Haggins loves him at DT and believes that he can put on the necessary +30 lbs to play effectively at the 3tech. From watching his film, he has elite high D1 calibre initial technique and burst; the two most important things a 3 tech DT needs.

I hope we land him.

Talented DT are so tough to find (WR’s are a dime a dozen), and Ash certainly has the makings of a future NFL player. He’s a legit 6’3" and weighed 263 at the NIKE Camp last week. He is very light on his feet, and the video of him doing agility drills at the NIKE Camp (stupid ESPN make me take it down!!) is what USC liked the most. There is serious USC interest and I think they offer him after spring ball is over in May.

A kid that agile at 263 is great, but Ash will add a bunch more weight. You can just see the kid jumping to 290 with ease once in college. He does play too high right now, but that’s not because he’s stiff, just poor technique.

I feel for teamate Antonio Ford (6’3" 255). Same body as Ash, but got limited tick at DT after an ankle injury. He also missed the NIKE Camp so that didn’t help. I think he’s could be a big time DT as well, just hasn’t quite landed some of the big time offers that Ash has of yet.

Who would ever think a college could fill their DT need for a class at Pahokee HS alone!!

UF did this with Lakeland in 2007. They signed:

SS Ahmad Black
OL Mark Pouncy
OL Mike Pouncy
RB Chris Rainey
DB Steve Wilks
WR Paul Wilson
NT John Brown

All from Lakeland in. Seven players! Now, granted, there was some serious natural talent in that group, but there’s no doubt that the familiarity, reflexively-motivated sense of pride in their school, the community-effect to win, and intra-competition made everyone better. Ahmad has started for the last 1.5 years on arguably the best secondary in the Country; the Pouncy’s have started since their freshman years on an SEC OL, Chris Rainey put up like 550 yards rushing in his freshman season last year, and Wilson / Wilkes have provided quality depth for competition during practice.

The other key aspect of bringing in groups of players from the same school is the mutual support system. We FSU fans know the Pouncey’s attitude issues and sense of entitlement all too well; we know Chris Rainey’s propensity for getting paid. There’s little doubt in my mind that had any of those three gone to a different school, those issues would have bubbled over into suspensions. Even John Brown, who was kicked off becuase he has a serious and legitimate learning disorder, was kept eligible and miraculously qualified to begin with.

And, at Miami in 2008, from Miami Northwestern:

NT Marcus Fortson
QB Jacory Harris
WR Aldarius Johnson
OL Benjamin Jones
LB Sean Spence
WR Tommy Streeter
WR Kendall Thompkins (may not resign after Juco, though)
OL Brandon Washington

and from Booker T Washington:

WR Therion Collier
CB Brandon Harris
WR Davon Johnson

With those two classes, Miami effectively made it a birthright to go from the two best programs in Dade country to da U. Something we plan to do with the best program in SC, Byrnes; the best program in southern Georgia, Lowndes; and maybe the best program in the state of Florida; Pahokee.

If Miami is to have success this year or the next, it will undoubtedly come from those two cadres of players. A legitimate argument can be made that by 2010, no less than 8 will be starting, and all should receive major playing time in some capacity. Not a single player from either group has got into any trouble, an amazing thing considering these are elevated kids in South Beach.

It gets even tricker because Kenbrell graduated HS in ’06 and Kendall in ’08 yet this year was the first year of college for both.