It's time again for a "Jonathan names some random recruits you probably haven't heard of" post. In this one I'll introduce you to three Juco guys worth keeping an eye on. Two of these three are players I've been a fan of since they were in high school, with one of them being a San Antonio-area product; the other is an east Texas native who I only recently learned about and who could be eligible to sign as early as this summer. I'll start with him.
OT Malik Ellis (Cisco College / Texas A&M-Commerce / Daingerfield)
I was tempted to post his highlights without comment, but that's just not my style.
His Hudl profile claims he's 6'6" 280, while Cisco's roster from 2015 listed him at 6'6" 270. Either way, he's an athletic offensive line bookend who needs to add weight and has room to do so, particularly in his lower half. He looks at least decently strong though and can bend and play with pretty good pad level, though he's far from a finished product.
Ellis was a 2013 graduate of Daingerfield High School, where he was a member of a state championship team. He originally attended A&M-Commerce, possibly because he was young for his grade and turned 18 shortly after graduating and his weight was supposedly still in the 250s at that time. He redshirted in 2013, sat out 2014 for reasons I don't know the specifics of, then moved on to Cisco where he played left tackle in 2015. He turns 21 in June and says he will also be graduating that month, and he'll be eligible to sign with his next school as long as he graduates with a 2.5 gpa.
He has reported offers from North Texas, Troy, Central Arkansas, McNeese State, and Texas Southern, and has coaches from many other D1 schools following him on Twitter. Even being almost three years out of high school he still needs some physical development but he could be a really good late signing if UTSA liked him enough to offer. He tells me he hasn't heard anything from UTSA as of yet. Without naming specific schools, he said "I have a few top schools but I'm still looking for a home." (*Paging Coach Pugh, your offensive tackle depth is on Line 1*)
DB David Lewis (Grossmont College - El Cajon, California / Morse High - San Diego, California)
I was a fan of Lewis when he was an under-recruited class of 2015 RB/DB from a San Diego-area high school. I DM-ed with him a number of times during his initial recruitment, and he had fairly impressive tape and good size at 6'1" 190 and had different schools recruiting him as a linebacker, safety, and cornerback. From the FBS ranks he got the most interest from Wyoming but his only offers came from FCS and D2 schools. He signed with Dixie State (a D2 program in Utah) but ended up enrolling at Grossmont, a junior college in a suburb just east of his native San Diego.
As a true freshman at Grossmont in 2015, he was listed at 6'1" 178, and in eight games he was credited with 15 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 4 passes broken up. I expect he'll play a bigger role in his team's defense this fall and finish the season with some quality offers. He has no offers that I'm aware of right now but he's getting a lot of interest from Colorado State and Iowa State in particular.
I don't know if he has had any contact with UTSA but his Twitter followers include former CBs coach Jeff Popovich, who was slated to become Western Carolina's new DBs coach after his departure from UTSA, but has since been hired as an assistant to Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano (who was Popovich's position coach when he was in college).
He'll have three years to play two when he enrolls at his next school.
DB Norman Reeves (Blinn College / Schertz Clemens)
If you're going hard after 2017 QB Frank Harris, your chances of landing him can't be hurt by recruiting a former player from his school, right? Reeves was a player I liked as an athletic safety in the 2015 class. My memory of him is that of a player who took a big leap during his senior year after putting together a junior season tape in which he showed off some athletic tools but got out of position and seemed slow to diagnose plays. Based on his 2014 senior highlights he saw plays develop much better and flew to the ball faster.
He apparently was very lightly recruited (if at all) out of high school, as he signed with Blinn. As a true freshman in 2015 he played in eight games and was credited with 10 tackles and 2 passes broken up. His highlights from that season show him playing some nickel corner and in the box at safety, looking a lot like a dawg safety in UTSA's old 4-2-5 alignment, which he probably could have done at a listed 6 feet and 200 pounds.
With the athletes UTSA has added to the fold from the 2015 and 2016 classes (not to mention transfer Austin Jupe), safety isn't necessarily a need position, or one seemingly in need of immediate help or an infusion of experienced Juco depth. Still, it's never a bad idea to keep tabs on a hometown guy who perhaps developed late and flew under the radar while in high school and who might be good enough to contribute to his hometown team in 2017 (especially if that guy happens to be a former teammate of one of the most high profile recruits the staff is pursuing from the 2017 class).
