Signing Day Reports/Stories

[Aggie One]

msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9182466/MARTIN-OPTS-FOR-N.C.-A&T-

MARTIN OPTS FOR N.C. A&T
By Robert Anderson
[e-mail]
981-3123 , The Roanoke Times

Northside's Isaiah Martin did not exactly look like a Division I football prospect three years ago.

"When I first got the job, he was the first person I saw in the weight room," third-year Northside coach Burt Torrence said. "He was 5-5, 112 pounds. He wrestled at 112 pounds his freshman year. He's the most dedicated kid I've had."

Martin's work has paid off. Now a relatively robust 5-foot-7, 180 pounds, Martin has made an oral commitment to accept a full scholarship from Division I-AA North Carolina A&T.

Torrence said A&T came up with the offer after Martin made an official visit to the Greensboro campus last weekend. Had the Aggies not offered the Viking senior, he probably would have spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy.

Torrence said A&T recruited Martin as a strong safety.

"He's really good coming up against the run," Torrence said. "Ask anybody in our district. He was the best playing against the run that we saw."

Martin was Northside's second-leading tackler, and he led the Vikings in rushing during the regular season with 524 yards on 75 carries.

Torrence said Martin has met NCAA academic qualifying standards for freshman eligibility but will probably redshirt next season.

[Aggie One]

midvalleynewsonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=730&Itemid=209

SG Pair Sign for College
By Joe Torosian

(San Gabriel)- In a humble but exciting ceremony in the San Gabriel High School gym on Wednesday afternoon Matador kicker Patrick Courtney III and defensive end Alejandro Bobadilla signed their letters of intent to play college football next season

Courtney will study dentistry and kick the football for North Carolina A & T while Bobadilla will follow the building SG and valley pipeline to Dakota Wesleyan, located in southeastern corner of South Dakota.

“I was having fun playing in high school,” said Courtney. “By the time I was a junior I was told there was a possibility I could play in college. My dad helped me and put together a DVD and sent it out.”

Courtney’s father Patrick Courtney Jr. sent the DVD and information about his son to just about every college he could think of.

Was it a booming leg with a career long 38-yarder, routinely putting 50-yard boots through the uprights in practice, that made the difference?

“Colleges value GPA (grade point average) equally as important as skills,” said Courtney Jr.

How is the San Gabriel Valley kid going to do in Greensboro, North Carolina?

The younger Courtney smiled. “It’s going to be an interesting experience.”

For Bobadilla the opportunity to play at Dakota Wesleyan and join former Matadors stars like Juan Magallon and Marco Mora came as a little bit of a surprise.

“I was going to play community college,” Bobadilla said. “That’s what I thought, but then this came along thanks to our coaches.”

Bobadilla will take his solid GPA, and game skills as a defensive end, to Wesleyan where he is leaning towards seeking a degree in Criminal Justice.

“My parents will be sorry to see me leave,” Bobadilla said. “But they said that they are excited and happy for me.”

Bobadilla expects to adjust to the cold and Zeke Prado, who played at Dakota Wesleyan and now coaches, said that Mora will take Bobadilla out for a buffalo burger when he gets there.

The best football moment during their SG years?

“The kick-off against Bell Gardens,” Courtney said. “When I forced a fumble.”

“When I got to run the ball against Montebello,” Bobadilla said.

How many yards did you get?

“Eight yards.”

“Listen to this guy,” Matador head coach Keith Jones laughed. “Always knows his stats.”

Both players are expected to leave for school in August.

“I’m so proud of both of these guys,” said SG offensive coordinator Jude Oliva.

Stats:
www.maxpreps.com/california/football/san-gabriel/patrick-courtney/stats.aspx?athleteid=5abdf83b-e834-44bb-b9d6-123aa2488814&ssid=2f36027d-d6f6-4509-aba9-adad5cc85b5e&urpath=,local,player

[Aggie One]

www.the-dispatch.com/article/20090205/ARTICLES/902050280/1053/SPORTS

By Jason Queen
The Dispatch


Published: Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:02 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:06 p.m.

