Are you kidding me?Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunGuru
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Are you kidding me?Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunGuru
WOW
<! Comeaux linebacker dismayed by lack of interest ->Quote:
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Nothing could have prepared Comeaux's Trae Fitzgerald for what he's experiencing right now.
Not the 103 total tackles he accumulated during his senior season. Not the District 2-5A Defensive MVP trophy on his shelf. Not even the numerous All-District, All-Parish and All-Acadiana honors he's received.
None of that has helped Fitzgerald overcome the silence every night.
While fellow All-District, All-Parish and All-Acadiana teammates spend every waking minute on the phone talking to college recruiters, Fitzgerald sits and waits - waiting for a reason to smile again.
"It's definitely humbling," Fitzgerald said. "I'd like to have a bigger choice, but I guess that's how my high school career has been, kind of under the radar."
Right now, Fitzgerald has three choices - Air Force, Central Arkansas or bust. He's definitely leaning towards the previous two and not the latter.
"I know I'm going to play college football," Fitzgerald said. "I've worked too hard and have done too much to give up on that. I don't know where I'm going to play, but I know I'm going to play."
Fitzgerald's story is somewhat perplexing.
On the field, he's been a terror, starting at linebacker at Comeaux for three years.
In the weightroom, he's been a beast, steadily increasing in mass from his freshman year until now.
And in the classroom, he's gotten the job done, earning himself a tuition-free education thanks to TOPS.
So, why is it college coaches aren't beating down Fitzgerald's door?
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Brady Aymond
baymond@theadvertiser.com
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"I have no idea, my size and speed I guess?," Fitzgerald replied. "That's all I can think of."
Fitzgerald stands 6-0 and weighs 215 pounds. He runs a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, but was timed at the Nike camp at 4.8.
"At Comeaux we don't work on running the 40 out of the three-point stance," Fitzgerald said. "Standing up, I run a 4.6, 4.7. When I get in three-point stance, I lose a whole tenth of a second."
The lack of size or speed certainly doesn't show up on the football field. Fitzgerald's season was loaded with highlight reel tackles, including a crowd-moving power bomb-type tackle in the Kiwanis Jamboree.
"I play faster in pads, maybe that's my secret," Fitzgerald said. "I know that everyday in practice I go against Corrimmza Charles, who runs a legit 4.4 and I can keep up with him. I think I just run faster when I'm chasing someone."
Perhaps most baffling is the fact that a UL football program located just a couple of miles down the road from Comeaux hasn't dropped a dime on Fitzgerald - not even to say 'We'd like you to come walk on.'
"I went to their home games and the coaches would call me early in the season," Fitzgerald said. "But when they (UL) got on their five-game win streak, I guess they started looking for higher profile players. I would have loved for them to be interested."
Before you shed a tear for Fitzgerald, however, remember that his cupboard is not completely bare. He's slated to take a trip to Air Force Academy and already has an offer from Central Arkansas.
"There's a full scholarship offer available right now," Fitzgerald said of Air Force. "A lot of my family is in the military and they all say if they had to go back, they'd go into the Air Force.
"I only hear good things about it. I'm almost sick of people telling me how great of an opportunity it is, how easy it is to get a job after you get out. I just still have so many questions about everything."
And Fitzgerald's main concern is family. He lists family gatherings as the highlight of his life.
"I have a big family and we're all very close," Fitzgerald said. "All of us live in Lafayette. The furthest my relatives live is in Carencro. I have four family members going to UL right now. My cousin (Blair Brodhead) plays basketball for UL. We're all very close, I'd have a hard time leaving.
"I guess if I were to go somewhere and stay away for a year I could do it, but initially it would just be very hard to do."
One thing the whole process has done is sour Fitzgerald on recruiting. Something he looked forward to quickly became an agonizing experience.
"It's (his frustration) mostly towards the recruiting process," Fitzgerald said. "I hoped that it would be a lot more fun. I was talking to (Comeaux) coach (Ronald) Gunner (a former UL standout) about it and he told me Orlando Thomas didn't get his offer until July.
"I'd like to be that patient, but I just don't know. I'd really like to know before then where I'm going. I know I don't have that kind of time if Air Force makes an offer."
In the meantime, Fitzgerald says he will continue to prepare himself mentally and physically for the next level, wherever that ends up being.
"All I can do is what I can do," Fitzgerald said. "I try not to let it get me down, but it's hard. It's definitely opened my eyes."
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The University of Louisiana football squad picked up its seventh verbal commitment for its spring signing class Sunday, with wide receiver Verlin Moore of Pompano Beach, Fla., giving Ragin' Cajun coach Rickey Bustle a pledge at the end of his official visit.
The 5-foot-10 1/2, 163-pound Moore was part of UL's biggest recruiting weekend so far this year, with 15 prospects taking official visits.
