Junior To Watch: Ryan Poles

Junior to Watch: Ryan Poles

School: Canandaigua, N.Y.

Position: Offensive tackle

Size and speed: Ryan is 6-foot-5, 285 pounds and runs a 5.15 40-yard dash. He has a maximum bench press of 300 pounds.

Statistics: Ryan has allowed only one sack in two years as a starter and last season had more than 30 pancake blocks. He also snaps for extra points and field goals. As a defensive tackle he had 50 tackles, five sacks, two fumble recoveries, 10 pressures and 14 tackles for loss. Ryan is also a center on his high school basketball team and this past season averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds per game and set a school record with 17 blocked shots in one game.

Honors: All-league, all-region, second team all-state

Favorite Schools: At this time Ryan has no favorites, but has received interest from more than 25 schools such as Penn State, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin, Boston College, Ohio State and others. He also has an offer from Syracuse.

Skinny: Only 16 years old, this mammoth offensive tackle should be rated as one of the top linemen in the country this year and will have recruiters banging down his door over the months to come. A few college recruiters already label him as the best offensive lineman prospect in the state of New York.

Ryan comes from good stock, his father and one uncle played football at Boston College and another uncle played at the University of Tennessee.

"Ryan is getting letters from so many schools it's hard to keep up," said his father. "He might go to Tennessee for their summer camp and maybe a few others. Were still deciding on that."

Not only is he big, but he’s also an excellent athlete. He comes off the ball hard and fast and dominates defenders. Getting around him is equally as hard with his long arm span and quick feet.

The town of Canandaigua in upstate New York is surely not known as the Mecca of high school football, but Ryan is one player that should help put them on the map. Word is out about an offensive tackle from a little town far away from most major cities, but that won’t stop recruiters from finding him. Expect Ryan to have plenty of more offers before the end of the summer.