Contact Todd Bradley Here
Over the past five years, DCSportsFan has provided high school sports coverage in the Washington, D.C. area. And with every passing year, requests by college coaches and recruiters to provide detailed information about local recruits has continued to increase. This year we will do things a little differently.
Each week I will release my "best available" list (in honor of Mel Kiper, Jr.), which will consist of the top 20 high school seniors who have NOT verbally committed to any school. I have decided against including freshmen, sophomores (remember the name Stefon Diggs) or juniors because so much can change in such a short period of time. Also, underclassmen tend to decommit or change their mind quite often.
Today I will release players 11-20 on my best available list, which will be followed by 1-10 on Monday. My list will be revised each week during the season as players make verbal commitments. Players often go overlooked, so we will keep our eyes peeled for players making a name for themselves throughout the season. The list will include players from the private and public schools in the D.C. area.
20. Sherrard Harrington, H.D. Woodson (6-1, 168, 4.4)
Current Offers: Towson
Harrington is cousins with Don Hursey (H.D. Woodson) and is one of the players that can really climb this list as the season progresses. However, he doesn't have the biggest name in the recruiting world right now, so a bad senior season could leave him on the outside looking in.
19. Earl Johnson, OL, Friendship Collegiate (6-5, 233)
Current Offers: None
Johnson is one of the latest football products to make some noise out of Friendship Collegiate. And while he is still waiting for his first official offer, schools like Maryland and Pittsburgh have taken notice.
18. Kortlan Jackson, OL, St. John's (6-2, 280)
Current Offers: North Carolina Central, South Carolina State
Jackson is coached by former Maryland standout Pat Ward, so the St. John's product will definitely be ready to play on the collegiate level.
17. Michael Pearson, OL, Ballou (6-3, 305)
Current Offers: None
Pearson is still a relative unknown in the recruiting world, but he has the size to attract offers if he has a big senior season.
16. Don Hursey, H.D. Woodson (5-10, 175, 4.54)
Current Offers: North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Towson
Hursey has worked hard to get his name out there, and it has paid off. He will be playing for a very good H.D. Woodson team this season, so the eyeballs will be there. His play will determine if the offers continue to come in.
15. Jake Geiser, Center, DeMatha (6-3, 273)
Current Offers: Fordham
Geiser is one of three DeMatha lineman to make the Top 20 and one of six Stags on this list. Geiser isn't very well known right now because 1) he is a lineman and 2) he is a center. The DeMatha senior, however, will benefit from the name on his jersey and the fact that Bill McGregor is his coach.
14. Josh Ford, WR, Coolidge (6-3, 195, 4.5)
Current Offers: Kansas, New Mexico, Utah
Last year was Ford's first playing high school football, and he responded by recording over 900 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
13. Lorenzo Waters, DB, DeMatha (6-1, 197, 4.49)
Current Offers: Connecticut, Duke, Iowa, Kansas State, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Towson
Waters could be No. 1 on this list by the end of the football season, but he has narrowed his list to Miami, Maryland, Wake Forest, Michigan and Rutgers. The only reason Waters is 13 is because he plays on a team with so much talent it's hard to see everyone. DCSportsFan will be watching Waters closely in their season opener before reassessing his situation.
12. Jeremiah Attaochu, LB, Carroll (6-3, 223, 4.61)Current Offers: Illinois, Kansas State, Louiville, Maryland, Virginia, Akron, East Carolina, Kent State, Ohio
Attaochu is a hot name right now and has plenty of offers to back it up. However, he played for a bad Carroll team last year and will need to prove himself this season with more attention focused on him at linebacker.
11. Paul Phillips, TE, Georgetown Prep (6-5, 225, 4.7)
Current Offers: Richmond, Indiana
Phillips comes from a pedigree of football players, so he started the recruiting process with one foot already in the door. His brothers are both competing for starting positions at Stanford and Virginia, and Phillips should be in a similar position if he can improve his numbers from last season.
2010 Verbal Commitments
Maryland
Andre Monroe, DL, St. John's
Nathaniel Clarke, OL, Carroll
Miami
Javarie Johnson, LB, Dunbar
North Carolina
Nick Appel, OL, O'Connell
Pittsburgh
Jeff Knox, Athlete, DeMatha
Temple
Brian Burns, DB, Riverdale Baptist
Towson
Chris Pitsenberger, LB, Good Counsel
Virginia
E.J. Scott, Athlete, Good Counsel
Kyrrel Latimer, DB, DeMatha
Virginia Tech
Ricardo Young, QB, H.D. Woodson
Wisconsin
Frank Tamakloe, DB, Good Counsel
Todd Bradley is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of DCSportsFan. Before starting the site, Bradley went to Gonzaga High School and Loyola University New Orleans. He wrote for The Times-Picayune during college and currently covers the Washington, D.C. area for MaxPreps.com.
