Highland Springs is stacked with talent
Highland Springs, Va. has half a dozen prospects to watch in the 2010 recruiting class. Already one holds an offer and more are getting interest from schools across the country.
Leading the way at Highland Springs for head coach Loren Johnson is 6-foot-0, 272-pound defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins who continues to hold one scholarship from Virginia Tech.
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"Derrick wants to open up his recruiting," he said. "He has one offer from Tech and is interested to see what else is out there. He just finished up basketball and is jumping into the weight room. Now he's getting ready to throw the shot putt for track.
"He is looking at some visits. Boston College is trying to get him up. He's already been to William & Mary and is planning to head to North Carolina on March 28th."
According to Johnson, Hopkins has discussed a few of his top schools.
"He gave me his top five and it includes Georgia, Alabama and Virginia Tech."
What stands out about the lineman on the field?
"Derrick is a phenomenal kid on and off the field," he said. "He does exactly what you want him to do. He comes from a great pedigree and is real competitive. He does some things extremely well for a big guy including using his hands and extending his arms. He's a good kid in the classroom as well."
Hopkins isn't the only player getting interest, speed safety Deshawn Holmes is getting looks too.
"He's getting a lot of feeler interest from many of the same schools," he said. "He's getting a lot of interest letters and he'll get an offer before the summer.
"He is a top track athlete. He's as fast as all get out. He runs a 10.6, 10.5 in the 100 meter. He's a major track athlete."
The 5-foot-11, 189-pounder is a great player too.
"He's aggressive," he said. "In our system he's a strong safety type, he's very physical and is a special teams guy. He blocks kicks and punts for us and is a gunner on the punt team. On a scale of one to ten, he's an 11, he's always a notch above. He's a good student academically too."
While those may be the top prospects for Johnson in 2010, plenty of others are also getting looks.
"Our quarterback Wayne Pugh is now a tight end," he said. "He's at 6-foot-4, 215 or 220. He hurt his wrist last year and we moved him elsewhere. His a good baseball player and knows how to pitch and catch. He's getting interest from a few schools including Miami and Kansas State.
"He was replaced at quarterback by Ja'Quan Burchette. He's 5-foot-11, 200-pounds. He's got a great arm and comes from a great background, his brother was Virginia Tech's Noland Burchette. He really wants to be a college quarterback.
"We also have 5-foot-10, 175-pound cornerback John Saunders. He ran for 1,000-yards as he split the carries in the backfield. He's probably the best cornerback in the region.
"We have another defensive tackle, 6-foot-1, 255-pound Rashad Winston. He gets off the ball great. He does everything he's supposed to."