The Home Depot Center has hosted numerous events, the California High School
Football Championships, the MLS All-Star Game, the Women's World Cup and the San Diego Chargers Football Camp amongst others, where the talent on site was
bubbling over.
So Sunday could have been considered just another day at the office.
But the Los Angeles Scout.com Combine wouldn't be looked at with a ho-hum
attitude as the collection of elite prospects on hand coupled with the numerous
other D-I prospects easily was the most talented group of prospects Scout.com
has ever had assembled for a combine.
Several of Scout.com's Top 100 prospects nationally, and many more from the
West 100 and Southwest 100 congregated amongst a group of 285 participants.
Because of the turnout, we named both an Offensive and Defensive MVP and an
overall MVP.
Matt Kalil, the top offensive tackle in the country by Scout.com out of
Servite in Anaheim, won the Offensive MVP while Damien Holmes, the defensive end
from Colton just edged past Craig Noble from Taft in Woodland Hills and Kurt Mangum from Basha in Chandler for Defensive MVP.
Covaughn Deboskie, the elite running back prospect from Hamilton HS in
Chandler earned Overall MVP honors, the second straight year an Arizona native
has earned MVP honors at the Los Angeles Scout.com Combine (following Everson
Griffin who won it a year ago, en route to ending the year as Scout.com's
National Player of the Year and #1-ranked prospect in the class of 2007.
Here is a recap of the day.
Quarterbacks
The knock in the West this year is that there is no real super-talent at the
position like there was a year ago with Jimmy Clausen, Aaron Corp or Chris Forcier. But the depth at the quarterback spot is far deeper than it was a
year ago and this was evident on Sunday.
Familiar names from the class of 2008 like Nick Crissman from Edison,
Dominique Blackman from Carson, Ryan Griffin from Chaminade, Scott Burgett from
Centennial in Peoria, Kevin Prince from Crespi, Darius Banks from Culver City,
Brennan Price from Air Academy in Colorado Springs and Ryan Katz from Santa
Monica all had solid days passing the ball and showed why each of them are
receiving interest from all over the West.
And some prospects who have spent the past few years handing the ball off to
elite running backs also emerged. Matt Scott, who has teamed with Ryan Bass the past few years at Centennial HS in Corona had an excellent showing,
throwing the ball well and with zip and he has a polished throwing motion.
Scott also tested extremely well, running a 4.58 forty and jumping 34 inches.
Adam Barry from Moorpark HS should have a big year passing with the Musketeers
going to the spread this fall and he has a nice strong arm and good delivery.
It's the second time we've seen Barry this spring and both times he's thrown the
ball well.
Other standouts in the class of 2008 included Robert Fuller from Arroyo in
San Bernardino (who set a CIF-SS record by passing for 604 yards in a game last
fall), Travis Harvey from Morningside in Inglewood (who picked up his first
offer a week ago), Richard Ragland from Venice, Graham Wilbert from Valencia and
Blake Schembri from Chapparal in Scottsdale.
The class of 2009 in California should be loaded at the quarterback position
and a few prospects in that class had good days. In fact, Tim Ganton, the
Scout Combines quarterback coach said that Tate Forcier, the sophomore out of
Scripps Ranch, was the top quarterback on Sunday. Last year, Forcier came
as a freshman and earned rave reviews after fashioning one of the strongest arms
there. He just happened to be overshadowed by his older brother Chris, who
was the all-combine quarterback. This year, Forcier emerged from his
brother's shadow, showing off a cannon arm and a fluid motion.
Josh Nunes from Upland, Richard Brehaut from Los Osos and Rashaad Reynolds
from San Fernando all looked good from the 2009 class.
Running BacksThe top running back according to Scout.com, Darrell
Scott from St. Bonaventure, had very little to prove on Sunday. Holding
between 30-40 offers from all of the major programs in the country, Scott didn't
really need to show much since it's no secret he is an elite prospect.