TYRO | Dale Barnes is trying to build a perennial championship contender at West Davidson in football. And with two Central Carolina Conference titles in a row, the results couldn’t be better.

That team success yields some individual rewards, and two Green Dragons reaped those rewards this week. Alex Grubb signed a full scholarship to play football and baseball at North Carolina A&T State University, and Jon Jarvis committed to play football at UNC-Pembroke.

Grubb, who played running back, punted and handled some placekicking duties for the Dragons, was recruited primarily to punt. According to the coaching staff at A&T, though, he will get a chance to compete for a fullback spot. Then in the spring, he will take to the diamond as a first baseman and pitcher.

As an athlete always involved in sports (he wrestles during the winter months), Grubb is glad he’ll have the opportunity to continue his career at the next level.

“A&T was the first team to talk to me about football,” he said. “I had a couple of teams talk to me about baseball — Catawba and Belmont-Abbey.

“But I wanted a chance to do both. Belmont-Abbey doesn’t have football, and at Catawba their football and baseball teams don’t really work together.”

With his prep production, it’s fair to expect him to have success in college. In two seasons with Lexington-Davidson American Legion Post 8, Grubb hit over .300 in both seasons, belted 12 home runs, drove in 50 runs and rapped 20 doubles.

On the gridiron, Grubb was the feature back in the Dragons’ power running game. He ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 12 touchdowns this season with a punishing style, often running over or dragging multiple defenders on carries.

Needless to say, just punting for the Aggies might take some getting used to.

“Next year, I’ve got a real good shot to punt,” he said. “But, they told me fullback was a possibility.

“The fullbacks they have now are big guys. So I’ve got to beef up some, but then I’ll need to get lean for baseball. So it might be tough.”

Of course, he has a couple of perfect models who have enjoyed rewarding careers coming out of Davidson County. Madison Hedgecock and Brad Hoover entered college in similar situations, and both have gone on to very productive careers in the NFL as fullbacks.

Jarvis was a catalyst to opening up the Dragons’ offense, which Barnes has always preferred to keep as vanilla as possible. But with playmakers like Jarvis and Jordan Hudson at wide receiver, the Dragons opened up the playbook the past couple of years and the results were impressive.

Jarvis caught 31 passes this year for 524 yards, and 11 of those catches went for touchdowns. A varsity player since his sophomore season, Jarvis broke the school record for career touchdown receptions late this season.

He will play for Pembroke, but he earned enough academic scholarship money to cover all of his school expenses. Pembroke is a 1-AA nonscholarship program.

But he has an opportunity to play early for the Braves, who run a much more wide-open attack than he’s used to.

“I went down to Pembroke for my official visit and did some workouts,” Jarvis said. “About two or three days later, they came and talked to me and made an offer.

“It’s exciting because not many people around here get to play college football.”

And Jarvis will have another advantage, as Lexington quarterback Teland Todd will be one of his teammates. Seeing a familiar face, Jarvis hopes, will make the transition to college football that much easier.

“When I went down to do the workouts, Teland was there,” he said. “And we talked about if one of us commits, the other one would, too.”

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or at [e-mail].

[Aggie One]

A little something on new A&T signee 6-6,235 DE/LB Ivan Couter from Hertford County:


Bears' line open holes against Warriors
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 16, 2008 2:00 AM

AHOSKIE -- Eastern Wayne avoided the right hook.

But the knockout blow came moments later.

After stopping Hertford County on four downs inside their 25-yard line, the Warriors exhaled a huge sigh of relief. That ease soon turned to disappointment when the Bears' Larry Raynor picked off a tipped pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Hertford County rolled from there.

Eleven different running backs combined for a whopping 407 yards rushing in the Bears' 57-13, opening-round victory over the Eastern Wayne in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A (small-school) playoffs. The 13th-seeded Warriors concluded regular-season play 5-7 overall and remained winless in the postseason since 1978.