He'll have three years to play two at his next school, and he's the same age as C.J. Levine, Andrew Martel, and Darryl Godfrey, to compare him with three current Roadrunner safeties.
OT Malik Ellis (Cisco College / Texas A&M-Commerce / Daingerfield)
I was tempted to post his highlights without comment, but that's just not my style.
His Hudl profile claims he's 6'6" 280, while Cisco's roster from 2015 listed him at 6'6" 270. Either way, he's an athletic offensive line bookend who needs to add weight and has room to do so, particularly in his lower half. He looks at least decently strong though and can bend and play with pretty good pad level, though he's far from a finished product.
Ellis was a 2013 graduate of Daingerfield High School, where he was a member of a state championship team. He originally attended A&M-Commerce, possibly because he was young for his grade and turned 18 shortly after graduating and his weight was supposedly still in the 250s at that time. He redshirted in 2013, sat out 2014 for reasons I don't know the specifics of, then moved on to Cisco where he played left tackle in 2015. He turns 21 in June and says he will also be graduating that month, and he'll be eligible to sign with his next school as long as he graduates with a 2.5 gpa.
He has reported offers from North Texas, Troy, Central Arkansas, McNeese State, and Texas Southern, and has coaches from many other D1 schools following him on Twitter. Even being almost three years out of high school he still needs some physical development but he could be a really good late signing if UTSA liked him enough to offer. He tells me he hasn't heard anything from UTSA as of yet. Without naming specific schools, he said "I have a few top schools but I'm still looking for a home." (*Paging Coach Pugh, your offensive tackle depth is on Line 1*)
DB David Lewis (Grossmont College - El Cajon, California / Morse High - San Diego, California)
I was a fan of Lewis when he was an under-recruited class of 2015 RB/DB from a San Diego-area high school. I DM-ed with him a number of times during his initial recruitment, and he had fairly impressive tape and good size at 6'1" 190 and had different schools recruiting him as a linebacker, safety, and cornerback. From the FBS ranks he got the most interest from Wyoming but his only offers came from FCS and D2 schools. He signed with Dixie State (a D2 program in Utah) but ended up enrolling at Grossmont, a junior college in a suburb just east of his native San Diego.
As a true freshman at Grossmont in 2015, he was listed at 6'1" 178, and in eight games he was credited with 15 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 4 passes broken up. I expect he'll play a bigger role in his team's defense this fall and finish the season with some quality offers. He has no offers that I'm aware of right now but he's getting a lot of interest from Colorado State and Iowa State in particular.
I don't know if he has had any contact with UTSA but his Twitter followers include former CBs coach Jeff Popovich, who was slated to become Western Carolina's new DBs coach after his departure from UTSA, but has since been hired as an assistant to Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano (who was Popovich's position coach when he was in college).
He'll have three years to play two when he enrolls at his next school.
DB Norman Reeves (Blinn College / Schertz Clemens)
If you're going hard after 2017 QB Frank Harris, your chances of landing him can't be hurt by recruiting a former player from his school, right? Reeves was a player I liked as an athletic safety in the 2015 class. My memory of him is that of a player who took a big leap during his senior year after putting together a junior season tape in which he showed off some athletic tools but got out of position and seemed slow to diagnose plays. Based on his 2014 senior highlights he saw plays develop much better and flew to the ball faster.
He apparently was very lightly recruited (if at all) out of high school, as he signed with Blinn. As a true freshman in 2015 he played in eight games and was credited with 10 tackles and 2 passes broken up. His highlights from that season show him playing some nickel corner and in the box at safety, looking a lot like a dawg safety in UTSA's old 4-2-5 alignment, which he probably could have done at a listed 6 feet and 200 pounds.
With the athletes UTSA has added to the fold from the 2015 and 2016 classes (not to mention transfer Austin Jupe), safety isn't necessarily a need position, or one seemingly in need of immediate help or an infusion of experienced Juco depth. Still, it's never a bad idea to keep tabs on a hometown guy who perhaps developed late and flew under the radar while in high school and who might be good enough to contribute to his hometown team in 2017 (especially if that guy happens to be a former teammate of one of the most high profile recruits the staff is pursuing from the 2017 class).
He'll have three years to play two at his next school, and he's the same age as C.J. Levine, Andrew Martel, and Darryl Godfrey, to compare him with three current Roadrunner safeties.
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