A lot of people don’t have an appreciation for just how good he is because all people pay attention to is offense and numbers,” Louisville head coach Paul Farrah said.
Torrence ran for 721 yards at Canton South. It will be different this season. New head coach Moe Daniska will run a version of the spread offense that Louisville uses. Torrence will line up at running back and wide receiver, maybe elsewhere.
Defensively, he is an opposing team’s worst nightmare.
“He’s a missile playing safety,” Farrah said.
College programs want him in their defensive backfield because he isn’t like running into a brick wall; the brick wall is running into you.
As good as Torrence is in football — Ohio State has offered a scholarship — he could be better in baseball. His summer has been filled with baseball showcases, an opportunity for high school players to perform in front of big league scouts. He could be drafted next summer.
Baseball has taken time. Torrence hasn’t been to every football workout this summer.
But he wasn’t eating potato chips, either.
“He’s such a pure athlete,” Daniska said. “He has missed a lot of time going to baseball, but he has a lot of opportunities other kids don’t have. He works hard all summer.”
Torrence’s offense is a bonus. Defensively, he doesn’t get beaten and doesn’t miss tackles. He had 99 of them last year and returned an interception for a TD. All told, he had 1,133 all-purpose yards.
“He’s like our Teddy Ginn,” Daniska said.
Brian Gamble:
The Hit Man
Tom Stacy has been around talent before. When he was an assistant at Akron, the Zips had Jason Taylor — a future NFL All-Pro — and Charlie Frye. All things equal, the best player he has coached didn’t come through Akron.
He came from Mansfield.
Brian Gamble was born in Mansfield. His family moved to Stark County when he was 2. He went to kindergarten in Jackson Local Schools before he moved into Massillon in the first grade.
“When you’re talking apples to apples, he’s the best I’ve been around,” Stacy said. “The amazing thing about him, he knows every position on the field, offense and defense. He knows what each guy should do, where everyone should line up. He has great instincts.”
Almost like a sixth sense.
All he did in his first year as a running back (he was moved there from receiver by the new staff) was rush for 1,512 yards and score 17 TDs.
He led the team in tackles. He returned kicks. He was a long snapper.
More impressive than his big hits from safety were the ones he delivered running the ball. Gamble rarely got tackled. Gravity brought him down, after he pummeled a linebacker or defensive back for having the nerve to come at him.
“I was a little surprised at how he ran,” Stacy said. “ ... He’s only 185 pounds and he runs like he’s over 200.”
Gamble learned how to run the ball from his father, a former Mansfield standout.
“I like to hit, and I like to deliver hits,” Gamble said. “Running is instincts. Ever since I was little, my dad taught me how to lower my shoulder and lean. Whenever I get into trouble and there’s nowhere else to go, he told me to lower my shoulder and give them a blow. It helps you not get hurt.”
Every superhero has a weakness. Gamble spent the summer trying to fix his.
He didn’t have his “head on right” as a freshman. “I missed 50-some days,” he said, shaking his head. “... I’ve learned. I went from having basically no grade-point average to a 2.8 my sophomore year and maintaining a 3.0 last year.”
If he gets his high school credits turned around, Gamble can expect the offers he has from Ball State, Akron and Eastern Michigan to skyrocket from the MAC to the Big Ten.
He also has personal goals.
The Hitman is a nice nickname. Gamble wouldn’t mind being called Mr. Football.
THE GAMEBREAKER
There isn’t a yardline Morgan Williams has met that he didn’t like. 90 yards away? No problem. 91? Piece of cake. 82? 74?
One doesn’t become the gamebreaker without breaking games. Williams broke plenty of games and backs a year ago. He could score from any spot, in any situation.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder needs a tad more than 2,100 rushing yards to become McKinley’s all-time leading rusher. Laugh if you want. He had more than 2,400 last year.
“I don’t care about being the record-breaker, or anything like that,” Williams said. “All I want is a state title.”
Can he do it? Can he be the player he was with an almost entirely new offensive line?
He hears the whispers.
“I think he’s got a lot of people who are questioning how well he’ll do this year because ... we’ve got a much smaller line,” head coach Brian Cross said. “He’s taken that as a challenge to prove he is a great running back.”
Williams said he’s been offered by Indiana. Three more points on his ACT test, and the Division I floodgates will open. His favorite school is Clemson.
