The Scouting Guru ties up loose ends, reports from Combines, and gives top ten player rankings

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 in the San Gabriel Valley.

“Integrity is what you do when no one is watching; it’s doing the right thing all the time, even when it may work to your disadvantage.” Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Winning Coach in his book “Uncommon”

Let’s take care of a couple of things right at the top.
I’m changing the column just a bit. One of the fine talent evaluators is Michael Lombardi. He is currently working for the NFL Network and is a contributor to NationalFootballPost.com. I love the way his Daily Morning News is formatted, so we are borrowing that format for this column. Since I have a ton of leadership books – I love the subject of leadership – I thought it would be good to take some thoughts from those books and incorporate it into the column. And what better way to start off the column than with a quote from the great Tony Dungy. There are many coaches that win with integrity. I believe that guys like Bogan and Maggiore are the epitome of the quote. If you want to be respected in whatever field you are in, that quote pretty much says it all.
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Also, let me be clear about this…Steve Bogan is not going anywhere!!!!!!! Fred’s joke was so good that it fooled many people I’ve talked to last week that included LA Times High School reporter Eric Sondheimer. Folks, it was an April Fool’s joke. Geez!!!! As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen Bogan more energetic about a season more than this season coming up. That’s usually a good thing for South Hills fans.

Oh and one more thing. Speaking of Sondheimer, look for an upcoming article in the Los Angeles Times by him as he tackles to subject of private schools having an unfair advantage versus public schools. It’s not going to put the private schools in a favorable light. If his work in the past is any indication, this article should be a doosie!

NIKE COMBINE IS THIS SATURDAY

This is going to be a very busy two weeks. It starts this Saturday with the annual Nike Combine at Veterans Stadium at Long Beach City College. All HS underclassman football players (current Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors) are invited to attend and are put through varies combine events , such as the 40 yard dash, the short shuttle and other events. What is great about the event is that it is for free and you get a free workout t-shirt for attending the event. But, we encourage all athletes to register online at the recruiting page on espn.com. It really does save a lot time and heartache if you register online. Now, you can also walk-up and register at the event, but (and this is a word to the wise) you will be asked to wait for a long while.

Of course, we will be at the event – at the station that love to be at, the height and weight station. We feel it is one of the most important stations at the event. We usually have a team of four at the station and we are very precise in getting the correct height and weight on the player. So, if you plan on being at the Vet on Saturday, make sure you come over and say hello to your friendly contributor to this site.

Oh, and one final thing. If you are an athlete that is signed up and ready to go for Saturday… get their early. If you wait for a while, you’ll be in line for a long time. We usually put more than a 1,000 athletes thru their paces at the combine.

UPDATED TOP 10 LIST FOR CLASS OF 2011

1) Sioasi Aiono (OLT, South Hills) — When scout.com West Recruiting Manager Brandon Huffman says that Aiono is the best lineman ON THE WEST COAST, well let’s just say that there is no competition for the top spot. Aiono has earned the right to being named the top player in the area — hands down.

2) Dennis Rufus (ATH, Charter Oak) — Would really love to see him run in track so that we can get a good time on him. I’m already looking forward to seeing him match-up against SH class of 2012 prospect Jamie Canada in week 10. Especially since Canada popped an electronic 100m time of 11.33 at the Covina Invitational last week. Hopefully, he’ll attend the combine on Saturday.

3) Aaron Almond (ATH, Diamond Ranch) — Reportedly sports an offer San Diego State. Would love for him to be a little more physical at the point of attack, but he is good. Has been compared to Palmdale safety Joshua Shaw. Well, if you compare the highlight tapes of both players after their junior year, you would see that there is no comparison…Almond is not even in the next area code next to Shaw. And if he is that good, why has Florida not offered?

4) