Barry J. Sanders of Heritage Hall: Top 50 Recruit

Before Barry James Sanders played his first varsity football game as a freshman at Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City), he was the subject of a team pow wow.

Coach Andy Bogert told MaxPreps, "I got the group together and said, ‘This is Barry Sanders. Through no fault of his, he's going to get press no matter what he does.'"

Much ballyhoo had preceded him simply because he is the son of running back Barry David Sanders, an NFL Hall-of-Famer. Though his father was somewhat overlooked in high school, Barry James was followed closely even in middle school.

Bogert scouted him as an eighth grader and watched gleefully as he scored the first three times he touched the football.

"I was very impressed," he said. "He lived up to it (his reputation) right away. It was easier for them to accept him because he was a player."

Still, he opted to use Sanders in a backup role during his freshman year, because the Chargers had a veteran lineup en route to a perfect 15-0 record and the Class 2A state championship. Sanders indicated that he felt no pressure as a freshman breaking in with a veteran team.

"They were all cool," said Sanders, who has gone to Heritage Hall since second grade. "They were guys I had been going to school with for years. I had quality playing time. The coach kind of eased me in there and I was able to produce. I was never on the field for the first play."

Now a powerful 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Sanders runs 40 yards in an outstanding 4.31 seconds and probably will finish his career with most of the Heritage Hall rushing records.

Though he could catch a football at the age of 3, Sanders was not drawn to the sport because of his father's career. His father and mother, Aletha House, did not marry and he has been raised by his mother.

"I didn't necessarily think he'd be a football player," House said. "He was just an athlete. He liked all sports – soccer, baseball, basketball, football and golf. My father (James House) put a toy football in his hand the day we brought him home from the hospital. I was the first child and he gave me a football as well.

"I just never put an emphasis on any particular sport. Just whatever he enjoyed doing. Really, I am (amazed). I never thought it would narrow down to one sport and he'd be so good at it."

Sanders said he didn't begin taking football seriously until he was in second grade.

"I saw some other kids doing it and figured why not," he related. "I would see my uncles and pictures of my dad playing. I didn't know what he had done at that age."

Though his father lives in Detroit, he attends as many of his son's games as possible.

"He's very hands-on," House stressed. "He's very active in his life. On the weekends he spends as much time as he can."

Nicknamed "Skinny" because of his Mohawk haircut, Sanders continues to improve because of a four-year rivalry with talented classmate Sterling Shepard, a wide receiver who has committed to the University of Oklahoma.

"They compete against each other daily," Bogert said. "They keep each other so sharp and make each other better. They only go against each other in drills (one on offense and one on defense). It makes us (the team) better, too."

Sanders calls it a friendly rivalry.

"In practice we make each other better," he said. "We make sure we don't cheated on reps."

Shepard, who runs 40 yards in 4.4 seconds, added, "We have the same goals after high school. Going to play college football is a big part of what we are. It gets pretty competitive."

Sanders is ranked as the No. 2 running back and No. 10 overall player in the nation by CBS/MaxPreps recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Lemming says that Sanders "Shows remarkable balance, vision and speed, plus the ability to break tackles. As competitive and confident as they come, he can turn a game around with one play. He accelerates as quick or quicker than any other back in the country."

The highly sought Sanders, who carries a 3.39 GPA, has narrowed his college list to Alabama, Florida State, Stanford and LSU. Sanders says his decision will rest on "mainly just the environment and academics." He is expected to announce his college choice at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7, 2012, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Sanders really made his mark in the state semifinals his freshman year when he turned a reverse into a spectacular 64-yard run. He made at least five defenders miss him and hurdled a player while staying in-bounds.

"He was a YouTube sensation," Bogert noted. "The last time I looked, it had over a million (1.6 million) hits."

For an encore, the precocious freshman scored three touchdowns in the state championship game. He finished his rookie year with 89 carries for 742 yards and 12 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, Sanders added cornerback duties and led the Chargers with six interceptions. He also had a total offense of more than 2,000 yards and scored 30 touchdowns. He also did the punting.

"We put him on everybody's best receiver," Bogert pointed out. "He's very durable. We had more than a few coaches say that he could be a Division I player on defense."

Sanders was surprised to hear that his defensive skills are big-time, noting, "I haven't talked to anyone (colleges) about defense."

In his first seven games as a junior, Sanders already had rushed for 1,168 yards and 16 touchdowns when he was sidelined for the year by a fractured foot. In his sixth game as a junior, Sanders injured his foot and was sidelined for a month.

"We brought him back in week 11," Bogert recalled. "He thinks he broke his foot on the first play, but he played the whole game. He looked hobbled, but he stuck it out. He's a tough kid. He caught a touchdown pass in a big game for us. Just to have him back was a huge boost."

Despite losing Sanders for the last four playoff games, the Chargers went 15-0 and won the state title in their first year at the Class 3A level. In just seven games, Sanders amassed 1,168 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Bogert believes that Sanders is 100 percent healthy for his senior year. So far he has rushed for 360 yards and nine touchdowns, while also scoring twice on pass receptions and once on an interception.

"The only problem is that he's not playing much," Bogert said, alluding to the fact that the Chargers are posting early leads. "He's playing less than half of most games."

The Chargers have won their last 20 games and have a good shot at the state record of 27.

All in all, Bogert is particularly impressed with his young star's maturity.

"He handles it (publicity and overall pressure) really well," the veteran coach said. "I've heard more than one coach say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a high school kid?'"

And that maturity is evident in Sanders' approach to the rest of his career.

"I want to play this game as long as possible — the way it's supposed to be played — and, hopefully, get something out of it."

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