MaxPreps/CBS college recruiting expert Tom Lemming got to see a defending state champion football team and hang out with a celebrity while doing his show in Nashville, Tenn.
Country singer Tim McGraw invited Lemming to watch
Ensworth (Nashville, Tenn.) defeat Father Ryan (Nashville, Tenn.), 42-17.
"Tim is very knowledgeable," Lemming pointed out. "He wanted me to see two players from Ensworth."
One of them was senior
Cory Batey (6-foot, 185 pounds), a wide receiver/safety. The other was
Cornelius Elder (5-9, 160), a junior running back.
Lemming said that McGraw has been praising Elder throughout the season. He
noted, "He has explosive speed and moves. He's the poor man's Barry
Sanders with Gale Sayers-like moves. He'll be a Top 100 kid and one of
the most explosive players in the country (next year)."
St. Louis University kicker Dan Tlapek
increased his Division I hopes with
four field goals longer than 40 yards
in a game last week.
Photo courtesy of Rick Kuebel
Turning to another topic, Lemming was asked if a college can enhance its recruiting by playing a home game at a neutral site.
"Normally, it doesn't help," he replied, "Notre Dame is one of the few who could benefit because it's a national team. It extends the Notre Dame brand all over the country. They have so many alumni clubs everywhere."
Lemming also had comments on two high school performances from last week.
Logan Smith, a senior wide receiver from
Vista del Lago (Folsom, Calif.), broke the California record for most receptions in one year, while
Dan Tlapek of
St. Louis University kicked four field goals longer than 40 yards in one game, including the winning 47-yarder with 59 seconds left.
He called Tlapek's feat "a great accomplishment, because St. Louis weather is very unpredictable. A performance like that should earn him a scholarship."
He acknowledged that Smith "had a great accomplishment. He's been a bit under the radar, but this is going to put him on the map (of major college recruiters)."
Marv Levy, who coached the Buffalo Bills to four Super Bowl runner-up finishes, will be the special guest on Lemming's weekly TV show (Friday at 7 p.m., EST) on the CBS Sports Network. He will discuss his best-selling book "Between the Lies," a fictional account of how teams cheat their way to the Super Bowl.
Lemming also will unveil his senior All-American football team.
