Gwinnett County school loaded

Grayson, Ga., coach Mickey Conn helped guide his squad to the Georgia 8AAA championship last season and he’s hoping to do it again this year. Fortunately for him, he’s got one of the Southeast’s top line prospects to assist him and two sleeper recruits that are bound to earn attention from the college coaches.

The star linemen that helped open up holes on offense and chase down running backs on defense is 6-foot-5, 270-pound Lorenzo Washington.

“He’s a player for sure,” Conn said. “Lorenzo is a kid with great character, but it’s his size and speed that have the college coaches really excited.”

That’s for sure. Washington has been clocked at 4.7-seconds in the 40-yard dash, has great footwork on drive blocks and passing situations and can chase down opponents from sideline-to-sideline on defense.

“I think a lot of that can be attributed that he keeps up to football outside of school,” Conn said.

“He watches it on TV and keeps up with hit. He’s also committed to workouts and doing the things that gets him better. That’s the little stuff that the coaches love.”

Now the question with Washington is what position will he play in college? Most coaches project him as a future offensive lineman, but a few others have already offered him to play on the defensive side of the ball.

“I think he has the ability to do both,” Conn said. “South Carolina has offered him as a defensive lineman. Georgia is talking about offensive line. You know how it goes. Where he goes will probably determine what side of the ball he ends up on.”

Like Conn said, South Carolina has already offered Washington a scholarship and Georgia has already expressed that an offer would come once Washington passes his college boards. Other teams that have expressed heavy interest in Washington include Alabama, Ohio State, Maryland, Auburn and North Carolina.

“The coaches that come through here all say that he’s a national level recruit, and I believe them,” Conn said. “Lorenzo is one of those special kids and special players.”

Conn also pointed out that his smallish, but speedy running back Kareem Togba is also getting interest from the college coaches.

Togba, who is 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, is one of the fastest players in the state of Georgia. He recently finished first in Gwinnett County with a 10.5 second 100-meter dash time and also racked up 1,300 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns last season. Those stats were good enough to put him on the all-county team, along with solid Division I recruit Brad Lester at Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview.

“He’s a good player,” Conn said. “I think he has the ability to be a college running back, but with his size and speed you could easily project him at cornerback or running back. I think he’s most talented at running back, but with his speed you can see why some of the schools are thinking corner.”

Togba is also one of those unassuming quiet leaders, Conn said.

“He’ll run the ball into the end zone and then turn around and hand the ball to the referee,” Conn said. “He’s the complete team player.”

Togba does not have any scholarship offers at this point, mainly because some teams are concerned about his height and weight, but Conn said if given the chance somebody is going to get a real steal here.

“The same schools that looked at Lorenzo liked Kareem,” Conn said. “But I think somebody is going to get themselves a heck of a player with Kareem. He’s one of those guys you want on your team. He’s a winner.”

Conn also said offensive lineman John Russell (6-4, 240, 4.8) is getting some attention from the college coaches. Russell also plays basketball and is one of those quiet warriors you want on your team.

“He never misses anything,” Conn said. “He comes to play every practice and every game.”