Ferrell one to watch in 2009

Linebacker Willie Ferrell is one of the top linebackers in the state of Florida for the Class of 2009 and the Tallahassee (Fla.) FAMU prospect has already received mail from a lot of colleges. At 6-foot-1 and 219 pounds, Ferrell has the speed and athleticism to be a big-time prospect as the recruiting process rolls on.

The hard hitting linebacker from FAMU High School has already established himself as a big play linebacker, and this season Ferrell will be looking to prove he's a consistent force. Ferrell started playing football in the seventh grade and has plenty of untapped potential.

"I've got mail from a lot of schools, but I don't know about verbal offers or anything," Ferrell said. "I don't really care about that. I know a lot of schools will tell you stuff, I'm just waiting to hear about official offers.

"I'd say my favorites right now are Ohio State, Boston College, Tennessee, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and UCLA. I like all the Florida schools, in fact. Florida, Florida State and Miami. I grew up a fan of FAMU but I'm going to be playing Division I-A."

This summer Ferrell attended at NIKE camp and stopped for another camp at Florida State. He enjoyed both experiences and said he performed well.

Ferrell runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and is good at getting into the backfield and making plays. He said he plays both ways at the high school level but should be recruiting exclusively as an outside or middle linebacker.

"I've got a lot of speed," he said. "I'm very quick. That's probably the best part about my game. I can hit too."