"The biggest factor was the coaching staff and the players that I talked to," Moore said. "I like what they're trying to do and I could see they have big things coming in the future."
Moore was a two-time All-State selection for Pompano High's Tornadoes, earning second-team honors in Class 2A in 2004 and stepping up to first-team selection this year. He finished a six-game hurricane-shortened senior season with 58 catches for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He had 60 grabs for 1,008 yards and 12 scores as a junior in earning the first of two All-Broward County selections. The Miami Herald ranked him fifth among receivers in the Miami metro area.
The four-year starter helped lead coach Vince Stephens' squad to the second round of the Class 2A playoffs each of the past two years. He is also a starter on Pompano's basketball team that currently leads its district and runs on the 4x100-meter relay team.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"The thing I want to work on is getting bigger," Moore said. "I want to do that and still have my speed (4.43 and 4.42 in 40-yard dash timing this year) and quickness."
Moore, who is academically qualified, said his plans include enrolling at UL for the summer semester, both to have the summer workouts with the football squad and to get a head start academically in his business management major.
"I especially liked how the coaches felt about academics," he said. "I talked to some of the professors when I was there over the weekend, they're good people and seemed like they were helpful and would get you the help that you need."
Moore canceled a scheduled official visit to Colorado this week and had also been recruited by Iowa State and Northwestern along with several Florida schools.
Moore was encouraged that close friend Derrick Smith had the opportunity to step in and play as a natural freshman for the Cajuns. Smith, a 2005 signee from Ft. Lauderdale, played in all 11 games and finished third on the UL squad in receiving (22-250, 2 TD) and also rushed for two other scores and handled kickoff return duties.
"When we talked, he said that the coaches had told him he'd have a chance to play, and he did," Moore said. "That's my goal, to step in and make some kind of contribution this year."
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This guy would be a nice surprise. Great size already and a frame to make a monster. The size is needed on the line.Quote:
Originally Posted by Turbine
If WVU is looking, Bustle and Co. have to work this one hard.
West Virginia isn't our main competition on this one. I am on rivals and Southern Miss. and Central Florida are the competition for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcollect
http://www.amadeuswaters.com/
He looks real good on the field, but checking out his transcript he posted, he's probably lacking grades. That said, if signing day comes around and nobody is giving him a sniff, it would be great to get him here to see if he could make grades at a collegiate level while redshirting.
dude is "swole" for sure...Quote:
Originally Posted by BrockMeaux
Z.
Jermaine Rodgers committed to UAB
Hey---If McNeese, N'West, La. college, S'East, and the rest of the world do not offer ---why should we----The kid needs to walk-on and come to UL--After that it is all what you do!!!!Been there and done that as have so very many through the years!!!!!!
<! Texan defender becomes eighth UL commitment ->Quote:
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Daylon McCoy will be making a move from linebacker to strong safety next year, but he's confident he can do that.
So are the University of Louisiana coaches, who received a verbal commitment from the 5-foot-11, 195-pound McCoy late Tuesday following a recruiting visit last weekend.
"I really liked all the coaches," McCoy said Wednesday. "I got along well with them, and the players were real easy to get along with. I felt real relaxed the whole weekend."
McCoy was a key part of the Tatum High squad in Henderson, Texas, that claimed the Texas state Class 3A Division II title last fall. The Eagles of coach Andy Evans finished with a 16-0 record and beat Hutto 38-34 in the state title game at Texas Stadium.
Part of McCoy's confidence in moving back into the secondary stems from his playoff success this year. Twice in the playoffs he returned interceptions for touchdowns, along with adding to a tackle total that went over 150 during his senior year.
McCoy made key plays in each of his team's six playoff wins, despite losing his father to a heart attack one day after the opening-round win. His second playoff game came one day before his father's funeral.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"It just shows what type of young man he is," Evans said. "He's got a lot of character and he's just a great kid. He was our leader all year and made plays when he needed to."
McCoy was a Class 3A All-State pick in each of his last two years and also made two All-East Texas squads. As a senior, he was District 16-3A's overall Most Valuable Player, and was defensive MVP on the TexasHSFootball.com selections.
"It was a great year both for us as a team and me individually," McCoy said.
McCoy, his district's Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore and led the Eagles into the fourth round of the playoffs as a junior.
"I don't think I'll have problems making the adjustment to safety," he said. "I'm going to work on my speed and my cover skills this year.
"I like their (UL's) defense and what they do with the safeties, bringing them down a lot and letting them play physical. That's how I like to play."
McCoy, an academic qualifier, ran sprints for the Tatum track team. He had offers from Baylor, Stephen F. Austin and Texas State, but UL was his first visit.
He is the eighth verbal commitment to UL's recruiting class and the second defensive back.
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