Recruit Notebook: Is Stone Bridge a DI Factory?
Welcome to Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. Home to the Division 5 Virginia State Champs, it might now be time for fans across the state to better know the Stone Bridge program.
They're currently home to four future college prospects, three of which are listed among the state's best defensive lineman in the 2009 recruiting class. Not to be outdone, there are two more Stone Bridge prospects now starting to see serious interest from various DI schools.
So again, we welcome you to Stone Bridge High School, home of what could be the state's next hottest DI factory.
First, we introduce you to David Wang, who committed to play for the Hokies back in September. Brother of current starting right tackle Ed Wang, David stands at 300-pounds but turns in an astounding 4.8 in the forty-yard dash. Then there's Brian Slay, who in early March committed to play for the Wolfpack of N.C. State.
Finally, there's Zach Thompson, son of Stone Bridge head coach Mickey Thompson. Zach, who at 6-foot-5, is one of the state's fastest rising prospects who recently committed to play for Wake Forest.
"All three of those guys are big and very athletic that can move," said Stone Bridge head coach Mickey Thompson. "They all have special qualities, but the thing is they work hard and have earned everything they got. They put time and all the effort in and work out constantly and you just don't see that many big guys with that kind of athletic ability."
Wang, Slay, and Thompson are all projected to play defensive line at the next level, but right behind them is linebacker Mike Olson who's been quite the pleasant surprise. Flying completely under the radar for much of the recruiting season, Olson soon became a well-known commodity after committing to play for Wake Forest less than 24 hours after receiving his first offer.
Before his commitment, Olson was classified more as a sleeper and a bit too small. Not the case anymore. Say hello to a college-ready prospect and one college coaches would love to get.
"A lot of coaches really like him," said Thompson. "He has to fit that high school ability into the college game and be able to have that physical size and that's what he's done. He's gotten a lot bigger and right now he's 6-foot-3 and 220-pounds."
But while the four big-name prospects at Stone Bridge have a destined future, running back Daniel Allen and quarterback Patrick Thompson are continuing to see their interest rise.
"A lot of people just want to see [Patrick] throw in person and there are a lot of schools that are close to offering," said coach Thompson of his son and quarterback Patrick. "It's the same thing with Daniel Allen. He looks good on film, but they just haven't seen him in person, and I think some things are going to break for him then."
With the Stone Bridge program developing six potential Division I prospects in one class, is it fair to say the school is becoming the newest Division I factory in Virginia?
"I don't know about that," said Thompson. "When you're in high school and you can't recruit and you just get whatever is inside your boundaries, and you're just going to have cycles where you have 'up' years."
Credit the production of quality prospects to "up cycles", player development, or even luck, but coach Thompson recalls the days when getting any of his players recruited was a difficult task.
"I can remember when we first opened Stone Bridge, it was a battle to get coaches to even know where we were at," said Thompson. "Now when the kids come here, that's all they talk about. They talk about not only winning, but getting the opportunity to play at the next level."
So what caused such a change of fortune at Stone Bridge?
"Well, obviously moving up to AAA helped and so too did our success," said Thompson, but he noted that it was something a little more intangible that helped make his school the hot ticket in town for college coaches.
"It has to do with the guys that came before them. When you have a program and you start to win, then you get guys that go to college, then people want to be like them," said Thompson. "The kids say 'well I can be as good as that kid was' and 'I can do as well as they can' and soon all our kids start thinking they can [play Division I]."
And not only are Stone Bridge's players thinking they can play Division I ball, but they actually are playing at that next level. Who knows if this program will ever win another state title, but they've certainly left their mark. Are they a DI factory? Who knows. It's simply too early to give them that title. But at the rate this program is progressing, it's time to really take a second look at what's going on here. They appear to be the Commonwealth's hottest ticket in town, and it would be a shame to miss the show.