Before the testing started, he said that people questioned his speed and he
wanted to answer it once and for all. Scott clocked a 4.38 in the forty
his first attempt then bettered that with a 4.32. Consider the questions
answered.
The only thing keeping Scott from being the frontrunner for Combine MVP
honors was that he left after he ran the forty. That opened the door for
Covaughn Deboskie from Hamilton in Chandler to run away with it, which he did
literally. Deboskie ran a 4.38 in the forty himself and then in the drills
and the 1-on-1's, flashed good moves, good hands and the speed he's known for.
Deboskie also mixed it up and took some reps at receiver to get more chances at
the ball. He's an excellent receiver out of the backfield and showed it on
Sunday.
Jamal Womble, a fellow Cactus State native followed up his strong performance
in San Antonio with another good day, earning all-combine honors. Womble
is a powerful runner so a combine setting isn't always the best place for a
runner of that style to show his stuff, but Womble didn't mind, testing well
(running a low 4.5) and flashing good moves and cutback in the 1-on-1's.
One of the top running backs in the state as a junior and an all-state
selection is Derrick Coleman from Troy in Fullerton and though he hasn't drawn
the attention that he should, yet, Coleman looked very good on Sunday. He
could end up as a fullback in college, a fullback who can run and catch and not
your classic, strictly blocking back. Coleman has very good size and
definitely looked the part.
Some of the other running backs we liked were Lawrence Doss from St. John
Bosco, Jack Sula from Carson, Mike Ball from Desert Pines, Dumauris Thomas from
Jurupa Valley, Josh Adams from Corona, Dante Potter from Mission Hills and
Luckas Scott from Mesquite. In the 2009 class, Vincent Minor from Etiwanda
and Quincy Bagsby from Green Valley stood out.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Coming into the day, Redlands East Valley's Chris Polk and Crenshaw's Kemonte
Bateman were the headliners, both a pair of four-star prospects and committed to
USC (Polk) and UCLA (Bateman) respectively. And though neither did
anything to disappoint and both showed why they are so highly touted, the player
who really stepped out was Geno Munoz from Mount Tahoma in Tacoma. Munoz
caught everything thrown at him, made the tough catch and battled with the DB's
all day. He played physical and with a swagger.
Marvin Jones from Etiwanda was the most decorated of the California receivers
as a junior, beating all of them out for first team all-state honors and on
Sunday he showed that he's a legitimate big-time prospect. Jones has a
quick first step and gets off the ball quick. He catches very well and has
good moves and a quiet confidence. With a handful of offers, it won't be a
surprise to see that number elevate this spring.
Robbie Boyer from Mater Dei looked bigger physically than we expected him to
and he looked very good in the drills and 1-on-1's. Boyer has very good
hands and reminds us a bit of Sean Wiser, the Stanford-bound receiver from Oaks
Christian in the class of 2007. Playing at Mater Dei, it's no surprise
that Boyer was one of the most polished players we saw on Sunday as the Monarchs
have long been known for their discipline and being well-coached under Bruce
Rollinson.
Lamont Enyard is a big, physical and tough receiver from Oceanside and we
loved watching him matchup with some of the bigger corners, as he used his size
to his advantage and made it difficult for the DB's to jam him. Jake Muasau from Buena in Sierra Vista caught the bell well and he too looked very
good physically, using his strength for his benefit. Alonso Agwuenu from
Chino Hills had a strong day on Sunday as did Kevan Walker from Arcadia, who
didn't test so he could rest an ankle injury but performed admirably in the
1-on-1's. Antwon Moutra from Culver City was battling a nagging foot
injury but when he went (often with teammate Darius Banks throwing), he did
well. A.J. Pickens from Don Lugo is a gifted athlete and he too stood out
on Sunday.
Morrell Presley from Carson worked with the receivers much of the day,
though he plays tight end for the Colts and he has the swagger, the hands and
the ability to get open to make him one to watch in the class of 2009. His
quarterback, Dominique Blackman, has been talking him up for weeks and Pressley
surely did not disappoint.
