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Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Riley Barr

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:10:18 GMT

By: Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

The class of 2014 is now the center of everyone’s focus when it comes to football recruiting, with signing day in the books and most schools already having their junior days. One young man, that is a member of the class of 2014 and received his fair share of junior day invites is 6’1 236 lbs. LB Riley Barr from St. Petersburg (FL) HS.

Barr who played last season with Florida State OL signee Jeremy Kerr, received junior day invites from Mississippi State and South Florida. The LB looking to make a name for himself also says “Harvard, Yale, and John Hopkins requested my film and really liked what they saw.” Barr has also received camp invitations from Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Iowa State, Utah, and Auburn.

“Harvard and Yale, stand out especially for the academic portion and Mississippi State for their performance last season” Barr says on which schools stand out. The Bulldogs from Starkville (MS) Barr says “I would say they have recruited me the hardest and while attending their junior day I really enjoyed their coaching staff. They were all very nice and genuinely cared about their players success not only on the field but in the classroom as well.”

Barr ended by saying “I wouldn’t mind playing my team mate in the 2013 class Jeremy Kerr who will be attending Florida State.”

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Larry Butler

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:36:39 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Larry Butler III was all set to sign with Tennessee on December 19^th but due to a 3 semester rule the SEC has in place, Butler had to look elsewhere because he was ineligible to play in the SEC.

Butler says “I had 20 offers” but he has found his new home and the talented LB will take his talents to New Mexico State. Where he says the biggest factor was playing time.

“I have yet to visit, but I will soon” Larry tells SX. When he does visit he says he’ll be looking at the set up and atmosphere. For Aggie fans wondering when Butler will be on campus he says “I will report in June.”

The talented JUCO prospect says the NMSU staff says “They like how I move for a big guy my size, and I should be playing SAM.”

At 6’0 235 lbs. Butler spent this past season at Eastern Arizona in Thatcher (AZ). His message to NMSU fans is “I plan to be one of the best players in program history.”

Larry hasn’t had the opportunity to speak with any of his incoming team mates but says “I seen Brandon Hines tape and he looks like a great player and I look forward to playing with him.”

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Aaron Falzon

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:45:35 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Out of last years class St. Mark’s in Newton (MA) gave hoops fans Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski and Michigan’s Nick Stauskas. 2015 star Aaron Falzon is hoping to find similar success as Tarczewski and #18 Arizona (24-6) or Nick Stauskas and #6 Michigan (25-6) during his time on a college campus.

Falzon is already building a list of offers that includes Providence, Boston University, and Loyola (MD). The 6’8 210 lbs. PF prospect has also heard from Boston College and Ohio State. Out of all of those respectable programs Aaron says Providence and Boston College are recruiting him the hardest.

If you hope to catch Aaron this summer or spring he’ll be playing with the New England Playaz, or you can catch him at St. Mark’s next winter.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Juwaan Williams

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:42:48 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Tucker (GA) athlete Juwaan Williams will be off to Oregon in the coming months. Williams says “I have yet to build a bond with any of my class mates, due to the fact that I’m one of two incoming freshmen coming from the east coast.”

Williams says what made him head west was “The staff and the bond that I built with my recruiting coach John Neal, that ultimately confirmed my commitment.” As far as the staff Williams discussed Chip Kelly leaving the Oregon program to coach the Philadelphia Eagles in saying “I was on board when Coach Kelly was there and after he departed it was a rough patch in the recruiting process, because I had previously talked to him and he told me he was staying.”

Despite Chip Kelly now being in the NFL the 6’1 185 lbs. athlete who could play on either side of the ball at the next level says “I loved the staff prior to Coach Kelly leaving and after, they all stayed the same except they got two new coaches."

UFC 158 Preview: St. Pierre vs. Diaz

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:10:29 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

Welterweight Championship

Georges St. Pierre is a staple in the UFC company, St. Pierre has long been one of the faces of MMA not only for the UFC brand but around the globe. In his last fight against Carlos Condit it seemed St. Pierre was on the edge of the cliff the whole time but Condit never could find a way to finish him off. St. Pierre has only lost twice his entire career but time and age seems to finally be taking its tow on the star.

Nick Diaz is coming off a loss to Carlos Condit himself, before that loss however Diaz was riding a 11 fight win streak. Most of those victories came at other promotions including Strikeforce. Diaz who hasn’t earned a lot of out of the ring points with UFC President Dana White is an immensely talented fighter but is he ready to take the next step and beat a guy of GSP stature.

Prediction: GSP via unanimous decision

Carlos Condit vs. Johnny Hendricks

Carlos Condit is the future of this division when/if Georges St. Pierre hangs up the gloves. Condit gave GSP all he wanted in their UFC 154 showdown. Prior to that fight Condit was enjoying a 5 fight win streak over big time names within the division such as Nick Diaz, Dong-Hyun Kim, Dan Hardy, Rory MacDonald, and Jake Ellenberger.

Hendricks is another up and coming star in this division and is currently riding a five fight win streak himself. While his 5 wins aren’t as impressive as Condits he has beaten some big names in Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck, and Jon Fitch.

Prediction: Condit via unanimous decision

Jake Ellenberger vs. Nate Marquardt

Before losing to Martin Kampmann at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale, Jake Ellenberger looked like he was headed toward a title shot. Ellenberger is hoping to start another hot streak with a win against Nate Marquardt who is making his return to the UFC.

