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headline: Steal At The Hill

Can you say grand larceny?

Ferris State's football program just got a steal in the recent commitment of Saginaw Arthur Hill defensive end Lawrence Gordon, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound tidal wave of swagger coming off the edge. He has more than 20 sacks since his sophomore campaign and is raw potential in every meaning of the term. Gordon is the kind of kid that could have easily landed at the DI level. That's the kind of upside we're talking about here.

Burney wouldn't be shocked if Gordon winds up as an All-American pass rusher at the DII level in a few years. His closing speed and natural off-the-ball talent is the type you can't teach. This is an outstanding grab in the recruiting game for Ferris State – the Bulldogs are 2-0 so far in 2015.

With a heavy heart and tons of unbelievable memories, Burney is saying goodbye to blogging strictly about OC. Don't worry folks, I'll still be around the area, working for The Oakland Press in a game-and-feature-story capacity, but in terms of blogging, I'm taking Burney's Bytes statewide.

The OC will still be well represented and always have the biggest piece of my soul possible – hey, this is where I grew up, where I made my bones as a writer, so I would never completely abandon it. Check my Twitter @Burneystweets for more details this week on where to find me in the Blogsphere

Walled Lake Western junior football player Cody White is climbing the recruiting charts. White is a 0-to-100 HUSTLER to the MAX, with room to grow. That's scary! The nastiness is only in the early stages. Watch out opposing secondaries, you've been put on notice.

The 6-foot-3 wide receiver recently collected his first Big 10 offer from Wisconsin - his father is former Detroit Lions cornerback Sheldon White. On Thursday night in the Warriors exhilarating comeback win over Lowell on the road, he made four grabs for 92 yards against constant double-team coverage. This kid is just coming into his own. The more comfortable and confident he gets out there on the edge, beating smaller dbs down field, making them look downright silly as he did in some instances Thursday, the more dangerous he'll get. Can you say PRIMETIME PLAYMAKER?

Da Dynasty are the champs…..again. The "Saint" didn't stand a chance!

For the second straight year, Da Dynasty hoops squad has won the summer league championship at the famed St. Cecilia Gym. A majority of the Da Dynasty's roster is made up of former Oakland County prep studs now putting in work at the college level. Over the course of the past two campaigns, the club is 26-2. They bumped off a team comprised of Grand Valley State cagers 66-54 in the league finals.

Alright, let's ROLL CALL It OC-style:

Corey Green (MH Bishop Foley/N. Georgia St.) – Purely dominant as a senior at Foley, excelling down in PEACHVILLE with his game that is a perfect mix of aggressive and smooth

Chewy Ukandu (OL St. Mary's/Edinboro) – One of the more underrated backcourt gems to emerge from the county ranks the last handful of years

Nate Stepney (Ferndale/Edinboro) – A straight GUNNER with a nose for the bottom of the net and, superior finishing ability near the rim and that MONSTER extra gear in his move to the rack

Jacob Dotson (Ferndale-UN) – Plain and simple, a BOSS & a HOSS on the blocks!!

Jordan Konior (Detroit UD-Jesuit-UM-Dearborn/N. Georgia State) – Savvy point guard with an outstanding feel for the game, the definition of unselfish and a high basketball IQ

OC Top 10 – Here We Go Again……Wk. 1 2015

1 OL St. Mary's – So many toys to play with in PORRITTVILLE on both sides of the pigskin the Eaglets should consider moving their home games down to Orlando at Disney World

2 Clarkston – Carter Linton is Living Large & In Charge these days in C-Town!! The Linton name still looms heavy and full of heart in the Wolf Den....aka....no relief in sight for the comp!!

3 West Bloomfield – The LakeShow aka The Action Jackson show is back and ready to up at the ante for the BIG Green Gridiron Machine off Orchard Lk. Rd., be afraid, be VERY afraid!!

