Hillside Takes Six Slots in HSOT Pre-season All-OT

Courtesy Don Callahan

The Hillside Hornets may have lost a number of players off of the 2010 4A State Championship squad, but judging from HighSchoolOT.com's pre-season All-OT team [Link to HSOT article] it's safe to say that the reigning PAC-6 champs are simply reloading as opposed to rebuilding.  The Hornets snagged four first-team selections, the most of any area team.  The PAC-6 picked up two additional selections for a total of six out of thirty-two first team selections.  Six additional PAC-6 athletes made the second-team, with an additional six making honorable mention.

Highlighting the All-OT team from Hillside is the Defensive Player of the Year in defensive end and linebacker Jamal Marcus.  Marcus was a dominate force last season on one of the more formidable defenses in the state and has excelled throughout the off-season at a number of college camps and combine events.  Joining Marcus on the first-team are returning starter Casey Perry (offensive line) and dynamic running back Khris Francis (athlete) and one of the top returning corners in the area in Aaron Krah (defensive back).  Only Person and Jordan nabbed first-team selections in addition to the Hornets, in the form of returning starter and highly touted offensive lineman Casey Lawson (Person) and safety/wide receiver Phil Williamson from Jordan.

Southern Durham, a potential favorite this season to knock the Hornets off of the top spot, picked up three second-team selections.  All three returners are expected to lead the Spartans in their 2011 march, including two that played big roles offensively for Southern a year ago.  Wide receiver Darren Bullock and running back Akeem Judd (athlete selection) as well as defensive lineman Micah Martin secured selections on the second team.  Both Jordan and Person picked up two additional selections on the second team.  Jeff Clark, wide receiver from Jordan, will be one of the many offensive weapons the Falcons will put forth this season, while offensive lineman Spencer Carroll from Person will team up with first team selection Casey Lawson to help Coach Lou Geary in his second year as head coach in Roxboro.  Lee Williams, linebacker from Hillside, rounds out the second-team selections from the PAC-6.

Courtesy Don Callahan

Six players were selected for honorable mention from the conference.  Returning dual-threat quarterback Dorian Belcher from Southern Durham and Drew Davis, quarterback from East Chapel Hill were two of three quarterbacks selected for honorable mention.  Joining Davis from East Chapel Hill were two additional Wildcats, offensive lineman William Heine and wide receiver Alex Moore.  Another defensive back from Hillside, Keenan Stalls was selected as well as Riverside wide receiver Khourtne Whitted.  The only school in the conference to not receive any selections on the pre-season team was Northern Durham.

Breakdown of HSOT Pre-Season All-OT PAC-6 selections by school:

Hillside - 6 overall selections (4 - 1st; 1 - 2nd; 1 - HM)
Southern - 4 overall selections (3 - 2nd; 1 - HM)
East Chapel Hill - 3 overall selections (3 - HM)
Jordan - 2 overall selections (1 - 1st; 1 - 2nd)
Person - 2 overall selections (1 - 1st; 1 - 2nd)
Riverside - 1 overall selection (1 - HM)

Durham/Area Athletes All Over N.F.L. Scouting Combine 2011

PHOTO BY DON CALLAHAN

To think back to 2005 and 2006 and the incredible amount of talent on the football fields in Durham and the surrounding area is highlighted by this weekend's N.F.L. combine in Indianapolis where there will be quite possibly the largest contingent of local area talent on display for every recruiting board guru, N.F.L. coach and general manager.  For those interested in watching these young men compete, the N.F.L. has set up a live stream of the entire combine [http://www.nfl.com/combine].  I watched a portion of it last year and the stream was fairly high quality and I'm sure that this year it will be that much better.

Hillside will be represented by North Carolina wide receiver Greg Little.  Greg was in many ways a man amongst boys when he played in Durham.  He was someone that everyone knew about coming out of middle school and he fit into almost any position with ease.  One of the more dominant football players to suit up in Durham over the past fifteen years.

Riverside will be represented by two young men, Wake Forest wide receiver Marshall Williams and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders.  Marshall was another versatile and dynamic athlete playing both quarterback as well as wide receiver at times.  Some of the more outstanding catches over the past decade were made by Williams.  Saunders was quite simply a beast on the offensive side of the ball.  He played both defensive end and tight end in high school with the occasional short yardage shotgun quarterback routine as well.  He was a load to bring down and had enough in the way of agility and speed to run slot and tight end screens that could result in monster gains.  It always took two to three to bring him down and during their run to the championship in 2006 he played a huge role, especially during the playoffs.

Southern Durham and University of Florida offensive tackle Carl Johnson will also be showing off his skills at the combine.  Johnson was a load for defensive players to go against and when he was 100% tuned into the action it was almost without question that you would not be getting into the back field to touch Southern quarterback Kevin Atkins or getting a good piece of one of their running backs as Johnson cleared a path.

The Garner Trojans will be represented by one of the quickest skill position players to hit the North Carolina gridiron of late in South Carolina defensive back Chris Culliver.  I can recall prior to his senior year he was somewhat of an unknown on the recruiting circuit but went out and put up insane 40 times at combines and it wasn't long before everyone was very interested in Culliver.

A number of other North Carolina high school talent will be at the combine as well, so if you have some time, you should check the N.F.L. Scouting Combine site and see how North Carolina contingent does in comparison to some of the 'best' collegiate talent vying for the opportunity to play at the next level.