Three other sleepers we liked on Sunday were Anthony Valenzuela from Loyola, Chris Abraham from Monroe and
Keenan Smith from Carson. They have very good size and caught the
ball well and showed good separation in the 1-on-1s.
Other receivers who caught our eye were Mike Cummings from Chapparal in
Scottsdale, Marcel Posey from Centennial in Corona, Ryan Simpson from St.
Bernards, Darious Hooker from Arroyo in San Bernardino, Ryan Berry from Santiago
in Corona and Laron Taylor from Washington Prep.
D.J. Shoemate, the top receiver prospect in the West from Servite, attended
the combine but didn't work out as he's cautiously coming back from a foot
injury that sidelined him for most of his junior year. The five-star
prospect who committed to USC, though, looked very good physically.
At tight end, it was no surprise that Austin Holt had the best showing on the
day. Holt, from Bingham HS in South Jordan, is one of the elite prospects
at the position and has been one of the best players we've seen at any combine
in the last two years. Last year, Holt overshadowed a strong contingent of
older tight ends to earn all-combine honors and did the same thing in San
Antonio in January. Despite giving a commitment to BYU, several schools
from around the country are still doing their part to recruit Holt.
Much as Holt did a year ago, Levine Toilolo from Helix made a splash as a
sophomore. Toilolo has tremendous size and strength and has the tools to
be an elite prospect at the position in the class of 2009. He looks
similar to Joseph Fauria, though he's still on the skinnier side. Mychal Rivera from Birmingham in Van Nuys had a good showing on Sunday as well,
flashing good hands.
Damien Holmes & Matt Kalil |
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Offensive Line
Matt Kalil from Servite is the top offensive tackle prospect in the country,
in a strong year for tackles, and on Sunday, everyone wanted a piece of him.
Kalil easily took on the most reps from the offensive lineman and though he was
winded from the constant barrage of defensive lineman, Kalil showed why he's the
premier player at his position nationally. Damien Holmes and Craig Noble
each got him, but otherwise, Kalil neutralized them in other reps and everyone
else he went against. You could tell he was getting tired, both from the
constant reps and from the talking from the defensive lineman, but he would get
in there and quietly shut guys down. A day after his brother Ryan was
drafted by the Carolina Panthers, Kalil basically sealed his standing as the
elite tackle prospect in the country.
Following Kalil was Daniel Bernard, a tough, nasty lineman from Colton.
A Texas native (his nickname is Big Tex), Bernard loved mixing it up and earned
kudos from both the offensive and defensive line coaches for his toughness.
Bernard was always the first one through the drills and constantly encouraging
his fellow lineman.
Zack Schlink is the top offensive lineman in Arizona and though he looked
uncomfortable working at left tackle, the minute he switched over to his more
natural rightside, he dominated. Schlink has good hands and quickness.
A.J. Wallerstein from Canyon is one of the best pure guards in the West and
he more than held his own in the 1-on-1's. Wallerstein is very technically
sound and while he has a mellow demeanor, he plays mean.
Vaughn Dotsy is one of the biggest lineman we've seen in years, but for his
size, he's actually pretty athletic. Dotsy measured in at 6-4, 355, and
then promptly timed a 5.3 forty, better than a couple of quarterbacks. He
has good feet and is very fundamentally sound, a product of good coaching at St.
Bonaventure. He only did a couple of 1-on-1's, before taking a hand to the
face that sidelined him with a major nosebleed.
Kevin Graf from Agoura will be one of the premier players in the class of
2009 regardless of position and he earned all-combine honors after having a
strong showing in the 1-on-1's. Graf is physically very impressive and has
excellent bloodlines (both his brother and father played on the offensive line
at USC) and showed he'll be one of the top tackle prospects next year.
Another impressive underclassmen was Steve Trujillo from Cathedral, who's
performed well at just about every camp or combine he's been to this spring.
