Budda Baker, Bellevue
Photo by Jeff Napier
* Junior
Budda Baker of
Bellevue (Wash.)
led the team's perennial national power football team to its fifth-straight state title and 10th in 12 years as a dynamic two-way player.
The 5-10, 175-pounder was a first-team
Junior MaxPreps All-American as a
defensive back but also was the team's premier tailback.
He's
the Class of 2014's No. 64 recruit, according to
247sports.com, largely because of his speed, which
he showed off in the track season when he won the state 3A 100-meter title
(10.77), took third in the long jump and contributed a leg on Bellevue's
state-title 4x100 relay.
Oregon, UCLA and Washington are on his short list of top college choices.
* Junior
Tony Brown of
Ozen (Beaumont, Texas) is rated the No. 14 overall prospect from the Class of 2014 for his football prowess as a cornerback.
The
6-1, 190-pounder has 237 tackles in three seasons as a starter on the
varsity team and in the spring he continued a more-than-promising track and
field career by winning the Texas 4A 110-meter high hurdles in 13.4
seconds and placing second in the open 100 (10.53). His hurdles best of
13.38 tied for the best mark in the nation this season.
Brown has offers from LSU, Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State and Texas.
Lorenzo Carter, Norcross
Photo by Dennis Carter
* Junior
Lorenzo Carter of
Norcross (Ga.) led the Blue Devils to a pair of AAAAAA titles in a high-profile, ultra-competitive state.
The
6-6, 232-pound linebacker had 136 tackles and 18 sacks to help
Norcross go 15-0 and finish No. 3 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national
rankings. He's rated the No. 3 player overall for his class by
247Sports.com.
A smooth and strong power forward on the basketball
squad, Carter helped his school become the first in the history of the
Georgia High School Association to hold both state basketball and
football championships the same school year.
* Junior
Marlon Humphrey of
Hoover (Ala.) is a carbon copy of Brown and is ranked the No. 6 football player overall by 247sports.com after earning first-team Junior All-American honors from MaxPreps. The 6-1, 175-pounder is a cornerback.
He tied Brown for the nation's best 110 hurdles time in the country this season at 13.38 and easily recorded the nation's best 300 hurdles mark at 35.6. The second-best mark was 36.29.
Alabama is among his top five college choices thus far with Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State and South Carolina also in the running.
Adoree' Jackson, Serra
Photo by Louis Lopez
* Junior
Adoree' Jackson of
Serra (Gardena, Calif.) led his football and track and field teams to state titles.
As
a 5-11, 185-pound defensive back and receiver, Jackson did a little
bit of everything with a team-high five interceptions to go with five
rushing touchdowns and five receiving scores. He is the nation's No. 18
recruit according to 247sports.com.
On the track, Jackson had
the nation's third-best long jump at 25 feet, placed second at state and
led two relays to victory as Serra won its first team state crown since
2000. Serra's 4x400 relay team had the top mark in the country (3 minutes,
10.59 seconds) and its 4x100 relay ranked No. 3 (40.49).
* Senior
Cody Thomas of
Heritage (Colleyville, Texas) signed a National Letter of Intent to Oklahoma after throwing for 4,221 yards, 46 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.
The
6-5, 210-pound outfielder hit .482 in the
spring with 15 homers and 51 RBIs and was drafted in the 30th round by
the New York Yankees.
He would have been drafted earlier but he
seemed committed to playing both sports at Oklahoma, where his girlfriend
made the cheerleading squad.
Though the two-sport athletes dominated, there were some single-sport athletes to consider as well. See them on the next page.
