Off-Season Prep Football Report

THE BEST TWO PLAYERS IN THE OC U DON'T KNOW ABOUT RIGHT NOW, BUT CERTAINLY WILL BY HALLOWEEN:

1. DeQuante Humphrey (WR) – because my main man DQ has been playing in prep football Siberia …….er….Waterford Kettering the past two years (sorry Caps, don't mean to pile-on, but the city of Waterford hasn't been putting out any true top college-bound gridiron talent since Kirk Gibson and Jim Miller in the 70s and 80s), he hasn't had the chance to show the local high school beat writers his true stuff and thus hasn't made it into many headlines yet.(EMPHASIS ON 'YET') That is all set to change this fall when Humphrey moves his skill-set to a yet to be determined location – most likely a destination in sync with where his father is assistant coaching at – and BLOWS UP like DA BOMB he without a doubt is. He's long, lean, and mean – not to mention fast, glue-gloved, and ultra-hungry – and ready to do damage in the right playing atmosphere worthy of a player of his caliber. His performances in off-season workouts and at showcase camps continually impress. As of right now, DQ has Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Syracuse, Ball State, Toledo and Louisville all showing interest in bringing him on board to their respective programs in 2011.

2. Devonte Snyder (LB) – this sleeper from MH Madison is slowly, but surely creeping his way up the recruiting charts. His showing at the Nike Elite combine in Ohio back in early-May, opened a lot of people's eyes and brought significantly higher-profile suitors to the table. Prior to going to Ohio, Snyder (6-1, 210), a hard-hitting, instinctive outside linebacker, had offers from Akron, Toledo and Howard. Now, Michigan, Michigan St, Penn State and Iowa have all came into the picture.

Quick Side Note: It's scary to think the kind of linebacking corps the Eagles could have had this coming year if Percy Johnson – another highly-touted college linebacker prospect – wouldn't have transferred out of state. Burney's sad that PJ had to leave the OC due to family considerations, but has no doubt in his mind that Snyder is going to pick up the slack on the field!

Both Humphrey and Snyder are teammates this off-season on one of the best 7-7 travel squads in the state, possibly the entire Midwest. The team is called the Detroit Elite and besides DQ and Devonte, it has fellow OC GRIND-A-LOTZ, Shawn Conway (Seaholm- WR/KR/DB), Kenny Knight (DCD- WR/KR/DB) and Valdez Showers (MH Madison -RB/DB/LB), without question three of the top 10 players in the state's Class of 2011. In a piece of news that shouldn't be that surprising to anyone who knows anything, the Elite have been well, ELITE the whole way through so far, qualifying for a shot at the National 7-7 Championships next month down South.

A COUPLE OTHER GRIDIRON STUDS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON:

1 Luke Johnson (QB-Milford) – This gunslinger, who Burney has been extremely high on since last year, is starting to BLOW UP nationally and deservedly so. Johnson is a top student in the classroom with over a 3.5 GPA and an all-conference catcher on the Mavs baseball team in the spring. Last season as a junior, he threw for almost 1500 yards. His 7-7 showings this off-season has bolted his stock upwards and several MAC schools (Ball State, CMU, WMU, Toledo, BG) have suddenly jumped into the recruiting picture

2 Carter Elliott (DE-DCD) – Elliott is one of the most underrated two-sport stalwarts in the area, doing the dirty work in the trenches for the Yellowjackets on the gridiron in the fall and on the hardwood in the winter. This kid is a banger with a lot of heart and like most DCD'ers is a winner in the classroom as well as the ballfield. Burney thinks Elliott's future in college lays with the game of football and the interest he's already starting to garner after only one year starting on the 'Jackets football  squad backs me up. CMU, Toledo, Furman, Syracuse, Florida Atlantic, Penn and Princeton have all began to sniff around at this rising talent of a pass rusher. This fall will be big for Elliott, as he takes the place of Chris Eddins as the anchor of the 'Jackets defensive line. Eddins' shoes will not be easy to fill, but Burney knows his primetime homey, Carter, will be up to the task to get the job done right!