By Todd Bradley, DCSportsFan.com
MaxPreps.com
Nine months after falling to DeMatha in the WCAC championship for the fourth consecutive year, Good Counsel begins the season as one of the best football teams in the Washington, D.C. area.
Players like Corey Boatman (Syracuse) and Bryan Murray (Boston College) have moved on to the Division I level, but head coach Bob Milloy returns a pack of talented players expected to compete for the championship once again. The key to Good Counsel’s success in 2008 begins in its backfield in the form of Jelani Jenkins, Caleb Porzel and Tyler Campbell.
Jelani Jenkins is Good Counsel’s most heralded recruit since Akeem Hebron (2006), who is currently fighting for a starting spot with the Georgia Bulldogs, the preseason consensus No. 1 team in the country. Jenkins plays both fullback and linebacker for the Falcons, and he holds scholarship offers from just about every top Division I program in the country.
Jenkins is rated the fourth-best outside linebacker in the class of 2009 by Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports. He recently completed a nationwide tour to visit schools like UCLA, USC, Stanford, Michigan, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Illinois, to name a few. No decision has been made on where he will attend college, or if he’s leaning to one school or another. Regardless of where he ends up, he has the ability to make Good Counsel history with a championship this coming November.
Lining up alongside Jenkins will be fellow senior and Maryland commitment Caleb Porzel. The 5-foot-8 speedster made all sorts of headlines in recent months. He ran an incredible 4.2 40-yard dash, committed and decommited to the University of Virginia, then pledged to the University of Maryland a few weeks ago. Porzel has been an impact player for the Falcons since his sophomore year.
Handing off the ball to Jenkins and Porzel will be senior quarterback Tyler Campbell. The 6-1, 185-pound senior will be starting under center for the second-straight year after leading the Falcons to the WCAC championship game last year. Campbell has a strong arm and isn’t afraid to throw the ball downfield, especially with players like Louis Young and E.J. Scott playing wide receiver. Young, a junior and two-way starter last year, is receiving offers from Division I schools while Scott has made a lot of noise at various combines this summer. Young is also one of the best cornerbacks in the league.
Other key players on the offensive side of the ball are Michael Nittoli and Devin Gordon-Hamm. Nittoli will see time at fullback after having a solid sophomore season. Gordon-Hamm will anchor an offensive line that will be very tough this year. Gordon-Hamm (6-2, 285) will start on both sides of the ball and is receiving interest from schools in the ACC, Big East and Big 10.
The defensive side of the ball will be a little young but extremely talented. With Jelani Jenkins anchoring the defense, Durrell Miller, Chris Pittsenberger and Troy Gloster will add some additional toughness. Miller is a tough senior and returning starter while Gloster is expected to play significant minutes after seeing the field sporadically as a sophomore. Pittsenberger played fullback and linebacker last year as a sophomore and should be considered one of the hardest-hitting players in the league.
Michael Wallace is a three-year starter who will play opposite Louis Young at cornerback. Wallace has already received scholarship offers from Stanford, Monmouth, Bryant, Towson and Army. Al Thompson, a junior, should start at safety after an impressive sophomore season.
Mark Hamilton, a returning senior, is expected to handle all field goal and punting responsibilities.
Good Counsel will open their season Sept. 5 at Dunbar High School, last year’s DCIAA champion. The Falcons will then host Friendship Collegiate in week two and St. Peter’s Prep out of New Jersey in week three.