- Alter High School’s got a crop of 2013 players that are already getting looks: athlete Greg Hart, center Cody Collins and QB Malik Zaire. All three have been seen by recruiting coaches from Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Northwestern, and Boston College, and they’ve gotten invites to one-day camps at Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan State, Northwestern, Cincinnati.
- 2012 Centerville running back Chris Barr is hitting the weight room hard as he works on his speed and strength. He ran a 4.52 in the 40 this week, and he’s benching 310 and leg pressing 875pounds. That’s gotten him a lot of invites to summer camps including sessions at Stanford, Boston College and Syracuse. Barr’s currently carrying a 3.68 GPA.
- 6-4, 275-pound tackle Tommy Brown from Southeastern High School in South Charleston (Springfield) has been getting a lot of attention from MAC schools, and a few Big Ten schools are starting to show interest, too. Brown – who has a 3.3 GPA and scored a 23 onthe ACT – has lined up 10 summer camps where he hopes to draw even more interest. He’s working hard in the weight room to make that happen, having benched 455 pounds recently.
- During the most recent quarter, 2012 Safety/OLB Nick Simones (5-9, 176) from Vandalia-Butler High School maintained a 4.5 GPA. That – along with a 29 on the ACT – has garnered him some attention from Brown University. Other schools have taken note, too, including Miami of Ohio, Ashland and Pennsylvania. In the weight room, Simones is now benching 255, squatting 500 and cleaning 245. He’s also gotten his 40 time down to 4.6.
- 2012 Danny Thimons from Alter is getting looks at linebacker and safety after earning a spot on the 2nd–team GCL last fall and earning the Most-Improved Junior Award on his 11-3 team. The 6-2, 195-pounder has visited Miami of Ohio twice and taken trips to Ohio University and Ball State. Thimons also plans to attend Case Western’s Recruiting Day. A number of schools have stopped to see Thimons at Alter, including Ohio University, Youngstown, Wooster, Dayton, Albany, Malone and Ashland. Youngstown State projects Thimons as a safety at the next level. His best two games last fall came against Cincinnati McNicholas and a tough Centerville squad that featured OSU commit Michael Bennett. Thimons logged 13 tackles against Centerville.
- Attending camp is a necessity for young quarterbacks looking to get recruited. Coaches want to see the QB throw and evaluate not just their arm, but their athletic skills, talents and leadership. 2012 QB Zach Newsock of Xenia High School will attend at least six camps in June starting with Toledo (June 5). He’ll also throw at Ohio State, U.C., Miami of Ohio, Indiana and Bowling Green (at Lakota West High School). In addition, a number of coaches have stopped by Xenia to see Newsock play including Indiana, Miami of Ohio, Toledo, Bowling Green, Wisconsin and the University of Cincinnati. Newsock also plans to attend Junior Days at Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, and Miami of Ohio. The rising senior has kept busy this spring as a starting second- or third-baseman on the Xenia’s varsity baseball team. He’s currently batting .375 with an on-base percentage of .410 – stats that put third in hitting on the team. Xenia will take on Springboro (May 19) at the University of Wittenberg, and a win will advance the baseball team to Districts to face the Vandalia-Butler or Wayne.
