Whitewright (Texas) head football coach Jack Wylie jokingly refers to his town of less than 2,000 residents as "Mayberry", a reference to the fictional, All-American small town fictional town popularized in the 1960s classic "The Andy Griffith Show."
However, the tiny community near the Oklahoma border is home to one of the biggest talents in the class of 2013, quarterback
Tyrone Swoopes.
Swoopes, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound dual threat who has drawn comparisons to
Vince Young and
Cam Newton, will be a top recruit in next year's recruiting cycle. His recruitment is already heating up.
"He was the first offer for UT in the class of 2013. Stanford was here, which shows you the kind of student he is. Notre Dame is coming down tomorrow to offer him," Wylie told MaxPreps on Wednesday.
The hype around Swoopes appears justified, as his production has met expectations at every step of the way.
According to Wylie, Swoopes first played as a freshman and led the team in tackles from the safety position in his first game.
Swoopes is having a huge junior
season.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
As a sophomore quarterback, he had more than 1,300 yards both through the air and on the ground, accounting for 40 total touchdowns.
This season, Swoopes' game is reaching new heights. He is the current frontrunner to capture MaxPreps'
National Junior of the Year honors. Through six games, he's rushed 95 times for 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 64 of 109 passing attempts for 846 yards and another 11 scores, helping Whitewright to a 5-1 record.
He's also been a standout at safety, where he has been responsible for 34 tackles and three interceptions.
"He could play wherever," Wylie said. "He will absolutely knock the taste out of your mouth at safety."
Though athletically gifted enough to play a number of positions, Swoopes is being recruited as a quarterback. While his rushing numbers are ahead of his passing statistics at this point, Wylie says that he is constantly improving as a thrower and progressing with his reads and decision-making each day.
Like other mobile quarterbacks with big frames, Swoopes is difficult to tackle on the run, especially on the high school level, where 6-5, 200-pound signal callers are extremely rare.
"He's absolutely the best running quarterback I've ever been around," Wylie said. "He's a load to tackle. When you go to tackle him, you better bring it."
Though Whitewright is just a 2A program, Wylie insists that Swoopes would stand out for any program in the state of Texas.
"You could take him to Katy, Stony Point, De Soto. You could drop him off anywhere and he'd be special."
Colleges certainly agree. In addition to Texas, Stanford, and Notre Dame, Swoopes has received plenty of other interest.
TCU was the first to offer Swoopes and figured to be in the running. Next summer, Swoopes and his father plan to take a trip to the West Coast to visit schools, according to Wylie. A trip to the East Coast or Midwest is also a possibility.
Even if he does land at a college far from home, it's unlikely that his reputation around the Mayberrian town of Whitewright will ever change.
"His ability is obvious when you watch film, but what you can't see is his character," said Wylie. "He's the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to date. He's a great student, a leader for us, and very humble. He's an all-around model kid."
