Big crop of Lake football talent, but few recruiters.
High school football players often say that if you are a legitimate college football prospect, college coaches will find you, no matter where you are.
While that might be true for the most part, I’d have to disagree with the assessment that just being a topnotch player is all it takes to get noticed if you are playing football in Lake County.
For whatever reason, it takes a while for the news to matriculate out of Groveland, Leesburg, Clermont and Eustis — places that have groomed players who eventually made it to the NFL.
Guys like Jonotthan Harrison, Jeff Demps and Roberto Aguayo (Groveland South Lake); Greg Johnson and Danny Trevathan (Leesburg); Greg Lloyd and Chimidi Chekwa (Clermont East Ridge); Joe Burnett, Anthony Fieldings and Billy Rhodes Jr. (Eustis) all made it eventually, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for most of them.
Twitter and Facebook; ramped up recruiting supersites such as 247Sports.com and Rivals.com; and websites such as Hudl.com that give college coaches access to game film all give players more and more opportunities to sell themselves.
Still, some players and coaches are left scratching their heads when attention is hard to attain. This year features one of the biggest crops of talent in the history of Lake County football, but it doesn’t necessarily mean college recruiters have flocked to the area.
Many college coaches are skeptical of the talent level at these smaller schools and how that might translate to the next level. That has especially been the case for Leesburg First Academy quarterback Caleb Lynum, who just picked up his first three Football Bowl Subdivision offers from Liberty, South Alabama and Ball State in the past two weeks.
The quarterback position, of course, gets higher scrutiny than other positions, so Lynum has had his work cut out in selling himself, but he’s finally seeing the dividends.
“I wasn’t really frustrated at the process because I’ve been focused on just doing me and trying to perform my best for the coaches,” Lynum said. “I know that people look at my school and they kinda see that it’s a small school, so I should be doing what I’m doing. I should be doing great.
“But then when they come out to see me it’s kind of a whole different look on me because they see I can actually throw the ball, I can actually do what they need me to do.”
But Lynum isn’t the only hidden gem in Lake County. One of the best football players in Central Florida is just down the road at tiny Mount Dora Christian School.
Jesiah Pierre, a rising junior, is quite possibly the best player Central Florida has to offer in the 2019 recruiting class and Miami was fortunate enough to have found the athletic linebacker, who committed to the Hurricanes somewhat quietly last summer.
As word gets out, however, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Pierre is going to start getting pulled in other directions. He’s not sure how he’ll handle that. So far the only schools who have expressed interest enough to offer scholarships have been Miami and North Carolina. He’s slated to attend a Georgia camp this coming weekend and he’ll likely get a UGa offer.
After that, word will to get out.
“I’m grateful those colleges look. I’m still looking around to see what’s out there, as well,” Pierre said. “There are more colleges around the world and it’s really fun to go around and look around.”
Here is a look at some of Lake County’s other top recruits for 2018 and 2019:
Fred Jackson, Lake
Minneola, RB, 5-9, 170: The speedy, shifty Jackson is still looking for offers, but he’s impressive enough that it shouldn’t be too much longer. Jackson had a big spring game at St. Cloud and rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season. Tommy Jeckovich,
Mount Dora, S, 6-2, 180: He made his mark on opposing quarterbacks last season. Jeckovich has an offer from FAU so far, but he remains hopeful that summer camps will give him more exposure. Kelley Joiner Jr., South
Lake, RB, 5-9, 180: Another smallish scat-back who is lightning quick with shifty hips. Joiner is the top returning ball carrier in Central Florida after running for nearly 1,300 yards last season. Hank Matthew, South
Lake, DE-LB, 6-5, 205: The lanky, cat-quick Matthew is always around the football and it’s hard not to notice his ability to get to the ball carrier. Willie Slydell, Eustis,
RB, 5-10, 190: Slydell lines up at quarterback most of the time for Eustis, but there is no mistaking his ability to run with the football. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season. Dominic Walker, Mount
Dora, RB, 6-0, 180: Walker is tough and runs the ball as though he’s got a much bigger frame, but he also has good speed. He ran for just more than 1,000 yards a year ago and had a big spring game with a pair of touchdowns against South Lake. Justin Watkins, Clermont East Ridge, WR, 5-11,
172: The former FSU commit just moved to Lake County after previously playing at Citra North Marion and Ocala Vanguard High. He changed his pledge from FSU to Texas in February and he will likely get a huge push from state schools.