Junior corner lands first two offers

If you're out West doing some recruiting and you're looking for speed, specifically at the wide receiver position, Long Beach Poly (Calif.) is the place to go. If you want a quarterback, Newhall (Calif.) Hart usually has a Div I signal caller from time to time. But if you're looking for defensive backs, few schools anywhere produce as much talent in the secondary as Fresno (Calif.) Edison.

It seems like Edison has at least one Div I prospect from the secondary and in some years, even two or three. Part of it is the city of Fresno always seems to have a ton of talent but more importantly, the Tigers have one of the best DB coaches anywhere in Tony Perry.

Perry has been at Edison for years, going back to when current Carolina Panther corner Ricky Manning was at the school. Last year, the Tigers had both starting corners sign, Johnny Sears with Michigan, Robert Peele with Cal. This year, safety Charles Amadi has committed to Cal but according to Perry, the best could be yet to come.

"Courtney Viney is only a junior but he's already the best pure cover guy we've ever had here," Perry said. "Now he's a little smaller than some of the other corners we've had but he's very tough and was one of the best tacklers on the team. Peele might be the best all around defensive back we've had but in terms of pure cover ability, Courtney is incredible.

"He's just so quick and has great feet. He plays with great technique and has good recovery speed as well but never needs to use it but he's always right there in the receivers hip pocket. He went down to DeWayne Walkers DB camp this summer and was probably the top player there. There were some real good corners too, Devin Ross (Rancho Cucamonga), Damion Owens from San Leandro, but no one could touch Courtney."

Viney is hearing from schools all over the country and already has a pair of Pac 10 offers to his name.

"Cal and Washington State have both offered," Perry said. "He's hearing from everyone already. Just letters of course but all the Pac 10 schools, Tennessee, LSU, Nebraska, Michigan, Alabama, you name it, they're showing interest. Courtney was already named 1st team all-league this year and he should be all-city. He had 80 tackles and four picks on the season. I know that's a lot of tackles for a corner but we played four wing-T teams who did nothing but run the ball and whenever they ran at Courtney, he would come up and stuff them. I can't wait to see him at all the camps next spring."

At just 5-9, 150 pounds, Viney is a bit undersized at this point but his dad is 6-3 and most expect the corner to continue to grow and mature physically. He's also carrying a 3.2 GPA and has already passed the SAT.