Mesquite has two stars to look at
Mesquite, Texas, is home to one of the top overall programs in the state of Texas. And when coach Steve Halpin says that he has players that will be Division I recruits, then you know that he’s got good players.
At the top of the list probably has to be Randy Duncan, a hard-hitting 6-foot-4, 190-pound safety. On film review, Duncan flies to the football with reckless abandon and could be one of the state’s top 50 players.
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But for some reason he’s a guy that many recruiting fans haven’t talked about.
“He’s kind of slipped in under the radar so far,” Halpin said.
“I think that’s mainly because he missed five games because of a concussion. He’s such a hard hitter that we had to sit him out for a bit last season.”
Halpin said the concussion came in the game against Abilene Cooper.
“They had a big ole kid at running back,” Halpin said. “Randy came up and hit him pretty hard and got his bell run a little bit. Then the next play, the receiver came across and crack-blocked him. He didn’t even see the guy coming and it flat knocked him out.”
Duncan didn’t want to be knocked out for long, Halpin said he had to hold his star safety out of the next few games for medical reasons. But if you were to ask Duncan, he would have been back in the next few plays.
“We ended up having to move him to cornerback to minimize collisions,” Halpin said. “We know that he’s a free safety by nature, but he’s good enough to play corner for us. But when he gets to college, he’ll be a very impressive safety prospect.”
Duncan is one that’s already starting to draw college attention. He does not have any scholarship offers at this point, but schools like Arizona, SMU, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Colorado are all interested.
“Every coach that has come through here so far has really liked him,” Halpin said. “He’ll have plenty of offers to look at by the time he’s done.”
Duncan isn’t the only player that Halpin will send to the next level in the Class of 2004. College coaches are also excited about offensive guard David Thompson.
“He’s 6-foot-4, 335-pounds and he’s a mean blocker,” Halpin said.
“He’s really physical, too. He’s got a 390-pound bench-press and a 525-pound squat. He really gets after it.”
Like Duncan, Thompson did miss some of his junior season because of an injury.
“David missed three games but then came back against Tyler Lee and played great,” Halpin said. “I think it’s clear, though, that his best football is ahead of him.”
Mesquite is also home to some of the state of Texas’ top underclassmen.
Halpin said to look out for linebacker Mark Green, a 5-foot-11, 230-pound tackling machine that has been a starter since he was a true freshman. He goes into his junior season as one of the Lone Star State’s best prospects for 2005.
And athlete/quarterback Reggie Fish is a 5-foot-7, 140-pounder that tears it up and if he continues to grow has a shot at being a top 30 player in Texas next season.
“We’re loaded for next year,” Halpin said. “We’re loaded. Coaches are already talking about our juniors-to-be. Mark is a guy that all the coaches will be after.”