The Scouting Guru peaks at the future

The Scouting Guru has been all over the San Gabriel Valley and beyond, and like always, he’s offered to share his thoughts, free of charge. Don’t hate, enjoy it for what it’s worth, which is one man’s opinion on the talent and teams in the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding areas.

Guru Says: Now that signing day has come and gone… its time to look into the future. Here is our first list of underclassman that our service is watching for in 2010. Two things are a must for us to be put on the list.

1) If he is a junior, he had to have hit the field this past season.
2) He must be an academic qualifier.

So that eliminates Amat’s Wallace Gonzales or South Hills’ Jaime Canada from the conversation for the moment.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 10…

(combine info an “e” means it an estimate based on game film.)

)1. Sioasi Aiono (6-3e, 280e, 5.3e, Offensive Tackle, South Hills) — I really debated on making this kid or Rufus my top prospect. In the end, too much evidence allows this prospect to hit the top. He made the scout.com National top 100 and he has offers from BYU and San Jose State. Interesting to note that their was a San Antonio League school that voted him as the fifth best offensive guard in the league. Hmm… maybe that’s why that particular school always starts fast and ends turning their gear in after week 10. Any He has that classic body to being a guard or center at the next level. Grades out very well in pass protection and can use a nastier streak in his run blocking. His offer from BYU will scare a lot of WAC and MWC conference schools away (they usually don’t like recruiting against BYU) and it will be very interesting to see how the Pac-10 schools grade him out. Aiono’s recruiting should go off the charts during the winter. Lots to like here.

2) Dennis Rufus (6-1, 181, 4.7e, ATH, Charter Oak) — His height and weight were measured at the Nike Camp at USC last year. Let me get this off my chest – I REALLY LIKE THIS KID. His athletism really jumps off the film when you watch it. Showed he was the real deal in the West Covina and Diamond Ranch playoff games last year. Can make every catch and makes the tough catches look easy. He does have to work on his attitude – always a work in progress – but with his mother being big fans of the guru (thank you Mrs. Rufus – I hear by name you president of my fan club!) we’ll over look that for the moment. I can easily see this kid with multiple D-1 offers by the end of the spring. Solid as a rock with us.

3) Rio Ruiz (6-2e, 190e, 4.7e, WR, Bishop Amat, Class of 2012) – Here is another kid that we really like… and another kid that has family that are big fans of the guru (Mr. Ruiz – we’ll make you vice president if that works for you?). All you have to do is watch the playoff game against Mater Dei and see his potential on the field. Has really nice hand-eye coordination and his athletism really jumps off the film when you watch it. If he goes down the baseball route, he’ll be off the list. But for right now, he’s perfect at this spot with us in our list

4) Jacoby Carter (5-7, 162, 4.75HT, DB, Diamond Ranch) – All of his combine data came for the National Underclassmen Combine held last year at the Home Depot Center. The 40 time was hand-timed. He was named Defensive Back MVP for the combine. Thought he played a real nice game against South Hills in the semis. A true lock-down corner with great agilities and nice transitional speed. Needs to show a bit more discipline in his reading of offensive pass formations, but he is very good and could end up being a second-to-third tier corner in Southern California. Layton has done it again.

5) Peter Nonu (6-1e, 280e, 5.5e, DT, South Hills) – This is one of those kids where the Nike Camp at USC and the summer college football camps are going to be huge for this prospect. Love the way he plays a 1-tech defensive tackle on his highlight tape and on a night when things didn’t go well against La Habra, he showed up very nicely on film. Has to work on his attitude, but the ability is there. He fits in as a D-1AA guy right now, and just might that big D-1A offer if he works hard enough in the weight room this summer.

6) Aaron Almond (6-0, 180e, 4.8e, S, Diamond Ranch) – Talk about a kid that made a splash on the scene. I remember going to the UCLA 1-Day summer camp several years ago and seeing this kid when he was entering his ninth grade and – believe it or not – he was the talk of the camp. Did a great job that day and his film from the past season more that passes the mustard test. Good size and he projects to be in a safety at the next level. Can he make one more good splash at Westwood this summer? If he does… I’ll be there to see it!

7) Chad Jefferies (6-2, 195, 4.8e, QB, Glendora) – I will say this… he has the potential. But, amongst those in the scouting community, he has sparked a great debate. Is he a D-1 kid or not. Those that say he is will look at the Chino Hills game as the best example. Those that they he can’t will use the West Covina game for guidance. For me, it’s very tough to sell a D-1A QB coach a kid that is hot and cold. I think he could be as good as SH’s Deen was several years ago For him, the camp and combine curcuit will be huge for this prospect. If he has any chance of getting a scholarship, he has to light it up this summer. I’ll be watching and cheering if he does make it. The odds are stacked against him.

8) Jay Anderson (5-11e, 190e, 4.9e, RB, Bishop Amat) – Another football player that has a major future on the baseball field. But, when it comes to the pigskin, this kid has a future. There is no question that he is a between the tackle type of runner. He is tough to tackle and the coaching staff speaking glowingly of his character traits. But, there is a major question with him and that is his speed. He is not a burner and that will scare off a lot of teams. But, if any take a chance with him, they will be handsomely rewarded. Lots to like here!

9) Andy Orozco (6-2e, 270e, 5.5e, OG, Charter Oak) – Let me make this observation about the class of 2011, there are a lot of offensive line prospects for colleges to take a look at (both in this area and in the IE… we are loaded with prospects). This kid is a two-time first team All-CIF pick at the OG position and he shows up fairly well on film. His lack of a height will be an issue with colleges, but he plays well and you don’t get to be a 2x 1st team All-CIF selection for nothing. Another nice product given to us from one of the best asst. area coaches in the business… Roger Lehigh.

10) Jeff Vargas (6-3, 230, 5.5e OT, South Hills) – I have to give credit where credit is due. Throughout the month of December, HC Steve Bogan just kept going into my ear telling me, “Don’t forget about this Vargas kid. He is a stud!.” Well, after hearing it for about a month, I decided to go back to the game film and take a look at the kid. And when I look back at the games against Diamond Ranch, Rowland, West Covina, etc, all I saw was this kid putting DE’s and DT’s on their back all night! With Vargas, he has a bit of rough go of it in the first half of the season. But, summon up the West Covina game on film and it leaves you breathless. And every week following that, he continued to get better and better. Rumor has it that he is going to be a manager at the IHOP real soon because of his expertise with pancakes! With his grades being very exceptional, I think this is a kid that will have his stock blow up during the spring evaluation period. If he was 6-5, 300, Nick Saban is coming by the school and looking at him. Folks, he’s good!

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