Auburndale home to four D-I prospects

One school that is sometimes overlooked in terms of the amount of talent it produces is Auburndale, Florida. In the class of 2006 the Bloodhounds have four prospects that head coach Bob Williams feels will be signing a Division I scholarship on signing day in February.

The first and maybe top prospect of the bunch is tight end/defensive end Cory Powers who has already been checked out by one national powers head coach.

"Mike Shula came through here in January looking at a senior we had and he wanted to give Corey the eyeball test as well," Williams said. "Alabama invited him up to their junior day and have probably been recruiting him harder than anyone else has."

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Powers runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds, has a 315-pound bench press and 450-pound squat. He also carries a 3.0 GPA.

"Corey had an ACL tear last year so he has been working hard to get back to full health," Williams said. "He has a great work ethic and he knows the game. His dad is an assistant coach here and Corey has played varsity since he was in the eighth grade.

He has good size and strength and he is highly motivated. He is real hungry because he had to sit out his junior year and he is working hard to get back to where he needs to be. He is a very focused young man."

Williams along with all of the other Auburndale prospects will be attending the NIKE camp at Florida State in early May.

"Cory is really open right now, but I do know that he likes Alabama an awful lot because they were on him so early," Williams said.

Auburndale linebacker Antwan Booker also grabbed headlines for the Bloodhounds last fall and is on the radar screen of college coaches.

The 6-foot-0, 240-pound Booker runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 secons, has a 300-pound bench press and 500-pound squat. As a junior he was named second team all-state and has been a three year starter.

"Antwan is a full-grown man," Williams said. "He just totally negates the run game of our opponents. He controls it from sideline to sideline. On the field he loves to hit and go wild, but off the field he is a very quiet kid. He has tremendous potential and just a great nose for the football."

Athlete Demarrio Leverrette is another prospect to keep an eye on this fall. Williams says he is the do-it-all man for his team. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Leverrette runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and carries a 2.5 GPA.

"He is a guy that does a little bit of everything for us from defensive back to wide receiver to quarterback to returning kicks," Williams says. "I think he will end up at strong safety in college though because of his size and speed and he loves to hit. He is already hearing from Michigan and all of the big in-state schools."

Running back Genard Gellishaw is a guy that emerge onto the scene with a good summer camp tour and solid senior season.

"He is a really athletic, elusive back for us," Williams said. "He can make you miss or he can run over you, he just makes the play that needs to be made. He is also a track guy so you know he has speed to get around the edge and make a big play."