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The college football recruiting season is in full swing and on a daily basis, prep football players are making their choices and commitments to programs where they believe they will spend the next four to five years.

Some players have a really clear idea of where they want to go and have known all along while others aren’t quite sure and will be rather cautious with their decision. The latter would describe where St. Thomas Aquinas’ (Ft. Lauderdale) cornerback Cody Riggs stands right now.

Riggs has played his cards close to his vest for most of the recruiting process but he has reached the point where he knows he needs to narrow things down and focus on a few schools. With that in mind, Riggs has named his top five schools as Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, Tennessee and FSU.

“Georgia is the leader,” Riggs said. “I got along with their entire coach staff, especially Coach Martinez and Coach Richt,” he added.

There is a lot more for Riggs to like at Georgia along with the coaching staff. This includes Georgia’s beautiful campus and direction they are heading in. Riggs admits that Florida’s campus and facilities impressed him the most but Georgia’s on the upswing.

“Georgia is redoing their weight room and everything was brand new,” Riggs said. “They are doing a lot of good things at Georgia.”

Many had thought Notre Dame was a front runner for Riggs’ services but he said that he was just really impressed with Georgia and that Florida is another school getting strong consideration.

Eventhough Riggs has narrowed things down to five schools, he still wants to wait until after the season to make his choice. With so many other top named players making early commitments, Riggs may feel some serious pressure to make a choice before he originally planned. He admits to feeling pressure from Florida because they are getting commits left and right. However, with Riggs’ stock rising, he may have the power to hold out until season’s end.

One of the interesting questions surrounding Riggs has been his lack of interest or the local college’s (University of Miami) lack of interest. Riggs has not been offered a scholarship by Miami and it would not have mattered if they did.

“I wasn’t going to stay home so I would have been wasting their time,” said Riggs.

Along with sorting out his future, Riggs is also getting focused on the upcoming season. St. Thomas will be defending their High School National Championship and Riggs will be anchoring a secondary that will be considered the best in the country. Riggs will combine with top recruits Keion Payne (transfer from Dillard High School), Brian Robinson and Gridironstuds.com member Reynaldo Kirton to form a formidable quartet of pass defenders.

Riggs is perhaps the best natural corner in the country. Nothing he does on the field looks forced and he has an abundant supply of the best physical tool that a corner needs and that is good feet. He used his great instincts, quick feet and aggressiveness to lock down his opposition last year while nabbing 8 interceptions.

Despite his gaudy numbers and strong performance in his first year as a starter, the respect for Riggs was slow to come. When Rivals and Scout put out their Top 100 list of recruits this year, Riggs was absent from both of them. At some point, the recruiting services woke up.  Rivals now has Riggs ranked 43rd overall and as the 5th rated defensive back in the country.  Scout ranks Riggs as the 7th best corner in the country.

Some may question Riggs’ size (5’9″) but you can’t question his speed (4.38 in the 40) or his skills.   Riggs has taken on some of the best wide outs in the country at the Army Underclassman,  Nike Camp and Under Armour combines.  He made a name for himself by getting in receivers’ hip pockets and denying them the football.  He’s looking forward to displaying his skills on the field again this season.   He credits his natural ability and Aquinas’ defensive back coach Otis Mounds for success.

“He knows what he’s doing (Mounds) and he works with us a lot,” said Riggs.  “He always wants to workout.”

Riggs also said Class of ’09 receivers Duron Carter and Dwayne Difton helped mold him into the corner he is today.  This should come as no surprise as St. Thomas Aquinas always packs a roster of full of top rated talent.   Riggs and friends will be on the field looking to go undefeated again in 2009.  When all is said and done,  Aquinas should make a run at defending their national title and Riggs will be making plans to play at one of the top college football programs in the country.

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Check out Cody Riggs’ Junior Season highlight video

High School Football cody riggs, college football recruiting, florida gators, georgia bulldogs football, high school football, Notre Dame football, St. Thomas Aquinas football, top 2010 defensive backs, top 2010 recruits

We are all sadden to learn of the passing of former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair on July 4, 2009.   With his passing and all of the reflections on his All-Pro career in the NFL,  I was left wondering,  what kind of athlete was Steve McNair in high school.  What I found really surprised me.