Marquardt has fought his last two matches under the Strikeforce promotion. Marquardt at one time was a feared opponent in the middleweight weight class.

Prediction: Ellenberger via punches in 3^rd.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Daniel Gresham

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:21:15 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Fort Worth (TX) FB prospect Daniel Gresham is committed to Texas, but that hasn’t stopped other programs from trying to get Gresham to flip. The 5’10 228 lbs. fullback prospect plays at All Saints Episcopal.

Gresham said he’d put his commitment to the Longhorns at 90% right now. He says what led him to UT was “How legendary Texas is attracted me the most.”

The other schools still pursuing the future Longhorn is Florida State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Miami (FL), Auburn, and Georgia Tech. When asked if he would visit any of the other programs Gresham responded “Texas doesn’t allow us to.”

As for other prospects he’s recruiting to join him in Austin for the next 4 years is Jamal Adams, John Bonney, and Otaro Alaka.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Grant Isdale

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 19:37:03 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Grant Isdale played on Team Europe during the U.S. Army All-American week festivities, and Isdale made his mark. As a RB Isdale repeatedly ran over oncoming defenders. At 5’10 191 lbs. and hailing from Stirling, England where he plays competitively with the Striling Clansmen.

Isdale says “I’ve had interest from a number of schools, from a few top 20 schools to a few division 3 programs. I haven’t had any offers made yet, hopefully a few of the big schools will offer me soon.”

Amongst the programs currently reviewing Isdale is Baylor, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Boise State, and UNC Wesleyan. Grant says the schools that stand out are Baylor and Wake Forest “Because they have both, great football and great academics.”

“I’d be very grateful to play, train, and work with any college level football player. It’s something we only dream of over here in the UK” Isdale said when asked if he’d like to play with any specific players at the next level.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Demarquis Gates

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:22:58 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

With Manti Teo now gone to the NFL, every college in the nation is going to be looking for the next Teo. DeMarquis Gates is a 6’2 214 lbs. LB out of Hampton (GA) where he attends Lovejoy HS. While he may not be the next Teo, Gates is talented in his own right.

The LB prospect has already picked up offers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma State. Gates also has received interest from what he says “The whole SEC except Florida, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Michigan State, West Virginia, Miami (FL), Boston College, N.C. State, North Carolina, Arizona, Central Florida, and South Florida.

As far as which programs stand out to the 6’2 214 lbs. LB he talked about 4 programs below:

Ole Miss – My first offer.

Georgia – My childhood favorite.

UCLA – They’re coming across the country just to recruit me.

Kentucky – They’ve been recruiting me since 9^th grade.

When it comes to the coaching staffs that have made a impact on Gates he lists Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Georgia.

DeMarquis has no visits lined up yet but he does know some schools that will get visits in stating “No visits wrote in stone yet, but we are planning visits to Ole Miss, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Florida.” Gates has already visited Georgia of which he says “It went well, we looked at the facilities such as the (weight room, locker room, and position meeting rooms).”

Ole Miss and Kentucky were the last schools to visit him, back in January.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Jermaine Eluemunor

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:33:30 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Jermaine Eluemunor is one of the top JUCO targets in the 2014 class. At 6’5 310 lbs. and everyone needing depth on the OL, it’s easy to see why.

At this point and time, Eluemunor has offers from Penn State, Florida State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, East Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Ohio State, and UCLA. The talented OL who projects best as a OT has also received interest from Alabama, USC, Florida, Nebraska, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Oregon State.

Jermaine who hails from London, England is playing everything close to the vest in saying “All the schools stand out to me the same, and all those schools are recruiting me really hard and I like all the coaches that I’m talking to they are all very good coaches.”

As for visits the Lackwanna College star has two official visits planned as he says “I’m visiting Texas A&M October 25th, and Ohio State November 23rd. I’m also going to unofficially visit Penn State in 2 weeks.”

Despite being from the same country Jermaine doesn’t know Florida State OL Menelik Watson who after one season as a Seminole is now in the NFL Drafts player pool. Eluemunor said on Watson “I don’t know him but I know of him.”

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Casey Schaltter

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:27:20 GMT

By: Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

The state of Iowa has produced its fair share of hoops talent over the most recent years including former North Carolina star and current Golden State Warrior Harrison Barnes. Casey Schlatter is hoping to be the next Iowa star.

With offers from Creighton, Northern Iowa, Drake, Rice, and North Dakota Schlatter is well on his way. The 6’9 195 lbs. combo forward has also received interest from Stanford, Cal, Wichita State, Indiana State, Minnesota, Tulsa, Lehigh, Nebraska, San Francisco, Davidson, and South Dakota State.

Casey who plays with the Iowa Barnstormers on the summer circuit says “Right now I’m interested in all of the schools, and I’m trying to find out more information about their programs and coaches.” Schlatter added “Tulsa stands out some, just because Danny Manning is their head coach and he’s great at developing post players.”

The talented combo forward also told SX that North Dakota, Rice, and South Dakota State have all been to his games recently. So far Casey hasn’t been able to visit any of the programs recruiting him because he says “I’ve been really busy with my high school season.”

Schlatter plays for Iowa Falls (IA) Alden HS.