Akiem Hicks will suit up for the New Orleans Saints Saturday as a defensive end in the NFL playoffs. The Del Campo (Fair Oaks, Calif.) isn't the only player from his school left in the playoffs.
File photo by Gary Jones
It's the final time this season that football fans will be treated to four NFL games on television in a weekend.
The Divisional Round matchups this season obviously give us plenty of pro storylines, but let's not forget that plenty of the players involved in the NFL playoffs have compelling high school stories. Let's take a look at some of the top high school-related storylines form this week's playoff contests.
To begin, here are the best stories that combine the NFL playoffs and prep storylines. Be sure to read more below, as we have plenty more.
* Richard Sherman and Jeron Johnson are still teammates with the Seattle Seahawks, just like they were at
Dominguez (Compton, Calif.). But Johnson is on injured reserve for Saturday's contest against the Saints.
Click here to read Mitch Stephens' story about the two from last season.
*
Brian Folkerts and
Marvin McNutt were teammates on the 2007
Hazelwood Central (Florissant, Mo.) team that went 9-2. Now they are teammates with the Carolina Panthers and will face the San Francisco 49ers together Sunday. Folkerts was a junior offensive lineman and McNutt was a starting senior quarterback/defensive back (he's now a receiver). McNutt went 76-for-134 with 1,437 yards and 14 touchdowns his senior season. The ties don't end there: The two were signed to the 53-man roster by the Panthers on the same day,
according to the Charlotte Observer (Oct. 9).
* Mike Iupati (49ers) and Fili Moala (Colts) each went to
Western (Anaheim, Calif.), and it was an injury to Moala that got Iupati (then a sophomore) into the starting lineup for the first time,
according to the Orange County Register. Both were not allowed to play football until relatively late in their lives, with Moala waiting until high school and Iupati waiting until his sophomore year. Moala is currently on injured reserve for the Colts.
* The 2005
Colton (Calif.) squad featured teammates who have gone on to play on the same NFL team. Chargers third-string quarterback
Brad Sorensen and cornerback
Shareece Wright (a 13-game starter) teamed to help the Yellowjackets go 9-3. Sorensen tossed 27 touchdowns and five interceptions, and Wright was second on the team with 1,094 rushing yards.
* Ted Ginn Jr. and Donte Whitner find themselves in a different situation: Playing against each other. The two were teammates at
Glenville (Cleveland) in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. They both moved on to Ohio State and were on the San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl team last year. Now Ginn is playing for the Panthers, so there's a chance the hard-hitting Whitner could clash with the speedy Ginn at some point. This is the only pair of players from the same school facing each other this weekend.
See more about the Glenville connection in Mitch Stephens' story from last season.
* Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will be having a homecoming Saturday night when his team plays the Patriots. The
Westwood (Mass.) grad will be appearing just 10 miles from his high school.
* Here are some hometown players: For the Colts, guard Joe Reitz is from
Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.) and tight end Jack Doyle is from
Indianapolis Cathedral. For the Seahawks, wide receiver Bryan Walters is from
Juanita (Kirkland, Wash.) and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse is from
Lakes (Lakewood, Wash.).
Donald Butler, Del Campo (Chargers)
File photo by Anthony Brunsman
* Forty-five states and the District of Columbia are still represented in the playoffs. The only states with no alums still playing: New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
* California leads the way with 78 players on active rosters or injured reserve. The next eight states are: Texas (55), Florida (42), Georgia (32), Ohio (28), North Carolina (19), Illinois (17), Virginia (16) and Louisiana (15).
* Six foreign nations (actually five countries and one unincorporated territory of the United States) have players still in the playoffs: Kenya, American Samoa, Germany, England, Canada and Australia.
* Donald Thomas (a guard on injured reserve for the Colts) went to
Career Magnet (New Haven, Conn.), which did not have football. Some reports say he played in two JV games for a crosstown team, but that's not confirmed.
Here is a list of high schools that can claim they have two alums on rosters/injured reserve for the playoffs:
Eric Weddle (Chargers) and Kenyon Coleman (Saints) -
Alta Loma (Calif.)Quinton Dial (49ers) and A.J. Davis (Saints) -
Clay-Chalkville (Pinson, Ala.)Bobby Wagner (Seahawks) and Omar Bolden (Broncos) -
Colony (Ontario, Calif.)Frank Gore (49ers) and Jonathan Vilma (Saints) -
Coral Gables (Fla.)David Hawthorne (Saints) and Louis Vasquez (Broncos) -
Corsicana (Texas)Akiem Hicks (Saints) and Donald Butler (Chargers) -
Del Campo (Fair Oaks, Calif.)Von Miller (Broncos) and Tony Jerod-Eddie (49ers) -
DeSoto (Texas)Vernon Davis (49ers) and Vontae Davis (Colts) -
Dunbar (Washington, D.C.)Robert Lester (Panthers) and D.J. Fluker (Chargers) -
Foley (Ala.)Mario Manningham (49ers) and Dan Herron (Colts) -
Harding (Warren, Ohio)Corey Lemonier (49ers) and Corey Liuget (Chargers) -
Hialeah (Fla.)Justin Smith (49ers) and Sylvester Williams (Broncos) -
Jefferson City (Mo.)Chris Scott (Panthers) and Tashard Choice (Colts) -
Lovejoy (Ga.)Parys Haralson (Saints) and Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots) -
Madison Central (Miss.)Deion Branch (Colts) and Ricardo Lockette (Seahawks) -
Monroe (Albany, Ga.)Austin Collie (Patriots) and Seyi Ajirotutu (Chargers) -
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)Malcolm Jenkins (Saints) and Anthony Davis (49ers) -
Piscataway (N.J.)Ryan Kalil (Panthers) and Matthew Slater (Patriots) -
Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)Mike Morgan (Seahawks) and Steve Williams (Chargers) -
Skyline (Dallas)Junior Galette (Saints) and Devin McCourty (Patriots) -
St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.)Bruce Irvin (Seahawks) and Kelvin Sheppard (Colts) -
Stephenson (Stone Mountain, Ga.)Dan Connor (Panthers) and Steven Johnson (Broncos) -
Strath Haven (Wallingford, Pa.)Adrian Wilson (Patriots) and Marcus Gilchrist (Chargers) -
T.W. Andrews (High Point, N.C.)Derrick Coleman (Seahawks) and Aaron Brewer (Broncos) -
Troy (Fullerton, Calif.)Virgil Green (Broncos) and Bryce Harris (Saints) -
Tulare Union (Calif.)Kendall Hunter (49ers) and Jeremy Lane (Seahawks) -
Tyler (Texas)
