Everett down to five

There may not be a better all around athlete in the state this year than West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade two way standout Marcus Everett. Not only does Everett dominate on both sides of the ball, he does it in two sports as well.

Everett, 6-1, 190 pounds stars at both wide receiver and cornerback and is getting looks on both sides of the ball.

"Washington State and UCLA like me at receiver, Oregon and Boston College like me at corner," Everett said. "I really don't have a preference, just whatever gets me on the field the fastest is where I want to play."

Everett caught our eye at the SoCal Nike Camp this past summer where he clocked a 4.52 in the 40 and jumped 34 inches in the vertical despite only being in 'basketball shape' at the time. We had always heard Everett, a mid major recruit in hoops, was leaning more to basketball than football, a major reason we haven't covered him as much as his talent would dictate.

"No, football is my sport and where I think I have a better future," Everett said. "There's a lot of 6-1 point guards around but not as many receivers or cornerbacks and I think it's definitely the sport I'll do better in at college."

We recently talked with Chaminade wide receiver coach Roger Hance, father of USC backup quarterback Brandon Hance, who raved about Everett.

"He's the most gifted player I've ever worked with and that includes Steve Smith who I coached for four years at Taft," Hance said. "Marcus is so strong and athletic and he makes at least one or two spectacular catches every game. He's a Larry Fitzgerald type in that whenever the ball is in the air, he's going to come down with it. Steve was like that as well but Marcus is faster and a lot stronger, he's just a great talent."

On the season, Everett caught 63 passes for 1,145 yards and 16 touchdowns. He added 71 tackles and four picks on defense and is a strong candidate for All-State honors. On the recruiting front, the athlete has five schools he’s focusing on right now.

“I have trips lined up with Washington State this weekend (Dec. 5), UCLA (Dec. 19), Oregon (Jan. 9) and Boston College (Jan. 23),” Everett said. “I’m also looking at Oregon State but I haven’t set a date with them yet. It will likely be January 16 if I do set it up. I’m pretty open to all five right now but I could commit early if I’m just blown away on one of my trips.”