Junior college ranking doubles in size
[rl]The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Rivals.com has updated its junior college rankings to include 100 players now from all over the country. While many new players were added to the ranking, many moved up, and several moved in or out of the ranking, there wasn't a change at the top.
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Visalia (Calif.) College of the Sequoias cornerback Woodny Turenne is still Rivals.com's selection for the top junior college player in the country. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound cover corner remains one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation and his potential on the next level is amazing.
"Woodney is a tremendous cover corner that has great size, blistering speed and impeccable character," College of the Sequoias assistant Andy Siegal.
"There are too few kids in college football that have his athletic ability mixed with his character. Woodney is what an A plus American is supposed to be."
Turenne has good football in his blood. His cousin is Tennessee Titan and former Dodge City C.C. All-American Reynaldo Hill.
"He's a lot like Reynaldo, but Reynaldo isn't as fast as Woodney," Siegal said. "Woodney will play on Sundays if he stays healthy."
A native of Florida, Turenne left home for the opportunity to play college football at its highest level. After a great freshman season at Sequoias, Turenne now has his pick of schools. Florida remains highest on his list after a September official visit, but other schools like Kentucky and Louisville have trips set with him and Michigan, USC, Ole Miss and Cal have also been linked with him.
Moving up to No. 2 on the list is Marysville (Calif.) Yuba linebacker Mike Reed was named defensive player of the year in his league, and that dominating performance was removed with a bump up in rankings to the five-star level. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder was a true head-hunter this season, and he's expected to come in and play early at Oklahoma.
"He's really understanding the defense so much better now that he's been here more than a year," Yuba defensive coordinator Tomas Rodriguez said. "He understands what teams are trying to do to him and how they game plan around him. He understands what he must do now to get around those types of things and still make a lot of plays.
"He's also so much better at understanding what we want out of him as a leader and quarterback of the defense. He's finally gotten to the point where he knows what our system is like and he's letting all that natural stuff come through."
San Francisco (Calif.) City College of San Francisco receiver Kenny O'Neal had his struggles when he was at Florida State. Despite having amazing speed and a boat-load of talent he was never able to develop into the impact receiver the Seminoles needed.
He ended up at City College of San Francisco and all observers out there say he's a changed man. That change has allowed him to climb to No. 3 in the Rivals.com junior college rankings.
"The thing that makes Kenny so unique is that he is a legitimate 10.2 something meter guy," City College coach George Rush said. "He is tough. He is a football player that can run track and not a track guy that plays football.
"He is such a good team player. He came in here with the high-profile guy that he was and the background that he came in with. He said, 'Coach you can use me anywhere I can help the team.' Sometimes you get transfers, especially the high-profile guys, and they all think they are doing you a favor for being there. He is the opposite. He just wants the team to win and then have another opportunity at Division-I play."
He's going to get that opportunity at Tennessee, the school he recently committed to.
Michael Ricks of Booneville (Miss.) Northeast C.C. is the top-ranked player in Mississippi and the No. 4 player overall. He's followed by Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. safety Gary Chandler at No. 5. Ricks is just beginning to go through the recruiting process, while Chandler committed to Kansas State late last month.
Following that group is Milledgeville (Ga.) Georgia Military defensive tackle Jarius Wynn at No. 6, defensive end William Tukuafu of Mesa (Ariz.) Mesa C.C. at No. 7, running back P.T. Gates of Mission Viejo (Calif.) Saddleback C.C. at No. 8, linebacker/safety Larry Asante of Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville Community College at No. 9 and quarterback Zac Lee of City College of San Francisco at No. 10.
Wynn is heading to Georgia, Tukuafu is a Arizona commitment, Gates has made a soft pledge to Colorado and Lee is enrolling at semester at Nebraska. Asante likes Nebraska and Arkansas, followed by Kansas State and Clemson. He also visited Iowa State, but the Cyclones' coaching change have pushed them down the list.