Westlake features 2007 duo with offers
Plenty of colleges are already well aware of the Austin (Texas) Westlake pair in quarterback Nick Foles and offensive tackle Matt Nader.
Westlake coach Derek Long says that it doesn't surprise him one bit that both kids are already having big recruiting processes. Nader was the first to be found with offers but now Foles has joined the club.
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Regardless of who's offers came out first, it's pretty obvious that both prospects are two top targets for 2007.
"Well I'm sure glad to have them coming back," Long said about his top two players. "You know, since just taking over this job in 2003, this is the first year we're going to have had a quarterback starting for two years. It just worked out always where we had a senior step up."
That quarterback is Foles, standing at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, had a strong junior year to say the least He put together 2,069 yards and 19 touchdowns with only four interceptions. With those numbers, it's not hard to figure out why he received his first two offers.
"Ole Miss and Duke are the two offers that I know which have come through for Nick," Long said about his signal caller. "I was sitting here with one prominent head coach while he watched the tape and I mentioned that Nick had an offer or two already."
"He looked at me and said that 'after seeing this, he'll have a lot more.'"
Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and UTEP have all expressed a lot of interest but coach Long says that those are just the ones that come to mind off the top of his head.
For a while, it looked like basketball was going to be the sport for Foles. Growing up, he made the hardwood his home. This past summer though, a change happened, and the big young man decided to switch his focus.
"He just decided to spend more time with football," Long said. "So he put in the work as far as throwing the ball and perfecting his connection with the receivers. He was always taller, but he focused on basketball so the weight kind of came on once he switched."
Foles was a first-team all-district member for football, honorable mention all-CenTex, and an academic all-district selection as well.
The gunslinger is not the only top prospect on the team. Many are already well aware of the offensive tackle Nader. The 6-foot-6 prospect is now over 300 pounds and having an extremely successful recruiting campaign so far as well.
Duke, LSU, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech got involved with written offers first.
"Those are the four for Matt at this point," Long said. "There are going to be a lot more coaches that come through this spring. I told him the same thing I told Nick – if he has the opportunity to visit a ton of schools that he's interested in, to do it."
"That way he can make sure he has seen the college he wants to go to."
Long says his star offensive lineman has the total package.
"Well he's got that big frame but then also really good feet," Long said about Nader. "You get all of these passing teams that have long-armed offensive lineman which keep the defense off the quarterback. We're a 50-50 run-pass team, so I think they notice that Matt can do both."
His coach says that the quick Austin prospect gets off the ball quickly, but also does something that is rare in high school players: he finishes the block.
Nader was a first-team all-district selection, second-team all-CenTex, and second-team all-state as a junior. Like Foles, he was an all-district academic selection as well.
"Matt isn't done growing yet," he said. "We worked him in the middle of his sophomore year and from then, he became a starter. He's going to have plenty of options in recruiting in the next few months."