McNair obviously brought  a great deal of athleticism to the quarterback position as the signal caller for the Titans,  the team with whom he spent most of his career.   However,  just how great an athlete McNair was in high school was a bit of a surprise.

McNair was a four sport star at Mount Olive High School in Mississippi.   You often hear that said about people but when you look into it you find out that they played four sports.  However,  McNair played and “starred” in four sports at Mount Olive.  He was the star point guard on the basketball team.  On the track team,  McNair ran both short and long distances,  a rear feat indeed.  On the baseball team,  McNair was the team’s shortstop and played outfield.  He did that so well that he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 35th round of the 1991 MLB amateur draft.

Football is where McNair did the most damage.  We’ve all come to know McNair as a great quarterback but in high school,  he was equally devastating to opponents as a defensive back.  McNair totaled 15 interceptions in one season and totaled 30 in his high school career to tie the state mark set by Terrell Buckley.  McNair was a stand out high school football player and was named All American by Super Prep.   McNair was recruited by the likes of LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Ohio St. and Mississippi St.  So how did he end up at Alcorn St.?  Well all of the schools previously mentioned wanted McNair to play defensive back.   McNair had his mind set on playing quarterback and Alcorn St. was willing to allow him to do that.   So,  following in his older brother Fred’s footsteps,  McNair went to Alcorn St. and played quarterback.    The rest as they say is history.   McNair threw for over 3,000 yards ever year he started with the Braves and in his senior year,  he put up over 6,000 yards of total offense and accounted for 53 touchdowns.  He ended up finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting his third season Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter.

General college football, high school football, steve mcnair

The Orlando Sentinel had an extended countdown of the top teams of 2000′s and after much information and debate,  they have voted the Miami Hurricanes the Top Team of the Decade.

Few can argue with this assertion.  A case can be made for the 2004 USC Trojans or the 2005 Longhorns but when you really shake it all out,  the 2001 Miami Hurricane team is not only the best team of the decade,  it’s perhaps the best team of all time.

The ’01 Hurricanes ran through their schedule like a wayward elderly driven Lincoln Continental through a store front.  They blitzkrieged the competition and before a team even unpacked their materials they were staring at a double digit deficit with little hope of closing the gap.  The Washington Huskies were perhaps the most unfortunate of their 2001 opponents as the alumni riled up the team about Washington’s claims of being the real champions of 1991.   A decade later,  it was obvious which program was on top as Miami rolled over them 65-7.   Some will point to the pair of close calls against Boston College and Virginia Tech but the bottom line is that Miami won those games and often times,  team will fall in those instances.

In the final game,  the Rose Bowl,  for all the marbles,  Miami knocked Nebraska and quarterback Eric Crouch senseless, producing a final score of 37-14.  Those watching know that it could have been worse as Miami had a 34-0 half time lead.  In the end,  the 2001 roster produced 38 NFL draft picks,  of which,  17 were first rounders.  Fourteen of those 38 players are starters on NFL teams and as the Orlando Sentinel pointed out,  at least one has a date with Canton (Ed Reed).

The rest of the list went like this:

Two: 2005 Texas Longhorns
Three: 2004 USC Trojans
Four: 2002 Ohio St. Buckeyes
Five: 2000 Oklahoma Sooners
Six: 2008 Florida Gators
Seven: 2006 Florida Gators
Eight: 2003 LSU Tigers
Nine: 2007 LSU Tigers

General 2001 miami hurricanes, Miami Hurricanes, top college football teams of all time, top college teams of the decade

After juggling several schools and enduring a lot of pressure from fans, coaches, etc., Lo Wood chose Notre Dame last week over many schools including Michigan. Wood said the campus, large fan base and the desire to be the first man from Apopka to go to Notre Dame as his biggest factors in choosing the Irish. Check out Wood press conference video below courtesy of Rivals Video:

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