Trujillo came to the Scout Combine a year ago as a freshman and wasn't
intimidated but looked even more comfortable this year. He'll be one to
keep an eye on next year too.
Other lineman who stood out were Zach Ilse from Doherty, Chris Snyder from
Eaglecrest, Matt Ross from Chaminade, Matthew Hunt from Carson, Darren Koontz from
Los Alamitos, Derek Bickford from Hart, Uaita Emosi from Norwalk and Andrew
Melton from Verbum Dei.
Craig Noble |
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Defensive Line
Two of the candidates for the Defensive MVP came from the linemen in Damien
Holmes from Colton and Craig Noble from Taft. Holmes got the nod based on
his overall performance on Sunday (he tested better than Noble), but while
Holmes was already a household name, Noble put the finishing touches on a big
weekend for him with an excellent performance that should skyrocket his stock.
Both Holmes and Noble went up against Matt Kalil and were the only two to
beat him in a 1-on-1, but they made life miserable for the other lineman they
went up against. Holmes has such a quick first step and he's got good
strength with a frame that could get even bigger. Noble had received most
of his accolades as an offensive tackle, playing opposite Oregon-bound Darrion Weems but he showed that his future is clearly on the defensive line, with good
strength and quickness himself. On Friday, Noble committed to Washington
so Sunday's performance was a good way for him to end a memorable week.
We first saw Carlton Hudson in the fall playing for Crenshaw and he made his
mark after he ran down a running back 50 yards down field. On Sunday,
Hudson again flashed some good quickness and toughness. Lavon McCoy,
another City product from Washington Prep, rivals Vaughn Dotsy for massiveness
and McCoy too showed his athleticism, running well in the testing and using his
size and quickness in the drills. McCoy could play on either side of the
ball, but defensive tackle is where he wants to play.
Datone Jones, the four-star prospect from Compton, admittedly didn't have his
best showing on Sunday, but he showed flashes in the drills. He only did
some of the testing, wanting to rest a minor leg injury. Ottis Jones from
Leuzinger is quickly making a move himself and should start seeing offers roll
in after another strong performance on Sunday.
Zeb Togiai from Desert Vista made his presence known in the drills and he had
some swagger and some nastiness to him as did Derek Bisgard from Saguaro.
Jacob Densley from Centennial and Curtis Cunningham from Columbine both showed
well.
Sammy Cervantes from Imperial, Chaz Powell from Arvada West, Dominique Austin
from Bishop Amat and Albert Miller from Carson were a few of the other
standouts.
Linebackers
At every position, a sleeper emerged but none stepped out more than Kurt Mangum did at linebacker. Playing out of position at defensive tackle as a
junior, Mangum is moving to his more natural linebacker position for his senior
season at Basha. On Sunday, he showed that it should be an easy
transition. His play was the first thing that caught the attention of the
linebacker coaches and he stood out there on the day. He looked good in
coverage, not giving up a reception and physically did well. Nursing a leg
injury, he decided to still run a forty, though he had not planned to, and ran a
4.59.
Maurice Simmons is the top weakside linebacker in the West and on Sunday he
did nothing to change that opinion. For Simmons, the highlight of Sunday
was clocking a 4.41 forty, a personal best.
Patrick Larimore committed to UCLA on Sunday on the heels of a good showing
at the combine. Larimore is more of a run-stuffing linebacker who probably
would be better in a game setting with the pads on and running backs coming
through the line of scrimmage but he showed very well, playing well in space and
an ability to cover.
Brandon Magee from Centennial in Corona missed part of last season with an
injury but when he played, he wreaked havoc. On Sunday, he clocked a 4.5
in the forty then followed it up with a good day in the 1-on-1's. Like
Simmons and Larimore, Magee's strength is in his ability to hit and tackle,
neither which he was allowed to do during the combine. But he showed good
cover skills and good instincts. His teammates at Centennial, Shelly Lyons
and Jerry Hardeman also showed well.
