Luke Stine and Ryan Ball are moving to the offensive line for Highlands.

 

Any other moves in sight?

...also look for Luke Stein from HHS to make noise with recruiters. An all-area TE last year, rumor has him moving inside for his SR season. 6'2 / 240 and cut like a weight-lifter. Good speed, good hands, basketball player agility, and that certain "nasty" on the field that you like in a lineman. He and Hempfling could blow some major holes open for the Bluebird backs next year!

 

 

I think both Luke and Alex could garner All State honors in some capacity next year. Luke has the quickness, strength and a very strong base. Alex showed he can move for a bigger fella and he just punishes people if they get in his way.

 

If Ryan Ball moves to the line, he could be a very, very good quick guard. I would imagine they would have him doing a ton of pulling which really turns him into a fullback looking to trap D-lineman's ears off.

 

Also heard they would like to utilize Hurtt at the TE spot.

Is big #55 or #77 back?

Both are Back...#77 is Ross and #55 is Walker-who is rehabing a leg broken vs. Trinity...they are both very good OL men.

I think both Luke and Alex could garner All State honors in some capacity next year. Luke has the quickness, strength and a very strong base. Alex showed he can move for a bigger fella and he just punishes people if they get in his way.

 

If Ryan Ball moves to the line, he could be a very, very good quick guard. I would imagine they would have him doing a ton of pulling which really turns him into a fullback looking to trap D-lineman's ears off.

 

Also heard they would like to utilize Hurtt at the TE spot.

 

Wow, this is all very interesting. Hempfling will be the man on Highlands' line. But if it is true that Luke and Ryan are moving to the line too, there is going to be some serious hits this season inside the box. With Hurtt in the mix to seal off the end, they will really open up some new opportunities. I do kind of question Luke moving to the line because I felt he was a pretty darn consistent receiver for the offense last season, but I'm sure the coaches know what their doing. Otherwise, Highlands always finds a way to fill in the line, one way or another to get the job done.

 

On defense, the only lineman I can think of off the top of my head is Jurgens. After roughly a year and a half of varsity experience at defensive line, he should be a good contributor. I could see him catching a few balls at TE too.

i hate these kind of threads because i am personally close to some very good linemen from different schools that are great at their job without being 6 foot 5 and 300. Matter fact a couple were on all-state and so forth and i also know a couple that are coming up that i dont think their size is going to be a factor now. It looks great on paper but some boys can block without being that size. Just my opinion i know the numbers look impressive and give us the wow factor but linemen dont get alot of credit anyway so lets get it to them all size or not.

i hate these kind of threads because i am personally close to some very good linemen from different schools that are great at their job without being 6 foot 5 and 300. Matter fact a couple were on all-state and so forth and i also know a couple that are coming up that i dont think their size is going to be a factor now. It looks great on paper but some boys can block without being that size. Just my opinion i know the numbers look impressive and give us the wow factor but linemen dont get alot of credit anyway so lets get it to them all size or not.

 

I completely agree with you. Everyone knows that Highlands has some of the smallest lineman in the state, but they obviously get the job done. The same goes for Cov. Cath., Boyle, Lex. Cath. and lots of other big name schools. I would take a 6'2" 230lb guy over a 6'5" 300lb guy any day in high school football.

I hope Luke does indeed move from tight end to tackle. With his size, athleticism and aggressiveness, he could be one very dominating lineman. That wouldn't hurt his chances at getting a college scholarship and would greatly improve the o line. Luke is not tall enough, in my opinion, to get a scholarship as a tight end. His future as a college player is at linebacker, so where he plays on offense is pretty irrelevant to the scholarship issue, but playing guard or tackle would be a big help to the Birds' offense and their chances of winning state.

i hate these kind of threads because i am personally close to some very good linemen from different schools that are great at their job without being 6 foot 5 and 300. Matter fact a couple were on all-state and so forth and i also know a couple that are coming up that i dont think their size is going to be a factor now. It looks great on paper but some boys can block without being that size. Just my opinion i know the numbers look impressive and give us the wow factor but linemen dont get alot of credit anyway so lets get it to them all size or not.

