TRIO OF TALENTED SOUTHFIELD FOOTBALLERS LURKING IN SHADOWS AS THEY CARRY ON COUNTY TRADITION OF "SLEEPER" EXCELLENCE

Once again this prep football season there are going to be a good amount of hidden gems, "Sleepers" if you will, in the county's ranks. These are the type of players who might not have a ton of hype going into the fall's gridiron campaign, but are already squarely on the radar of college recruiters and ready to make their way into the headlines as soon as the season starts up in a little over a month from now.  In case you didn't know, THE OC is full of closely-guarded treasures all over its high school sports landscape.

If you check into this blog regularly, Burney has already given you the rundown on the likes of 2011 "Sleeper Extraordinaires" like Alex Fine (Lake Orion), Bryan Bell (WL Central), Willie Beavers (Southfield-Lathrup), Conor Hart (Birmingham Brother Rice) and Devonte Synder (MH Madison)....among others, so here are a couple of more names to keep a look out for this year. 

And guess what?.......They're all DEFENSIVE ACES from SOUTHFIELD!!!

1 Shafer Johnson (DT – Southfield Christian): Without a doubt the crown jewel of this season's "Sleeper Class" and the second player in the past two seasons to earn a scholarship to a Big Ten school for the Eagles program, entering only its fifth year of existence. Johnson, a 6-feet-1 inch, 305 pound defensive lineman, shot up the recruiting charts this spring and in June was offered and accepted an invitation to play at Indiana University starting in 2011. GREAT JOB and KUDOS to SC head coach and AD Tim Fracassi (note to any school looking to start up a prep football program in the future - look to THE FRACASSI WAY as the blueprint and everything will be alright....and FAST.

Recently departed Eagles, Taylor Calero (DE) and Devon Bailey (All-State running back) are both set to be at Michigan State this fall with Calero on scholarship and Bailey coming on board as a walk-on.

2 Cameron Boyd (CB – Southfield-Lathrup, 5-11 170) – Could wind up being the best "cover cornerback" in the county by season's end – has definite "lockdown"-status written all over him judging by his slew of grade-A performances this offseason. Currently receiving interest from coaching staffs at Michigan State, Indiana, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo and Northern Illinois……..honed his cover skills going up against former teammate Montrell Robinson ('10, currently at Cincinnati) in practice last year

3 Carthel Garth (S – Southfield, 5-11 180) – This Bluejays safety has Toledo and Grand Valley State currently in hot pursuit for his hard-hitting and instinctive talents calling signals in the defensive backfield