Metoyer tops prep school rankings

PREP RANKINGS: Preseason Prep School Top 30

The 2012 Rivals.com Preseason Prep School Top 30 has been released and while it appears to be a bit of a down year when it comes to depth at the prep school level, there are many stars at the top of the list, led by 2011 Oklahoma signee Trey Metoyer, a five-star wide receiver. Metoyer just arrived at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military at the end of last week and will play his first game this weekend and the 6-foot-2, 198-pounder easily leads the rankings this year.

Metoyer, from Whitehouse, Texas, was ranked as the No. 2 wide receiver in the country last year and was No. 12 overall. He just started practicing with Hargrave and has already impressed head coach Troy Davis.

"I have been very impressed," said Davis. "I've heard about how big and strong his hands are and it's true, the football looks like a toy in his hands. He is very explosive off the line and he has some very good counter moves so we're excited about him. He reminds me a little bit of Martavis Bryant from last year because his hands are like glue. We've had some great receivers like Dwight Jones and others who have been five stars, but Trey is more consistent with his hands."

Metoyer is the only five-star in the prep rankings so far in 2012 and the first since offensive tackle Bobby Massie in 2009. He is followed in the rankings by four different prospects ranked as four-stars, a low number any other year. However, that takes nothing away from defensive back Gerod Holliman, linebacker Steven Daniels, athlete Jerell Adams and offensive tackle Isaiah Battle.

Holliman, a 6-foot-0, 180-pounder who played at Miami (Fla.) Southridge, is at New Berlin (N.Y.) Milford Academy and has impressed head coach Bill Chaplick.

"He is a natural defensive back, a ballhawk who has a great feel for the defense and is a top athlete," said Chaplick of the Louisville signee. "He gives 110-percent every play, he's a very coachable kid - a coach's dream - and he's a hitter as well. He has our hit of the game twice already. He's the complete package."

Daniels, a 6-foot-0, 225-pounder from Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier, checks in at No. 3 and will be playing at Worcester (Mass.) Worcester Academy. The hard-hitting linebacker make his presence known right away according to head coach Dave Dykeman.

"First off, he's a great young man with good character and he has fit in here quickly," said Dykeman of the Boston College signee. "He's fun to watch and I'm glad he's on our team because we can't block him. He's relentless, has great instincts and he does things on the field most people wouldn't be able to see. He has natural instincts, things you can't teach. His football IQ is off the charts and he's always around the football."

Rounding out the four stars are Adams, a South Carolina signee, and Battle, a Clemson signee, who are both playing for head coach John Shuman at Fork Union (Va.) Fork Union Military.

"Adams is better than I thought he'd be," said Shuman. "He's playing h-back for us and he catches the ball well, he blocks well and he can really stretch the field. With all the issues we've had with the earthquake, hurricane and all the practice we've missed, we didn't think we'd stretch the field so early but he's picked that up. For Battle, he plays both defensive end and offensive tackle for us and he reminds me of Morgan Moses, he has great feet for a big guy and good length but he's raw and he will get better as he learns things. I think he'll be better for us later on as an offensive tackle, but he impacted right away on defense."

There are also many highly-regarded three stars in the group that have been signed and placed or committed to BCS programs. Former Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville quarterback Cardale Jones is at Fork Union as a sign and place by Ohio State and is joined by offensive tackle Jamar Lewter (Marshall), offensive tackle Quincy McKinney (South Carolina), wide receiver Robert Lockhart (Virginia Tech), offensive tackle Taylor Gadbois (Miami) and others at Fork Union.

At Milford, running back Montrell Dobbs (UConn), athlete Carlos Carvajal (Purdue), athlete Ashton Broyld (Syracuse) and offensive lineman Curtis Williams (Western Kentucky) highlight the group.

At Hargrave, linebacker Christian Russell (North Carolina), defensive tackle Kevin Dodd (Clemson) and defensive end Desimon Green (Texas Tech) all have big-time talent.

One other program, Atlanta Sports Academy in Georgia, has two of the top 20 prep prospects on our pre-season list in linebacker Kent Turene (Georgia) and defensive back Corey Tindal (Florida International).

In the top 30, there are other prospects in addition to those mentioned above that were signed and placed at prep school or committed. Defensive back Charles Davis is headed to Rutgers, athlete Chris Hall is headed to Virginia Tech, wide receiver Adrian Gamble is headed to Virginia, tight end Rakim Reed is headed to Milford, wide receiver Levern Jacobs is headed to Marshall, athlete Tyree Smallwood is headed to Syracuse, linebacker Raysean Richardson is headed to Temple and defensive back Jevonte Pitts is headed to Pitt.

Fork Union leads the way with 13 players in the top 30 followed by Milford (9), Hargrave (4) and then the Atlanta Sports Academy (2) and Worcester Academy (2).

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