Clear Brook has three D-I prospects

Coach Edward Arledge has coached high school football for 18 years, including stops at places like Aldine Nimitz. He's now the coach at Friendswood (Texas) Clear Brook and he has three talented Division I recruits in the class of 2006 that are ready to emerge on the Midlands recruiting scene.

Probably the biggest – or maybe the smallest to be honest – prospect on the Clear Brook roster is 5-foot-5, 160 pound running back Carlos Frank. Sure some will scoff when they see his vitals, but for anybody that sees him play, they know he's got talent in the mold of other great college small backs like Darren Sproles or Quentin Griffin.

"The size didn't stop guys like Quentin Griffin from being a big time college running back," Arledge said. "He left Nimitz right after I got there, and I tell you that if somebody takes a chance on Carlos like somebody took a chance on Quentin then somebody will be happy. If you can overlook the prototype running back and take a shot at a kind like him, then they're going to be very, very happy.

"It's my job to find a place for him, and we're going to give him every opportunity to showcase his skill this year."

What Frank lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and big-play ability.

"This past spring he ran a 4.39 and a 4.41 back-to-back," Arledge said. "He started for us as a sophomore and has had 2,600 yards the past two years. This year we're going to use him on punt and kickoff return and we'll put him in the slot and try to get him in space.

"He's just hard to catch when he's behind all those big offensive linemen. He uses his blocks well and has the strength to also run over somebody if he has to."

At this point, Frank has been getting tons of mail from Big 12, Conference USA and Mountain West programs. He has yet to earn an offer, and Arledge is hoping that somebody will take a big chance on a smaller back with big-time ability.

Defensive end Broderick Davis might have the best shot at ending up at the Division I level from Clear Brook. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder is a great leader on and off the field, his coach said.

"He is one of our leaders on our leadership council, and he's a quiet guy that leads by example," Arledge said. "His family has very, very high expectations for him, and the kid has been great. He started at defensive end for us as a sophomore, and we used him in our 4-2-5 defense as a standup defensive end.

"He's already been recognized by the Houston Touchdown Club as one of the top defensive guys in the Greater Houston area. He doesn't have any offers quite yet, but once people see him play as a senior, he'll have plenty of them to pick from."

Inside linebacker Kevin Whitaker measured at 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds at the Rivals.com Houston Junior Day and he'll team up with junior linebacker [db]Anthony Smith[/db] to form one of the best linebacker batteries in Houston.

"The ability Kevin has to get to the ball is incredible," Arledge said. "He doesn't just freeze there and read the play. It's easy to chase down the ball at an angle. He does an excellent job of filling and scraping."

Iowa, LSU, Texas A&M and some smaller schools have been showing Whitaker interest at this point.

Arledge did point out that Smith, who is 6-2 and 200 pounds, that he might be one of the top juniors in Houston.

"I've been coaching for a long time, and I've never had two inside linebackers like this," Arledge said. "Any time you can get two kids that are 6-2 or 6-3, then you're going to have something to work with."