4 WL Western – Might actually be the second best team in the OC, even though Burney is checking them in at No. 4 to start the season .......yeah, the Warriors are THAT good!!!

5 Novi Detroit CC – Can you say rebound? Bock is Beautiful and quite BALLERRIFIC don't ya think? ShamrockNation Hustles Harder!!!

6 Oak Park – You can't stop WR-DB Miles Daniel for the Knights of the OP Gridiron Table, you can only hope to contain him!!!

7 Southfield – Eric (Red) McArn will have a breakout campaign this year, establishing himself one of the top backfield prospects in the state's Class of 2018 and filling the gap in the 'Jays offense left with the injury to Matt Falcon

8 Lake Orion – The O is going to be 'OH WOW' again in the Dragons' Den this fall

9 RH Adams – Danny Sanders is Burney's sleeper special in the OAA White, big-time playmaker in the passing game, will stretch the field for the Patritto Pigskin Prowlers like an OC Golden Tate

10 Waterford Mott – The Corsairs are 4 REAL!!! Any questions?...…….didn't think so!!

 

 

The OC Top 25

1 Khalid Kareem (FH Harrison Sr. DE) - Rare specimen of a pass rusher, a human, walking, talking quarterback sack, a field general's worst nightmare, the REAL DEAL HOLYFIELD off the edge, think an OC JJ Watt of sorts: quickness, strength, instinct, work ethic, wow factor, grit, ambition, finishing ability

2 Trishton Jackson (West Bloomfield Sr. QB-WR)- The TRUTH!! Plain and simple.....in EVERYTHING he does, no matter what!!!

3 Josh Ross (OLSM Jr. LB)- Smartest, most punishing linebacker in Metro Detroit!!!....Yeah I said it!!!

4 Dez Fitzpatrick (Wat Mott Sr. WR) - Smartest, most consistent pass catcher in the whole OC!!!!!.......Please make a note!!

5 David Reese (Farmington Sr. LB-RB) - The BEAST is loose, all forthcoming Falcons opponents please prepare for IMPACT!!

6 Ade Ogundeji (WL Central Sr. DE) - Probably the largest upside of any defensive linemen prospect Burney has ever covered!!

7 K.J. Hamler  (OLSM Jr. WR) - The No. 1 slot receiver in the state.......That's a Burney-Certified FACT!!

8 Cameron Kolwich (OLSM Sr. OL) - Tough-as-nails at the point of attack, best technique of any lineman in the area

9 Cedric Boswell (Birmingham Groves Sr. RB-CB) - Blazer of a ball-toter and lockdown cornerback, in other words, a VERY, VERY SPECIAL COMBINATION

10 Navon Mosley (West Bloomfield Sr. S-SB) - The most versatile athlete in the OC, will kill the comp softly, loudly and with the game on the line in a variety of manners on both sides of the ball

11 Carter Dunaway (Brother Rice Jr. TE/DE)

12 Tom Kowalkoski (Novi Detroit CC Sr. OL)

13 Nolan Eriksen (Clarkston Sr. RB)

14 Kyle Thomas (WL Western Sr. QB)

15 Emanuel Jackson (Novi Sr. ATH)

16 JaRaymond Hall & Marquan McCall (Oak Park Jr./Soph OL)

17 Jakkar Jackson (Farmington Sr. S-RB)

18 Justin Clark (West Bloomfield Sr. CB)

19 Jaylen Wiggins (Lake Orion Sr. CB-WR)

20 Evan Foster (West Bloomfield Sr. S-WR)

21 Trevor Tank (South Lyon Sr. LB-RB)

22 Jake Baldwin (Wat Mott Sr. QB)

23 Alex Bock (Novi Detroit CC Sr. SB-DB-K))

24 Kyle Wood (RH Adams Jr. QB)

25 Sam Johnson (Southfield Fr. QB)

*Southfield's Matt Falcon isn't listed because the UofM-commit out of the backfield was lost for the year last week as a result of an ACL tear suffered in a scrimmage