"It must be nice to line guys up and run off tackle all night, and that's exactly what they did," said Eastern Wayne head coach Jeff Price. "They were absolutely massive and they have a couple of Division I linemen. They're very good."

The fourth-seeded Bears (10-2) needed just two plays to find the end zone on their first offensive series. Quarterback Antonio Vaughan sloshed his way through blocks for a 59-yard touchdown run.

Two possessions later, Raynor's pick six put the Bears ahead 14-0.

"After that (Raynor's score), it was like the floodgates opened," said Price. "It seemed like when we get something good to happen and think things might change, we had something happen to progress us from moving forward ... things to keep us from being successful."

Hertford County built a 21-0 advantage, but Eastern Wayne avoided the shutout midway through the second quarter. Senior quarterback Dan Price hooked up with Lamar Best on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Price, who has 12 TD tosses this season, finished 8 of 17 for 98 yards and three interceptions.

In addition to Raynor, the Bears' Ivan Coulton (6-foot-5) returned a third-quarter interception for a score. Coulton also perfectly executed a trip drill, which led to Raynor's first-quarter touchdown.

"It's tough for our guys to deal with two defensive ends who are 6-foot-6," said coach Price.

Eastern Wayne added a third-quarter touchdown. Mac Stover bowled over from the 3-yard line to make it 38-13. Stover finished with a hard-earned 67 yards on 21 carries and concluded the season with 800-plus yards.

"Mac has done a super job of stepping in basically halfway through the season," said Price. "He's a great athlete and he's a good receiver out of the backfield, and runs the ball hard. Our passing improved this year and Dan has thrown the ball reasonably well.

"We've been fairly balanced, but not enough on the board, especially defensively to get the other team off the field."

Six of the Warriors' seven losses this season resulted in lopsided fashion.

"(Those losses) came against teams where we were out-manned per pound and could not physically play with them," said Price. "That's a little bit disheartening."

[Aggie One]

www.tallahassee.com/article/20090225/SPORTS01/902250330/1014

Godby LB Hover signs with North Carolina A&T

He was part of a linebacker tandem that made the Godby High defense go and helped the Cougars reach the Class 3A state title game this year.

On Tuesday, Brandon Hover signed a national letter of intent to attend North Carolina A&T State University and play football for the Aggies in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"The coaching staff got me," Hover said. "It was so warm, like at Godby — but it was a different place."

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior racked up 136 total tackles (83 solo), two sacks, five tackles for a loss and a fumble return for a touchdown this year. In a season that ended with his team finishing as the state runner-up, Hover earned third-team All-State honors and second-team Tallahassee Democrat All-Big Bend recognition.

Hover's tackle totals combined with teammate Justin Jones's 173 tackles accounted for more than 300 tackles during the season, making them arguably the top linebacker pair in the area.

Second on the team in tackles, Hover was part of a defense that allowed only 11 points per game. The Cougars lost a defensive battle in the Class 3A title game, 7-6 to Cocoa High.

He finished as a two-year starter and ended his career with 225 tackles (143 solo), 7 sacks and 9 tackles for a loss. Hover runs a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

"He's undersized for a linebacker, but he's fast, strong and smart," Godby coach Shelton Crews said. "I think North Carolina A&T got a steal. We're excited for him, and we're excited for North Carolina A&T."

[Aggie One]

COS football team sending 18 players to four-year schools

BY DAMIAN MARQUEZ
Feb 09,2009
[e-mail]

College of the Sequoias head football coach Curtis Allen wants to erase the misconception that the COS football team only features out-of-state players.

Sending local kids to four-year universities will help.

After Wednesday's college football national signing day, the Giants have a total of 18 players from the 2008 team sign letters of intent to play football in the fall.

And of those 18 players, seven were from the Central Valley and four were from Tulare County. Since Allen took over as COS head coach in 2005, 106 players have moved on to play football at four-year programs on scholarship.

Aaron Gress (Exeter High School) signed a letter of intent in December and is already at the University of Illinois.

Allen said Gress, a three-star linebacker, was a perfect example of a local product going to COS and earning a scholarship to a four-year university.

