An "athlete" is often a quarterback in a run-based offense and usually comes from a Dallas ISD or Fort Worth ISD school. The player is usually the unquestioned star of the team and because it doesn't have a true pocket passer, the coach is forced to play his best athlete at quarterback. One recent name that immediately comes to mind is Michael Crabtree, who starred at Dallas Carter as a quarterback before re-writing the NCAA record books with his two-year career at Texas Tech as a wide receiver. He'll likely be a Top 5 pick in April's NFL Draft.
There's three such players that stand out in the incoming senior class in a list compiled by The Dallas Morning News and Rivals.com. They are:
3. Dominique Sanders, Fort Worth Dunbar HS - While Sanders didn't play quarterback at Dunbar, he did just about everything else. He caught 41 balls for 503 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 565 yards and four more touchdowns on just 49 carries (an 11.5 yards per carry average). At 6 foot 1, 190 pounds, Sanders runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and would be an ideal candidate to play at receiver or on the defensive side of the ball. He got an offer from Oklahoma State this past weekend at the Pokes' junior day to add to his list of offers, which includes Texas Tech, Minnesota, Texas A&M, TCU and SMU.
2. Joe Powell, Dallas Skyline HS - Powell doesn't have off-the-chart combine numbers with just a 4.54 40. But he's 6 foot 1, 174 pounds of beast. The junior caught 42 balls for 635 yards and eight touchdowns opposite teammate Mike Davis, who was our No. 2 prospect at WR. He currently has offers from Kansas and Houston, but is beginning to draw interest from Texas Tech, Oklahoma and SMU among others.
1. Adrian Phillips, Garland HS - At 5 foot 11, 190 pounds, Phillips has the body that would fit most logically at the running back position, but he is capable of doing more than that. For the Owls last season, Phillips had 865 yards on the ground to go with nine scores, along with 401 yards receiving and five touchdowns. There's no telling what he'll play at Texas, where he verbally committed on Feb. 8, but it likely won't be running back. I smell some cornerback in his future.
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He wishes he could go to a wedding reception every weekend.
