Inside recruiting/Defensive tackles - notes on recruiting of college football players - Brief Article

Recruiting analyst Bobby Burton ranks the top 25 senior projects.

Rk.   Name                Ht./Wt.   40 Yd.

 1.   Tommie Harris       6-3/275   4.8
 2.   Orien Harris        6-4/270   4.8
 3.   Marquise Hill       6-8/300   5.2
 4.   Charles Flush       6-3/286   4.9
 5.   Wayne Dickens       6-2/273   5.0
 6.   Thomas Derricks     6-1/287   4.85
 7.   Anttaj Hawthorne    6-5/285   4.9
 8.   Lorenzo Alexander   6-2/292   5.2
 9.   Robert Taylor       6-4/300   5.0
10.   Tyler Reed          6-5/305   5.0
11.   Jared Helming       6-4/265   4.7
12.   Darrell Holmes      6-3/255   4.8
13.   Raymond Tago        6-3/260   4.8
14.   Titus Adams         6-4/275   4.8
15.   Matthias Askew      6-6/275   4.9
16.   LeKevin Smith       6-4/297   5.0
17.   Clayton Harmon      6-5/270   5.0
18.   Davon Clark         6-3/255   4.8
19.   Jeff Thompson       6-5/250   5.0
20.   Randy Starks        6-4/285   4.9
21.   Brandon McKinney    6-3/290   5.1
22.   Troy Banner         6-4/255   4.6
23.   McKinley Boykin     6-2/265   4.9
24.   Jeff Littlejohn     6-2/300   5.46
25.   Lyle Maiava         6-2/300   4.9

Name                   Town/High school (schools player
                       in considering)

Tommie Harris          Killeen, Texas/Ellison (Texas, Florida
                        State, Miami, Nebraska, Oklahoma)
Orien Harris           Newark, Del./Newark (Fla. St., Miami Mich.
                        St., Ohio St., Penn St. Fla., N.D.)
Marquise Hill          New Orleans/De La Salle (Mich., Ga., La.
                        St., Fla. St., Ohio St., Fla., Ala., Texas)
Charles Flush          Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep (Pitt, Michigan,
                        Penn State, UCL, Notre Dame, Stanford)
Wayne Dickens          Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson (Miami, Fla. St.,
                        Ga. Tech, Penn St., Fla., Tenn.)
Thomas Derricks        Dallas/Bishop Lynch (Duke, Neb., Penn St.,
                        N.D., Okla., Mich., UCLA Texas A&M)
Anttaj Hawthorne       Hamden, Conn./Hamden (committed to
                        Wisconsin)
Lorenzo Alexander      Berkeley, Calif./St. Mary's (Stanford,
                        Georgia Tech, Miami, Oregon, Southern Cal)
Robert Taylor          Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek (Wis., Neb., Iowa,
                        Mich., Miami Mich. St. Minn.)
Tyler Reed             Pittsburgh/Jefferson (Penn State, Pitt,
                        Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee)
Jared Helming          Springfield, Mo./Kickapoo (committed to
                        Nebraska)
Darrell Holmes         Atlanta/Crim (Georgia, Florida State,
                        Auburn, Georgia Tech)
Raymond Tago           Long Beach, Calif./Poly (florida State,
                        Southern Cal, Ohio State, UCLA
Titus Adams            Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep (Neb., Iowa,
                        Mich., Penn St., Tenn., N.D., Iowa St.)
Matthias Askew         Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Dillard (Mich. St.,
                        Southern Cal, Auburn, North Carolina)
LeKevin Smith          Macon, Ga./Stratford Acad. (Florida State,
                        Nebraska, Georhia, Alabama, Auburn)
Clayton Harmon         Stephenville, Texas/Stephenville (committed
                        to Texas Tech)
Davon Clark            Paterson, N.J./Catholic (Syra, Miami, Ohio
                        St., Md., Penn St., Fla., B.C., Mich. St.)
Jeff Thompson          Mishawaka, Ind./Penn (committed to Notre
                        Dame)
Randy Starks           Waldorf, Md./Westlake (Maryland, Syracuse,
                        Penn State)
Brandon McKinney       Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade (comitted to Ohio
                        State)
Troy Banner            Pittsburgh/Penn Hills (Maryland, North
                        Carolina, West Virginia, UCLA, Pitt)
McKinley Boykin        McCalla, Ala./McAdory (Ga. Tech, NC St.,
                        Ga., Ala., LSU, Miss., So. Miss.)
Jeff Littlejohn        Gaffney, S.C./Gaffney (Clemson, Miami,
                        Fla., S. Caro., Fla. St., Mich.
                        St., Tenn.)
Lyle Maiava            Honolulu/St. Louis (Nebraska, Washington
                        State, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington)

Harris goes sideline to sideline better than any down lineman in the country. His ability to track down ballcarriers and to rush the passer equally well make him the nation's No. 1 defensive tackle prospect. Texas and Oklahoma are the front-runners in this race.

Bobby Burton is the editor of Rivals100.com, a member of the Rivals.com network.

RELATED ARTICLE: recruiting dish

RECRUITING TRAIL RUMBLINGS AND LOCKER ROOM WHISPERS BY BOBBY BURTON

Stanford's Kwame Harris was considered one of the top five offensive linemen in the country last season. But that wasn't enough to earn honors as Delaware's top lineman. That award went to younger brother 0rien, who has visits scheduled to Florida State and Miami. What a family.... Charles Rush is considered the Keystone State's No. 2 prospect behind RB Kevin Jones of Philadelphia. Jones generally is considered the nation's top prospect overall.... Who was the last great lineman from Missouri to be signed by Nebraska? Current Rams DE Grant Wistrom It would be unfair to compare Jared Helming and Wistrom just yet, but Helming is considered one of those rare players who should play early and often in Lincoln.... Texas Tech hasn't signed a defensive tackle the quality of Clayton Harmon in years. So how'd the Red Raiders do it? Harmon's former high school coach, Art Briles, is now an assistant to Mike Leach in Lubbock.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group