"Gress only weighed 195 pounds when he got here," Allen said. "Now he weighs 225 pounds and he is running a [4.4-second 40-yard dash]."

Former Mt. Whitney standout Kevin Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play at Henderson State University in Arkansas, and Tulare Union product Jonte Lewis, a safety, signed a letter of intent to play at Eastern Michigan.

Jordan Kulwitzky who is from Visalia but played high school football at Tracy High School, signed with Mid Western State in Texas.

"A lot of high school kids want that full ride right out of high school," Rodriguez said. "I came to COS to get that scholarship. It was a second chance for me. Overall, this was a positive experience. The coaching staff helped me mature and understand the game a lot better."

Several Tulare Union products have gone on to have success at Fresno City, but Lewis decided to stay close to home and attend COS. Now he will be joining two COS teammates — Ryan Leonard (Hebron, Texas) and Delano Johnson (Concord, N.C.) — at Eastern Michigan.

"You have to go to school where you feel comfortable," Lewis said. "And in this environment I had teachers and coaches that cared.

" ... A lot of Tulare guys think that leaving here will make a big difference. But it doesn't. They just have to stay out of trouble. You need to go to the school that will get you to the next level and COS did that."

Other Central Valley products moving on to four-year schools include Lemoore's Jamar Brown (Jackson State), Madera's Zach Micheli (UC San Diego) and Bakersfield's Andru Stewart (Arkansas).

"Our local guys are getting scholarships," Allen said. "Sometimes players leave town [to play football] but they need to figure out why they are doing that. I always say 'do you want to leave town for two years and then come back or do you want to stay and get a scholarship?'"

Stewart will be joined by two teammates at Arkansas. Anthony Leon, who was a kickback from Florida State, will also go to Arkansas, and Oakland's John Henderson also decided on Arkansas after hearing several offers.

"I wanted to go to Arkansas regardless," Henderson said. "But with both of them coming with me, it is going to be a big plus."

Jamar Howard, of Ohio, will be the fifth COS player moving on to a Bowl Championship Series team. He will attend Cincinnati, which played in the Orange Bowl this past season, because he wanted to be closer to home.

Cory Smith will attend Nevada-Reno, Giavanni Ruffin will attend East Carolina, Billy Foster is headed to Memphis, Clint Brewster will attend Middle Tennessee State, Yule Winbush (CB, 6-0, 182, Ft. Campbell, KY) will attend North Carolina A&T and Demetrius Boone is still undecided.

"The proof is in the pudding," Allen said. "Our guys will get a scholarship. Nobody will work harder to get them a scholarship than us."

[Aggie One]

Raper Signs with A&T

www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9948772&nav=menu1434_5

www.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=919779


March 4, 2009

Jon Leggette
CarolinaBlue.com

One of the top uncommitted prospects in the southeast for 2009 was Shelby (NC) athlete Larry Raper. That was until last Saturday when the former Clemson commit decided to officially end the recruiting process by choosing to sign with the Aggies of North Carolina A&T.

Larry Raper will be taking his gridiron talents to North Carolina A&T.

"They were one of the schools that were still waiting around and wanted to take me," the versatile athlete explained. "I went down there and I liked it pretty much so I just went ahead and decided to sign with them."

Several others schools were still pursuing Raper before he signed with A&T.

"I went down to Toledo to visit but that was just too far away," the senior explained. "I was really waiting on ECU but they were waiting on someone else and I found out that he would have a better shot than I would. And South Carolina State but I didn't like the visit down there."

A Big 10 school had gotten in touch with Raper a few weeks ago but an offer never materialized.

"Michigan had been in contact at one time but then I don't know what happened with that," the 5-10, 165-pounder explained.

The Rivals 3-star prospect was told he'll be playing in the slot and as a running back for the Aggies.

[Gator]

clocked at 4.2, damn...

[Aggie One]

That's not light speed. That's ludicrous speed. Check out his film reels on the recruit highlight thread.

media.photobucket.com/albums/z22/sdatink/?action=view¤t=20071005195406.flv