 

 

There is a lot of truth in your post. Because college recruiters are only interested in the real big kids, a lot of people have a tendency to think that the real big kids are the better linemen in high school, and that from my experience is not the case very often. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some really big and really good offensive linemen over the years, but a large number of the big kids' high school hype is based much more on college potential than high school performance. That's not intended to be a slight however. A lot of the really big kids still haven't grown into their bodies in high school, aren't yet strong enough to move their bodies effectively or have to much fat on them still.

 

Anyone else catch the blurb on the news this morning that the Mayo Clinic (I'm pretty sure it was Mayo) recently released a study expressing its grave health concerns about the effect of kids being pushed to be big in high school football. It should be food for thought for coaches and those kids trying to get real big in high school to increase their chances of getting a college scholarship. Its not healthy at all.

i hate these kind of threads because i am personally close to some very good linemen from different schools that are great at their job without being 6 foot 5 and 300. Matter fact a couple were on all-state and so forth and i also know a couple that are coming up that i dont think their size is going to be a factor now. It looks great on paper but some boys can block without being that size. Just my opinion i know the numbers look impressive and give us the wow factor but linemen dont get alot of credit anyway so lets get it to them all size or not.

 

Agreed...but the gist of the original thread of this post was specifically about BLUE CHIP O/D linemen returning. It wasn't about "who's great that's NOT 6'5, 300lbs."

 

Nobody starting or contributing to the thread said anything DISPARAGING about linemen that are NOT "blue-chip" (meaning essentially, they have the kind of size D1 and 1AA colleges require for full scholarships). Actually, in my post about our two potential scholarship linemen, I stated that we have some very GOOD "high school linemen" other than the two young men I mentioned.

 

Your points are VERY well-meaning and accurate (that OL and DL kids do the "dirty work" and don't get the credit, and that undersized guys can be MUCH better HIGH SCHOOL LINEMAN than the ones that get all the ink), but this thread was about "D-1/1AA Recruitable" linemen.

 

Just start a thread like, "Great HS OL and DL that are underappreciated."

 

Like it or not, the college coaches make "the rules" about who they will and won't recruit. The three BEST HIGH SCHOOL linemen (ones most valuable to us in getting done what we needed) I've ever coached were all 5'11 or below, but the COLLEGE guys could care less about those guys. Part of our job as HS coaches (in my opinion) is to market and publicize as best we can those kids that have the potential to garner scholarship money. I wish that were ALL of them...but the reality is that it's not.

 

If you want to be a D-1 football player stats, max totals, and game films are important to an extent, but those take a backseat to this (sorry, leatherneck, you and the Mayo clinic are right, but this is just the way it is):

* if you're a skilled player, size isn't crucial as long as you run REALLY FAST (and you'd better be timed by a COLLEGE COACH in person at a camp).

* If you're an offensive lineman, you'd better be 6'5 or better. SOME exceptions may be made for SLIGHTLY shorter kids -- but ONLY if they are freakishly strong and/or quick for their size. I've had some VERY good and VERY strong 6'3 O-Linemen that Western and Eastern wanted no part of because they "didn't fit what we're looking for."

* If you're a defensive end, better be 6'4 or better and can RUN like a LB.

* If you're an interior d-lineman, you can be closer to 6'0, but you'd better be HUGE and be able to RUN like kids 50lbs. lighter than you.

Agreed...but the gist of the original thread of this post was specifically about BLUE CHIP O/D linemen returning. It wasn't about "who's great that's NOT 6'5, 300lbs."

 

Nobody starting or contributing to the thread said anything DISPARAGING about linemen that are NOT "blue-chip" (meaning essentially, they have the kind of size D1 and 1AA colleges require for full scholarships). Actually, in my post about our two potential scholarship linemen, I stated that we have some very GOOD "high school linemen" other than the two young men I mentioned.

