Mansfield Summit LB moving up charts

Mansfield (Texas) Summit might be a new school, but it’s busting with Division I talent and one of the best in the bunch of fast rising prospects in the Lone Star state is outside linebaker/defensive end Deon Hightower.

“Deon has a chance to be a really special player in college,” Summit coach Tim Beck said. “He’s just coming into his own.”

And a big reason why is Hightower’s love for the game of football.

“The competitiveness is the best thing I love about football,” Hightower, who is 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, said. “In Texas football is the greatest and it’s all about the competition. I think I have a high motor with a lot of intensity.”

It’s that drive and his playmaking ability that has allowed Hightower to move up the list of college coaches. He’s currently ranked as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com and he’s holding scholarship offers from Kansas and Tulsa, but is getting regular recruiting calls from Tulsa, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas A&M and Baylor.

“I enjoy building relationships with the coaches,” Hightower said. “Coach Doren from Kansas is a real nice guy. He’s like the defensive coaches at my school. He reminds me a lot of our defensive coordinator. Then coach Phillips at Tulsa knows my defensive line coach and they’re also so much alike.”

Expect Kansas and Tulsa to get official visits, but Hightower said he’s not in a rush to make a decision at this point.

Hightower hopes to lead Summit to a big victory over rival Mansfield on Friday night. The victory would push Summit to 7-0 on the season and continue its streak of dominance for a school that’s only been playing varsity football for two years.

“If we play with controlled emotion and a lot of heart, we’ll win,” Hightower said. “But it’ll be a war.”