Miami has many more blue-chippers

Editor’s Note: Last week Rivals.com Southeast recruiting analyst Jeremy Patterson spent five days touring high schools in Dade and Broward counties collecting film and scouting the top players in the country's biggest talent pool.

Patterson will chronicle his tour of the 19 high school trip by summarizing each day of our trip for the next five days, writing about the corresponding day of the week. He continues with his visits from last Tuesday.

Miami- The day started off with a trip to Miami South Miami to meet with a prospect that Rivals.com had been wanting to learn more about for quite sometime, offensive lineman Simon Codrington.

Simply put, Codrington is a huge kid and every inch of the 6-foot-7, 260 pounds he is listed at. He is very lean and has the frame to add plenty of weight once on the college level. He already has several big time offers and more could be on the way with a big senior season.

South Miami wide receiver/cornerback Patrick Robinson is also beginning to see interest pick up on the recruiting front. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Robinson ran a 4.38 second 40-yard dash at a camp over the summer and is receiving quite a bit of interest from some major Division I programs.

Up next on the list was Miami Norland High School to gather film on four-star tight end/defensive end Richard Gordon. While at Norland Rivals.com learned more about another pair of defenders for the Vikings.

Gary Watts, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound defensive end that runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds is an impressive specimen. At this point Watts looks more like a linebacker, but it is easy to see that he has a great frame to grow and his athleticism shows up big time on film. He has already picked up several Division I offers.

Another defender that has picked up Division I offers for the Vikings is 6-foot-2, 223-pound linebacker Garrett White. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and looks as good physically as any linebacker we’ve seen this year. He is tenacious on film and already has the size to play linebacker in college.

After driving another 30 minutes to the north our next stop was Lauderdale Lakes (Fla.) Boyd Anderson to check out Florida commitment Gerald Williams. From a physical standpoint Williams may have been the most impressive player we saw, rivaled only by another Florida commit and Williams close friend Vladimir Richard.

After watching Williams highlights and getting another look at him in person, he is a freak of nature. He has the size to play defensive end and the speed to play linebacker.

Boyd Anderson has one of the top junior quarterbacks in the Sunshine State in 6-foot-4, 190-pound Herbert Bynes. He was invited to the NIKE camp as a junior and has a great arm. He is also a very mobile quarterback that will definitely fit under the dual threat category. It should be mentioned that He has a younger brother named Josh Bynes, who is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds and will be starting as a sophomore this year at linebacker and will be a player to keep an eye on over the next couple of years.

One of the prospects we were most excited about visiting was Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage wide receiver/cornerback Donovan Baldwin. Some feel that the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Baldwin may be one of the most underrated prospects in the South.

He certainly has the build of a college corner and looks impressive on film. Baldwin burst onto the recruiting scene when he posted the fastest 40 time at Georgia’s senior camp over the summer. The Bulldogs may be the team to watch with Baldwin as there seems to be a strong mutual interest between the two. Another interesting side note is that Georgia defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder was the head coach at American Heritage in the 80’s.

Biggest stock increase: There was little doubt that Norland’s Richard Gordon was one of the top players in the country before this trip, but up until last week we had no film to evaluate. Now we do and all that can be said is wow! When you see his clips, especially at tight end, you will be asking the same question we found ourselves asking, “How can someone so big run that fast?”

Sleeper that emerged: Norland is known for producing several Division I prospects every year and this year is no different. Even with several prospects on the radar there may be one you have not heard about and there is a good reason for that. Offensive tackle Abel West, is a 6-foot-4, 280-pound athletic big man that will be playing his first year of football as a senior. Many college coaches noticed him in spring practice and will be keeping an eye on him this fall.

Top junior: Lauderdale Lakes (Fla.) Boyd Anderson quarterback Herbert Bynes is expecting to put up impressive numbers as a junior. He started as a sophomore and attended the NIKE camp in Miami this past April as an upcoming junior. Many believe he is one of the top signal callers in the Sunshine State for the class of 2006.