Donovan Carter from Birmingham is one of the better middle linebackers in the
West and he just missed the all-combine team. But he had a good showing
though he'll probably get some ribbing from his teammate Mychal Rivera,
Birmingham's tight end, who reached over him for an acrobatic catch in the
1-on-1's.
A few of the other linebackers in the class of 2008 who stood out were Earnie
Sagiao from Edison, Damion Whittington from Norco, Reuben Willis from Mayfair,
Sean Kurtz from Canyon in Anaheim, Iona Pritchard from Bingham, Garrett Sherwood
from Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas and Nick Greco from Arvada West.
From the 2009 class, Marquis Simmons, Maurice's younger brother, had a strong
performance himself. Called by many, including most of his family, the
best of the Simmons brother, Marquis clocked a 4.61 in the forty then went out
in the drills and looked good. He will be one of the elite prospects
nationally next year.
Another 2009 prospect to watch is Todd Golper from Arcadia. Sidelined
from the testing with a minor back injury, Golper shook it off during the drills
and more than held his own. Golper could also be a fullback at the next
level.
Defensive Backs
At the Scout Combines, for entertainment value alone, the defensive back
group is the most fun to watch. Seeing coach Don Cox get into it when he's
coaching, and watching the players respond to it is well worth it. He
demands excellence and the intensity of his style brings out the best in the
players.
On Sunday, the usual suspects, Robert Golden from Edison and Anthony Dye from
Santiago, had solid days but Cox said that the guy who left a strong impression
on him was Andrew Abbott from Mater Dei. Abbott was in lockdown mode all
session and played with passion during the 1-on-1s.
Meanwhile, Golden and Dye showed why they are clearly the top two corners in
the West. Dye ran a personal best 4.38 in the forty, answering any
questions about his speed and he and future rival Chris Polk (who's committed to
USC), had some good battles in the 1-on-1's. Golden ran a 4.52, his best
time at a combine and despite being rode constantly by Cox (who remembered
Golden from a year ago), answered.
Of course, Edison didn't just have one player stand out, the DB factory had
two more prospects who Cox raved about. Cliff Harris, a 2009 cornerback
for the Tigers, made the all-combine team and Cox said he was the best sophomore
he's seen out West this year. Harris is similar to his teammate Courtney Viney, who was the top DB last year at the combine, in that neither is very big,
but both have excellent cover skills. The other Tiger to do well on Sunday
was Tim McDonald Jr., another 2009 prospect. The son of the former USC and
NFL player of the same name, McDonald was one of the top safeties there and
physically is one of the bigger DB's that Edison has produced, but with two more
years to grow. Another son of a former NFL player of the same name was
Marcus Turner from Cabrillo in Long Beach, who also had a nice day.
Corbin Brown had one of the best L-cone shuttle times of anyone there,
clocking a 6.89 and he too had a good day in the secondary. Anthony Young from Colony in Ontario will be one of the featured prospects in the Colony
secondary replacing Omar Bolden and he showed why he'll be a key for them next
year. Eric Hicks from Norco, an all-league pick for the Cougars,
physically looked very good and he too ran a 4.38 forty. Ahmad Wood from
San Pedro looked good in coverage and in the footwork drills.
Other standouts in the secondary included Brandon Jiminez and Dominic
Sheppard from Mount Tahoma, Austin Daniels from Muir and Lenyatta Kiles from
Culver City.
Video Highlights from Scout.com Combine (ScoutTV is free
with the Total Access Pass)
RB Darrell Scott -- Watch Video
OT Matt Kalil -- Watch Video
LB Maurice Simmons -- Watch Video
QB Ryan Griffin -- Watch Video
CB Anthony Dye -- Watch Video
CB Robert Golden -- Watch Video
DL Craig Noble -- Watch Video
Programming Note: For a recap of the Los Angeles Scout.com Combine,
tune to FSN Prime Ticket on Thursday, May 3rd at 10:30 p.m. for the "High School
Spotlight" Show.
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