 

Your points are VERY well-meaning and accurate (that OL and DL kids do the "dirty work" and don't get the credit, and that undersized guys can be MUCH better HIGH SCHOOL LINEMAN than the ones that get all the ink), but this thread was about "D-1/1AA Recruitable" linemen.

 

Just start a thread like, "Great HS OL and DL that are underappreciated."

 

Like it or not, the college coaches make "the rules" about who they will and won't recruit. The three BEST HIGH SCHOOL linemen (ones most valuable to us in getting done what we needed) I've ever coached were all 5'11 or below, but the COLLEGE guys could care less about those guys. Part of our job as HS coaches (in my opinion) is to market and publicize as best we can those kids that have the potential to garner scholarship money. I wish that were ALL of them...but the reality is that it's not.

 

If you want to be a D-1 football player stats, max totals, and game films are important to an extent, but those take a backseat to this (sorry, leatherneck, you and the Mayo clinic are right, but this is just the way it is):

* if you're a skilled player, size isn't crucial as long as you run REALLY FAST (and you'd better be timed by a COLLEGE COACH in person at a camp).

* If you're an offensive lineman, you'd better be 6'5 or better. SOME exceptions may be made for SLIGHTLY shorter kids -- but ONLY if they are freakishly strong and/or quick for their size. I've had some VERY good and VERY strong 6'3 O-Linemen that Western and Eastern wanted no part of because they "didn't fit what we're looking for."

* If you're a defensive end, better be 6'4 or better and can RUN like a LB.

* If you're an interior d-lineman, you can be closer to 6'0, but you'd better be HUGE and be able to RUN like kids 50lbs. lighter than you.

 

 

I totally agree with everything in your post, that's just the way it is. However, as a HS coach why bother to market and publicize the kids that have a better chance to garner a scholarship when all you have to do is give them thier height and weight. That's all they care about anyway.

I totally agree with everything in your post, that's just the way it is. However, as a HS coach why bother to market and publicize the kids that have a better chance to garner a scholarship when all you have to do is give them thier height and weight. That's all they care about anyway.

Grades and college entrance exam scores are also emphasized. GPA and ACT scores are one of the 1st questions asked.

I totally agree with everything in your post, that's just the way it is. However, as a HS coach why bother to market and publicize the kids that have a better chance to garner a scholarship when all you have to do is give them thier height and weight. That's all they care about anyway.

 

Sorry if I misled...

 

I didn't say "ALL you have to do is give them their height and weight" and you're guaranteed they'll get an offer. I said that there were certain "minimum requirements" (all un-stated, of course) by college coaches that players would have to have at certain positions to get recruited/offered by the D1 and 1AAs.

 

JUST because you're 6'4 and play Def. End doesn't mean you WILL get an offer...my point was it is necessary to get LOOKED AT for an offer -- and if you're 6'2 and aren't getting offers, that does NOT mean you're not a good or GREAT high school offensive lineman.

 

...and we have to publicize them because the colleges STILL have to hear of them to know to recruit them. Kind of like that old question: "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there to hear it, did it make a sound?" Here, it would be: "If a 6'6 OL plays in the sticks and nobody knows about him, did he really play?"

Sorry if I misled...

 

I didn't say "ALL you have to do is give them their height and weight" and you're guaranteed they'll get an offer. I said that there were certain "minimum requirements" (all un-stated, of course) by college coaches that players would have to have at certain positions to get recruited/offered by the D1 and 1AAs.

 

JUST because you're 6'4 and play Def. End doesn't mean you WILL get an offer...my point was it is necessary to get LOOKED AT for an offer -- and if you're 6'2 and aren't getting offers, that does NOT mean you're not a good or GREAT high school offensive lineman.

