I'm sure this is old news, but it looks like UcheaT and UGlyA is ahead. 
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As he watched varsity football practice at one of the state of Georgia's most talent-rich high school programs a few months ago, Boston College running backs coach Al Washington kept receiving the same advice.
To catch a glimpse of Grayson High's premier prospect, Washington would have to return later that evening when the school's eighth-grade team practiced.
Linebacker has 11 scholarship offers before starting high school
Owen Pappoe, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound menace of an outside linebacker, earned the nickname "The Freak" by terrorizing middle school quarterbacks and running backs the previous two years. The 14-year-old's strength and speed were so jaw-dropping for his age that he converted Washington into a believer in just one practice.
"When [Washington] saw how big and strong Owen was, he was like, 'Oh my God,'" said Kenyatta Watson, Grayson's recruiting coordinator. "Then when Owen started running around and making plays, he was like, 'Let Owen know he has his first offer.' "
Boston College's scholarship offer was the moment everything sped up for Pappoe, the moment that transformed a middle-school kid with a bed time and an early curfew into a top college prospect facing new possibilities and complexities.
Thirty college programs from across the nation have scouted Pappoe in person at practices during the past few months or contacted his coaches to gauge his interest. Florida State, Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee are among the 11 schools that have already joined Boston College in offering a scholarship to the incoming high school freshman, with more surely coming soon.
For Pappoe, the early attention from colleges is flattering yet surprising. The son of African immigrants grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and hardly watched any pro or college football until trying out for his first organized football team just two years ago.
"I didn't expect this to happen so quickly," Pappoe said. "I know it's not common for this to happen to eighth graders, so it's really exciting for me."
The heated race to land a linebacker who has yet to play a down in high school reflects the accelerated pace of football recruiting the past few years.
Whereas in 2008 former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel chastised his peers for acting recklessly by "offering all kinds of sophomores,” those complaints now seem quaint seven years later, with early recruiting in football mirroring what's already commonplace in other sports. Football coaches offer scholarships to top prospects as young as seventh or eighth grade with increasing frequency, sometimes in hopes that being first will provide an edge and other times out of fear of falling behind rival suitors.
Linebacker Anthony Solomon, an incoming freshman headed to Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas, already holds offers from at least 11 Division I schools including juggernauts Auburn, Alabama, Florida State and LSU. Quarterback Tee Webb, a 13-year-old from Cartersville, Ga., received his first offer from Louisville this spring before he completed seventh grade. Running back Dominick Blaylock, the son of former NBA guard Mookie Blaylock, in March became the first middle school prospect ever to receive an offer from veteran South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
"Early offers are more common now because the physical maturity of these kids is different and the visibility as well," said Woody Wommack, Southeast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "Ten years ago, there was no middle school film to watch on a player. Coaches have more access now. The players are much more visible. The more they get to see these guys, the more comfortable they feel. They would rather take a chance and be first than get in a year or two later and already be behind."
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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As he watched varsity football practice at one of the state of Georgia's most talent-rich high school programs a few months ago, Boston College running backs coach Al Washington kept receiving the same advice.
To catch a glimpse of Grayson High's premier prospect, Washington would have to return later that evening when the school's eighth-grade team practiced.
Linebacker has 11 scholarship offers before starting high school
Owen Pappoe, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound menace of an outside linebacker, earned the nickname "The Freak" by terrorizing middle school quarterbacks and running backs the previous two years. The 14-year-old's strength and speed were so jaw-dropping for his age that he converted Washington into a believer in just one practice.
"When [Washington] saw how big and strong Owen was, he was like, 'Oh my God,'" said Kenyatta Watson, Grayson's recruiting coordinator. "Then when Owen started running around and making plays, he was like, 'Let Owen know he has his first offer.' "
Boston College's scholarship offer was the moment everything sped up for Pappoe, the moment that transformed a middle-school kid with a bed time and an early curfew into a top college prospect facing new possibilities and complexities.
Thirty college programs from across the nation have scouted Pappoe in person at practices during the past few months or contacted his coaches to gauge his interest. Florida State, Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee are among the 11 schools that have already joined Boston College in offering a scholarship to the incoming high school freshman, with more surely coming soon.
For Pappoe, the early attention from colleges is flattering yet surprising. The son of African immigrants grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and hardly watched any pro or college football until trying out for his first organized football team just two years ago.
"I didn't expect this to happen so quickly," Pappoe said. "I know it's not common for this to happen to eighth graders, so it's really exciting for me."
The heated race to land a linebacker who has yet to play a down in high school reflects the accelerated pace of football recruiting the past few years.
Whereas in 2008 former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel chastised his peers for acting recklessly by "offering all kinds of sophomores,” those complaints now seem quaint seven years later, with early recruiting in football mirroring what's already commonplace in other sports. Football coaches offer scholarships to top prospects as young as seventh or eighth grade with increasing frequency, sometimes in hopes that being first will provide an edge and other times out of fear of falling behind rival suitors.
Linebacker Anthony Solomon, an incoming freshman headed to Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas, already holds offers from at least 11 Division I schools including juggernauts Auburn, Alabama, Florida State and LSU. Quarterback Tee Webb, a 13-year-old from Cartersville, Ga., received his first offer from Louisville this spring before he completed seventh grade. Running back Dominick Blaylock, the son of former NBA guard Mookie Blaylock, in March became the first middle school prospect ever to receive an offer from veteran South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
"Early offers are more common now because the physical maturity of these kids is different and the visibility as well," said Woody Wommack, Southeast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "Ten years ago, there was no middle school film to watch on a player. Coaches have more access now. The players are much more visible. The more they get to see these guys, the more comfortable they feel. They would rather take a chance and be first than get in a year or two later and already be behind."
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
