Edison Is Again Producing Prospects
After sending three of his players to the highest level of college football in the past two years, it's safe to say Edison head coach Vaughn Lewis can produce talent. Last year, he sent Ben Barber to Virginia Tech and now he's got two more FBS (Division I-A) talents on his roster. After recently catching up with Lewis, we've found out that he is hiding another talented gem in the 2010 class as well as two more that are flying completely under the radar.
First, though, Lewis mentioned arguably one of the more underrated prospects in the 2009 class in Frank Figueroa. The 6-foot-4 285-pound offensive lineman recently committed to Penn State in May over an offer from North Carolina. Despite his massive size and obvious talent, Figueroa was a prospect who stayed completely off the radar for many coaches until late in the spring. So what was it that made him such a hot commodity as of late?
"I'll tell you what they like about Frank. Frank is 6-foot-5, 285 lbs., he has a 3.9 overall grade point average, and has the best work ethic on the team," said Lewis. "He's still growing into his feet and with his work ethic, he could be a great college football player."
Lewis then went further on about Figueroa's work ethic, which he cites as one of the best he's ever seen.
"Since his freshmen year, I don't think he's missed five weight lifting sessions. I mean, he's there everyday, he works 100% everyday," said Lewis.
"If he misses a weight room session, he'll come up to me and say, 'coach, I'm not going to be at lifting today, I've got a National Honor Society meeting,' and you know, most kids would just go to the meeting and not even say anything until the day after. So Frank always finds me to let me know why he won't be there because he doesn't want me to think he's slacking. He's a great, great kid. Him and Stephon are the best kids coming out right now for college."
Robertson, as Lewis mentioned, is also scholarship worthy. When we last caught up with Robertson, Lewis informed us that coaches everywhere were more than impressed with how he performs. Leading the state in tackles in just his sophomore year and then notching 142 tackles the year after, Robertson's recruitment should blow-up once he qualifies with the NCAA clearinghouse.
While he and Figueroa may steal the majority of the recruiting spotlight this summer, Lewis filled us in on one 2010 prospect, Angus Harper, who everyone will likely get to know in a hurry.
"He runs around a 4.4, just being a junior, and is about 5-11 and 190 pounds," said Lewis. "He cuts well and would've worked his way into some starting time last year but broke his elbow the third game of the year on the kickoff team."
"He played for us on the JV as a freshman and he was good!" said Lewis, putting an extra emphasis on the word 'good.' "We spent a lot of time on him with cutbacks and he didn't have the idea of where he's supposed to be running at times, and he just outran and ran over people."
Yet don't let the missed season fool you. Harper may very well be the next big running back to come out of this area. His speed is phenomenal and is deadly when in the open field. His center of gravity along with his balance makes him very tough to bring down, which makes him a great threat to run inside and outside the tackles. We wouldn't be very surprised at all to see him have a monster year for Edison in 2008.
One more prospect Lewis mentioned who might get some attention was Josh Page. At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, he has the frame to compete at the next level and should get some interest.
"He's just an outstanding defensive football player... he could play Division I," said Lewis.
Make sure to stay with Gameday throughout the summer to get the latest in recruiting updates on Figueroa, Robertson, Harper, and Page.
For specific questions or comments on Northern Virginia recruiting, please email me, Derek LeComte, at GamedayRecruits@aol.com
