Washington Generals
In case you missed it, the state of Washington has developed into one of the top spots for college recruiters to find talent year in and year out. Last year, the state was home to the nation's top running back prospect and this year it is home to five-star prospects Taylor Mays and Stephen Schilling. That's why this year's Rivals.com preseason Washington Top 25 for the class of 2006 is an interesting list to delve into.
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The ranking features 15 players that already have scholarship offers and the list is headlined by Mays, the do-it-all athlete from Seattle O'Dea. Ranked as the No. 6 player overall and the No. 2 athlete, Mays has offers from a who's who in college football.
"Taylor is another great football player for us at this school that does everything you'd want him to do on the field," O'Dea coach Monte Kohler said.
On the field, he's a terror, according to Rivals.com analyst Mike Warchol.
"Even though last year's class was great, almost everybody you talk to said that Taylor was the state's best as a junior," Warchol said. "I agree. The kid has something special that you just can't coach."
Right behind Mays is Schilling, the amazing offensive lineman from traditional power Bellevue. His teammate, receiver Keith Rosenberg is ranked as the No. 9 player on the list, too.
Rivals100 quarterback Jake Locker is ranked as the No. 3 player in the state. The dual-threat quarterback is a terror for Ferndale.
"Not only is Jake a tremendous athlete, but he has the work ethic that all the great ones have," Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said. "Jake is a quality young man and is extremely coachable. Though he's going to get a lot of attention, I don't worry about it going to his head. He just uses the attention as motivation to work at getting better."
Spokane (Wash.) Ferris is home to the state's No. 4 player in defensive tackle Cameron Elisara.
The 6-foot-2, 275-pounder has offers from more than 13 teams. During the very busy month of May, Elisara racked up offers from Arizona, Cal, Washington, Boise State, New Mexico State, Colorado, Northwestern and LSU. The leading contenders for the services of Elisara are Washington, Cal, LSU, Nebraska, Oregon, Stanford, Boise State, Arizona and Arizona State.
Mays' teammate Brandon Jones is ranked as the No. 5 player in the state. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound cornerback has offers from Cal, Boise State and Idaho.
With only Rosenberg committed on the list so far, there is going to be plenty of action this season in the Pacific Northwest and with plenty of quality players to pick from it should be a year to remember.