SoCal left tackle has upside

Patrick Carroll (6-5, 270, 5.2) from La Canada (Calif.) St. Francis is a natural left tackle prospect and that alone is going to open up eyes of D-I colleges. Carroll has all the qualities that you look in a left tackle prospect and he isn't even close to being the finished product. His ceiling is incredibly high.

St. Francis head coach Jim Bonds, a D-I college himself knows what it looks like and he's pretty sure he sees it in his young offensive tackle.

"Patrick is definitely a Pac 10 player," Bonds said. "He only turned 16 last July, so he still has a lot of growing to do. I think he could end up a national recruit.

"I really like his pass protection and he did a good job at left tackle for us," Bonds said. "He has long arms and has great reach. He also has outstanding feet.

"Someone is going to be really happy with Patrick," Bonds said. "His upside is tremendous and once he gets a little older and gets man muscle, he's going to be a great college player."

Carroll earned first-team all-league, first-team all-area and first-team all-CIF as a junior.

On the camp circuit, Carroll is planning to attend the NIKE Camp in Los Angeles and it undetermined what team camps, he will attend this spring, but it will be more than likely that he will attend some team camps.

UCLA, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Nebraska are the early birds that are showing Carroll early recruiting interest.

What is Carroll going to look for in a college?

"A good school with a good college environment," Carroll said. "Athletically, a good coaching staff and a good team.

"I would like to be an early commitment."

The scouting report on Carroll is he is a young man with high character and a good work ethic that will help him tap into his vast potential. He's also a good leader on and off the field. He battles whistle to whistle and gives 100 percent from the first play to the last.

Carroll is outstanding in pass protection, but because St. Francis ran out of the gun a lot last season, they didn't have a power running game, so he's working hard on becoming a better drive blocker and he the potential to become as good a run blocker as he is in pass protection. He played mostly out of a two-point stance as a junior.