 

...and we have to publicize them because the colleges STILL have to hear of them to know to recruit them. Kind of like that old question: "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there to hear it, did it make a sound?" Here, it would be: "If a 6'6 OL plays in the sticks and nobody knows about him, did he really play?"

 

 

 

:thumb: I hear ya.

Agreed...but the gist of the original thread of this post was specifically about BLUE CHIP O/D linemen returning. It wasn't about "who's great that's NOT 6'5, 300lbs."

 

Nobody starting or contributing to the thread said anything DISPARAGING about linemen that are NOT "blue-chip" (meaning essentially, they have the kind of size D1 and 1AA colleges require for full scholarships). Actually, in my post about our two potential scholarship linemen, I stated that we have some very GOOD "high school linemen" other than the two young men I mentioned.

 

Your points are VERY well-meaning and accurate (that OL and DL kids do the "dirty work" and don't get the credit, and that undersized guys can be MUCH better HIGH SCHOOL LINEMAN than the ones that get all the ink), but this thread was about "D-1/1AA Recruitable" linemen.

 

Just start a thread like, "Great HS OL and DL that are underappreciated."

 

Like it or not, the college coaches make "the rules" about who they will and won't recruit. The three BEST HIGH SCHOOL linemen (ones most valuable to us in getting done what we needed) I've ever coached were all 5'11 or below, but the COLLEGE guys could care less about those guys. Part of our job as HS coaches (in my opinion) is to market and publicize as best we can those kids that have the potential to garner scholarship money. I wish that were ALL of them...but the reality is that it's not.

 

If you want to be a D-1 football player stats, max totals, and game films are important to an extent, but those take a backseat to this (sorry, leatherneck, you and the Mayo clinic are right, but this is just the way it is):

* if you're a skilled player, size isn't crucial as long as you run REALLY FAST (and you'd better be timed by a COLLEGE COACH in person at a camp).

* If you're an offensive lineman, you'd better be 6'5 or better. SOME exceptions may be made for SLIGHTLY shorter kids -- but ONLY if they are freakishly strong and/or quick for their size. I've had some VERY good and VERY strong 6'3 O-Linemen that Western and Eastern wanted no part of because they "didn't fit what we're looking for."

* If you're a defensive end, better be 6'4 or better and can RUN like a LB.

* If you're an interior d-lineman, you can be closer to 6'0, but you'd better be HUGE and be able to RUN like kids 50lbs. lighter than you.

 

Great post Coach J. I am a father of a future OL/DL. He can't help it he has always been huge for his age. He is in 5th grade and is 5'7" and 175lbs. That is why I started this thread, as you know OL/DL do not get much ink, so I thought it would be nice to hear about some outstanding linemen. Your comments are right on mark. My son wants (right now) to play college football so bad that it is the only think he talks about. I have preached to him about academics, and he has greater then a 3.5gpa. I have preached to him about his strength, speed, and agility and he has been doing every drill that I throw at him. Hard work is a must, but I know in my heart that if he is not 6'5" and 300lbs that he will not be a D1 or D1AA prospect, but I do not want to bust his bubble. It would be OK with me if he played D2 or D3, but that is not what a young player dreams of.

Great post Coach J. I am a father of a future OL/DL. He can't help it he has always been huge for his age. He is in 5th grade and is 5'7" and 175lbs. That is why I started this thread, as you know OL/DL do not get much ink, so I thought it would be nice to hear about some outstanding linemen. Your comments are right on mark. My son wants (right now) to play college football so bad that it is the only think he talks about. I have preached to him about academics, and he has greater then a 3.5gpa. I have preached to him about his strength, speed, and agility and he has been doing every drill that I throw at him. Hard work is a must, but I know in my heart that if he is not 6'5" and 300lbs that he will not be a D1 or D1AA prospect, but I do not want to bust his bubble. It would be OK with me if he played D2 or D3, but that is not what a young player dreams of.

He is only in 5th grade. Let him dream.