Several Memphis prospects this year

I generally focus a lot on middle Tennessee prospects but there will be several high-level prospects this year in the Memphis area. The Commodores have already been involved with a few of these prospects such as White Station linebacker Fred Harvey, Christian Brothers linebacker Jonathan Brown, Memphis University School's Keith McBride and Barry Brunetti, Evangel Christian's Harrison Jones and Whitehaven talents Tony Jefferson and Ferlando Bohanna. There's also other prospects like Ridgeway's Justin Maclin and Manassas O.C. Brown that are rated as four-stars.

However, there's several other high-level prospects that the Dores (and other teams) either can't recruit or are currently evaluating. I thought I'd take the time to point out a good bit of these guys.

At Melrose High, there will be several guys that will get good looks from SEC, ACC, Big East, CUSA or other conferences. First is running back Joshua Calhoun. He's a 5-foot-9, 175-pound runner with good quickness. Eric Watson, who starred at Olive Branch (Miss.) last year, is also apparently at Melrose now and if that's the case, Calhoun may get overshadowed. Still, I expect Calhoun's talent to at least give him CUSA consideration. If Watson does indeed suit up for Melrose (there's been rumors of him going back to Olive Branch), he will certainly get an opportunity with a BCS team. In fact, I think Texas Tech might be close to offering him. On defense, Melrose has a trio of good looking defensive linemen in Blarrington Ellis, Lawrence Peterson and Lorenzo Davis. Ellis will probably end up as a DT in college, no matter what level he's at. Peterson, I think, is more of a linebacker than an end..I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up as a 6-foot-2, 220-pound weakside backer in college. Davis will need to put on more weight (only 200 pounds) but he's great solid natural ability and should probably end up somewhere if his grades are decent. Probably the strength of Melrose will be their secondary and two guys to watch here are Lequinton Peppers and Eric Hall. I believe that the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Peppers has already picked up a few CUSA/Sun Belt offers and a couple of Big 12 schools like Colorado are showing interest. Hall is a bigger corner and may get looks as an "athlete". 6-foot-1, 190-pound Johnathan Crawford is another Melrose DB who will get looks.

While Harvey is probably the biggest recruit at White Station this year, the Spartans still have some other D1-A level prospects in tight end/receiver Anthony Hayes and receiver Julian Barton. Hayes is only about 6-foot-2, 225-pounds, so he's probably more of a H-back than a WR or true TE. Still, he has good hands and good feet and I liked his video a lot. I think he's someone that will certainly get lower-level D1-A offers but I also think that someone like Georgia Tech might be smart to recruit him. Barton's a 5-foot-11, 180-pound slot type who's getting attention from several SEC and ACC programs. Probably one of the better WR prospects since Trey Rich, who was in Chris Marve's senior class. The Spartans also have a offensive lineman named Deandra Simmons who's apparently getting looks. Can't say I know much about him though at this time.

Over at Mitchell High, Keiwone Malone is obviously the big name here after committing to Alabama. I actually saw sophomore video of Malone last year and it's no surprise to see him blow up like he did. He's a pretty sound player. His QB, Robert Redmond, is a pretty good player too. Obviously he's too short to really be a QB at a major school, but I do think he could be a recruitable prospect as an "athlete". That said, he's a pretty good thrower, so if he wanted to remain QB, I'd take him if I was a OVC team. Mitchell also has a big lineman in Rodregus Scruggs (6-foot-6, 270-pounds). Apparently, a lot of the teams that were interested in Malone, such as Alabama, Tennessee and Miami, have interest in Scruggs as well right now. I'd need to learn more to know how good of a prospect he really is though. His teammate Veronicco Jenkins is another interesting prospect for them at 6-foot-5, 260-pounds. Several SEC schools are supposedly looking at him right now including Vanderbilt. Linebacker Greg Peterson is also one to watch at Mitchell.

Sheffield High has another series of players, led by athlete Brian Leachman. He's a 6-foot-4, 200-pound combo type prospect who could figure into a big receiver/TE role or perhaps become a defensive end. He was originally at White Station as a sophomore and has apparently had the eye of VU and UT ever since. Ole Miss has supposedly offered him. Sheffield also has Denzell Wilson. He split time with the very fast Demario Carter at running back for the Knights, but also saw time at quarterback. He's said to be a real natural athlete and should pick up attention if he goes camping this spring and summer.

Kirby High had a very underrated prospect in Caesare Johnson last year. He would've been a SEC player, he had that kind of raw athletic talent. However, his grades weren't good, so he's headed to a JUCO. This year, Kirby has Courtney Richmond, a corner who should get a number of looks. Meanwhile, Frayser DB/Ath Kevin Barfield has already picked up an offer from Southern Miss and is getting long looks from Memphis and Colorado. He has 6 interceptions and eight other pass deflections last season.

Other Memphis prospects that look to have Division 1-A level ability:

Stephond Allmond- Memphis University School (Athlete)
Keaton Baker- Cordova (quarterback/athlete)
Cortez Bowen- Trezevant (Defensive End)
Marquette Dockery- Hillcrest (Quarterback/Athlete)
Coree Gatewood- Raliegh Egypt (Fullback)
Desi Lane- Ridgeway (Defensive End)
Austin Marshall- Cordova (Offensive Line)
D.J. McNeil- Briarcrest Christian (Running Back)
Jeff Jackson- Arlington (Offensive Line)
Sirgregory Thornton- Germantown (Running back)