Maybe the amazing part of Williams is his strength and endurance. It was harder to tackle him in the fourth quarter than the first quarter during certain games last season.
He did that with 300-pounders on the best offensive line in the county. Four graduated. Now McKinley doesn’t have a lineman heavier than 240.
“They’re smaller, but they’re faster,” Williams said. “I’d rather run behind big linemen, but I run behind anyone who can block. I keep pushing the guys on the line and I think they’re playing to the best of their ability.”
He doesn’t need big holes.
Just a crack. A sliver. A keyhole. And he’s gone.
Any yardline, any time.
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0
Misinformation or did someone let it slip...
Link
Who’s who: Each team has a pair of high-profile major college prospects. At Canton South, it’s the brother tandem of Devon and Devoe Torrence. Devon is a senior who plays running back and defensive back and has verbally committed to Ohio State as a defensive back. Devoe is a linebacker and wide receiver who is just a junior and is drumming up a lot of interest. Fullback J’Keem Waters is 6-foot-1, 245 pounds who returns after starting as a sophomore and being academically ineligible last year. For Dover, senior quarterback Perci Garner has received a lot of interest after earning Division III Offensive co-Player of the Year honors a year ago with 4,000 yards passing and 40 touchdowns. Senior receiver Daniel Ifft caught 102 passes for 1,600 yards and 21 scores last year and has already been offered by Ball State. Senior linebackers Ryan Porter and Eric Williams were key defensive linemen for the Tornadoes and have been moved to join returning starting junior Cory Abel.
Link
Who’s who: Each team has a pair of high-profile major college prospects. At Canton South, it’s the brother tandem of Devon and Devoe Torrence. Devon is a senior who plays running back and defensive back and has verbally committed to Ohio State as a defensive back. Devoe is a linebacker and wide receiver who is just a junior and is drumming up a lot of interest. Fullback J’Keem Waters is 6-foot-1, 245 pounds who returns after starting as a sophomore and being academically ineligible last year. For Dover, senior quarterback Perci Garner has received a lot of interest after earning Division III Offensive co-Player of the Year honors a year ago with 4,000 yards passing and 40 touchdowns. Senior receiver Daniel Ifft caught 102 passes for 1,600 yards and 21 scores last year and has already been offered by Ball State. Senior linebackers Ryan Porter and Eric Williams were key defensive linemen for the Tornadoes and have been moved to join returning starting junior Cory Abel.
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BIATCHabutuka
out of chaos comes playoffs
that is my hometown newspaper and trust me they will never ever break news, only reprint the news from other sites.
that paper actually has a religion section as big as the sports section typically. like anything new is happening in religion.
going to the game myself tonight. should be fun to watch.
that paper actually has a religion section as big as the sports section typically. like anything new is happening in religion.
going to the game myself tonight. should be fun to watch.
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BIATCHabutuka
out of chaos comes playoffs
nothing spectacular from torrence last night.
not many touches on offense, limited involvement on D. Dan Ifft was able to get open on Torrence one on one.
Devon did cramp up early second half and that may have limited some of his effectiveness.
Devon did score a late touchdown that would have tied the game if they would have hit the 2 point conversion.
little brother isn't little and had the better day. one play where the D had the angle but not the speed turned into an 80 yard TD.
i got some film (poor seats hurt in the packed house), but little time. i will do it eventually i'm sure though.
not many touches on offense, limited involvement on D. Dan Ifft was able to get open on Torrence one on one.
Devon did cramp up early second half and that may have limited some of his effectiveness.
Devon did score a late touchdown that would have tied the game if they would have hit the 2 point conversion.
little brother isn't little and had the better day. one play where the D had the angle but not the speed turned into an 80 yard TD.
i got some film (poor seats hurt in the packed house), but little time. i will do it eventually i'm sure though.
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hammerthrower
Junior
Ifft had 10 catches two of those being touchdowns. i believe that he had 146 yards.
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BearBuck27
Game Day!!!
I wasn't at the game, so I couldn't tell you which story was/is correct, but I did hear that Torrence played A LOT of safety, and he played way behind the line. Maybe, most of those yards came against the corner going up against Ifft. Again, I don't know if that's true, but that is one possibility for Ifft's numbers.
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