By Eric Boynton
Special to MaxPreps.com
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – All those major college football recruiters who missed Walt Canty in their travels this fall sure got an eyeful during Saturday’s Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas at Gibbs Stadium.
It was impossible to miss Dorman’s ultimate utility man as he played more positions than any other player in South Carolina’s 24-16 victory over North Carolina in the team's 72nd all-star meeting.
Canty’s already got a pretty sweet deal with a verbal commitment to Duke, getting plenty of bang for his buck in terms of what a degree means from one of the nation’s most highly regarded institutions.
But how did the southeast’s football factories lack Canty on their radar? The guy even has big-time grades to back his big-time talent, something you’d figure would make him even more attractive to recruiters.
However Duke was the lone BCS conference school that offered Canty on the heels of lesser lights such as Presbyterian and Elon.
“No doubt he’s a Division I football player,” said Dorman coach David Gutshall, watching his star from behind the end zone on Saturday.
“He’s been an all-everything, go-to guy his whole career. He’s really tickled about Duke because he’s great academically, a 4.0 student, but everybody was missing him when we kept trying to tell them he’s a guy people need to be offering.”
Shrine Bowl teammate Justin Bright, the Byrnes safety who’s committed to Florida State, has already been pumping up Canty to his future Seminoles defensive coordinator.
“I’ve talked to Coach (Mickey) Andrews about Walt,” Bright said. “Me and Walt really connected when we got here. He’s got good grades and is a good player and a good leader and I really don’t understand why he’s not getting recruited as much. But I know he likes Duke a lot and thinks it’s the best place for him.”
Maybe so, but it’s still hard to believe he doesn’t have an abundance of choices to sift through.
It was just last week that Vanderbilt junior cornerback D.J. Moore added Associated Press second team All-American honors to a resume that already included an All-SEC first team selection.
Moore is a former Broome standout who somehow escaped most big-time footballs schools. The knock on him could have been lack of competition, but Canty plays at the highest level in a region that is the state’s toughest.
The two are similar except that Canty has a little larger frame, and it’s easy to foresee him having a career like Moore’s that leaves colleges kicking themselves for not tending an offer.
Canty was the best of the best in the 2008 Shrine Bowl, stealing the offensive spotlight from much-heralded quarterback Stephon Gilmore in only limited duty, while being named the South’s defensive player of the game.
He could have just as easily been named tops on both sides of the ball and would have been an easy choice if only one overall MVP had been chosen. He played all but a couple of snaps at cornerback for a defense that allowed only six passing yards on four completions and 120 total yards, finishing with four tackles and a team-best two for loss.
Gilmore, easily the game’s most high-profile player, rushed 18 times for 71 yards from the quarterback spot; he was sacked twice and lost two fumbles. Canty took four snaps at quarterback and ran the ball each time, totaling 63 yards and one touchdown.
He also returned four punts for 55 yards and was really the lone player to create any kind of a buzz on a dreary afternoon dominated by defense.
“He’s just a great player,” South Carolina head coach Ted Luckadoo said. “I told people all week long he’s one of the first ones we picked and you saw why.”
Gutshall didn’t believe Canty played with a chip on his shoulder, out to prove to those college scouts who overlooked him that they made a mistake.
“Walt’s Walt,” Gutshall said. “That’s the way he plays every time I’ve seen him and I don’t think he was any more motivated out there.”
“Absolutely not,” Canty replied when asked if he was intent on making a statement. “I just wanted to come out and represent the state of South Carolina in a good manner and I’m happy with the school I’m going to.”
If Canty does indeed end up playing for the Blue Devils, there’s little doubt Duke will end up very happy as well.
Eric Boynton covers college and high school sports for the Spartanburg, S.C., Herald-Journal. He may be reached at eric.boynton@shj.com.
