Hazlehurst, Altamonte Springs, Suncook ,Meraux

Due to popular demand, its time for "Meet the Team". In this segement I would like to talk about two true Freshmen who have made an impact on my 2008 team and two commits for the 2009 season.

Bernard Quinn DT, Hazlehurst, MS
At 6'6 309 lbs, this monster (who runs a 4.88 40!!!!!!) was recruited as an ATH. Needing depth at DT and on the OL I didn't expect much for the 3 star recruit, however he came into the season with a suprising 78 overall rating. Then in week 4 he bursts to an 82, this without any PT (must've done good in practice) So I had to put him in the starting lineup and he has been a force in the pass rush ever since. Bernard comes from a small town (4,400 pop) that has a 68% black population and only an average household income of $25,000 --> city info. Of course Quinn is not the most famous resident as Hazlehurst is the birthplace of the one and only blues legend Robert Johnson!

Joel Thompson WR Altamonte Springs, FL
This 5 star inseason recruit with 4.16 speed has lived up to expectations as he was rated the #1 WR in the nation. So far he has 525 yards for 6 TDs and he returns punts and kickoffs. He probably had an easier life than Quinn as Altamonte Springs is a nice little upper middle class town just outside of Orlando. His childhood hero was NBA star and ex-Raptor Tracy McGrady. With his star status throughout high school, he probably slept with 80% of the women listed here on this Altamonte Springs area myspace search.

Stever Ferguson Suncook, NH & Dominic Coles Meraux, LA
Grouped these two 5 star early commits for the 2009 season together because I am hoping that they'll be the Bama equivalent to Cadillac/Brown or Bush/White. The two 5 star recruits with sub 4.4 speed were both sold on the Tide's Prestige, but both come from entirely different backgrounds. Ferguson is from the small river town of Suncook in NH. Some may view him as a carpetbagger but that won't bother him. With only a 0.5% black population (city data) Ferguson spent most of his time on golf courses and fishing on his canoe. He learned his football by playing in summer leagues in nearby Quebec.

Coles on the other hand is from football crazy Louisiana. Meraux is in the Saint Bernad Parish area of New Orleans which in real life (sad story alert) was destroyed by Katrina.

Here is a good article from the New York Times about football being used as a refuge from Katrina. And here is a story about how Bastrop high school is losing its state title on claims that it had illegally recruited kids from hurricane shelters. But as Coach Crutchfield, whose kids were the ones that were recruited, states in the Times article

"Even if rules were technically violated, and some penalty was deserved, Crutchfield said, any player who lost everything in a storm would have been tempted by someone who offered a ride, money, a place to live, a chance to keep playing football. “I might have taken it, too,”