Shaq Thompson has catapulted higher in Tom Lemming's recruiting rankings, moving from No. 39 to No. 5.
Photo by Gary Jones
Two high school football players have been elevated to Top 10 status by CBS/MaxPreps recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, who will discuss his Top 10 during his Friday night (7 p.m., EST) television show on the CBS College Sports Network.
Shaq Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior who stars on offense and defense for Grant (Sacramento, Calif.), has skyrocketed from No. 39 in Lemming's Top 100 to the No. 5 position.
"He's had a great year as a running back and safety," Lemming said. "He's the best two-way player in the country. He also may be the top running back and top safety."
The other newcomer to Lemming's Top 10 is No. 7 Andrus Peat, a 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive lineman from Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.). He previously held down the No. 15 slot.
The top three remain the same. They are (in order) Dorial Green-Beckham, a wide receiver from Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.); Gunner Kiel, a quarterback from Columbus East (Ind.); and Cayleb Jones, a wide receiver from Austin (Texas).
Rounding out the Top 10 are:
- No. 4 Mario Edwards, a defensive end from Ryan (Denton, Texas);
- No. 6 John Theus, an offensive tackle from Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.);
- No. 8 Ellis McCarthy, a defensive lineman from Monrovia (Calif.);
- No. 9 Johnathan Gray, a running back from Aledo (Texas);
- No. 10 Rushel Shell, a running back from Hopewell (Aliquippa, Pa.).
* Lemming's special guests will include Jim Halley, prep sports writer from USA Today, and D.J. Foster, a running back from Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Foster, also a member of Lemming's Top 100, was one of eight starters who were nursing injuries and were held out of last week's highly-anticipated but very controversial matchup against Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Chaparral won, 65-0.
* Asked about the NCAA's recent move to give student athletes more money for basic expenses, Lemming replied, "I think it's smart. It's always been a good idea. But some schools are going to go overboard and pay extra. They find a way to get around it. It's awfully tough to control and monitor. It could turn out to be like the NFL pay scale," he joked. "Soon they might have to do a draft (of high school players)."
* Though it only will affect basketball at this time, the NCAA will be allowing college coaches to have unlimited access via texts, phone calls and private social media such as Twitter and Facebook with players who have completed their sophomore year in high school. It starts June 15, 2012.
"What it is, is just face time - attention time," Lemming believes. "These kids tweet more than they do classwork. It's just another thing that college coaches are being forced to do. Can you imagine Joe Paterno tweeting? The hard workers are the ones who want to do it."
Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly believes these rules would be good for football, too. He told Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune, "I think, clearly, that the ability to communicate with the student-athlete has changed dramatically over time. I think everybody is starting to see that. If you don't Facebook a kid today - they don't pick up their phones, so I can see us, even in football, moving toward that. It's very difficult to get a hold of these kids. Then you have to go through third parties."
Dorial Green-Beckham is the new all-timereceiving yards leader.
Photo by Sam Soliday
* Noting that the NCAA is promising stiffer academic standards, Lemming said, "I'll believe that when I see it."
* Several major records set last week were brought to Lemming's attention. The big one was the national career receiving yardage record set by Dorial Green-Beckham. He now has 6,209 yards, eclipsing the standard of 5,867 by Abram Booty of Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.) from 1993-96.
Lemming pointed out, "He's been my No. 1 player (in his class) for the last three years. The reason is that he's the closest to Randy Moss - even moreso than A.J. Green - that I've seen. He runs a 10.5 hundred, has great leaping ability and hands. If he stays healthy, I imagine he'll stay in college for three years and he'll be the No. 1 wide receiver pick in the NFL draft."
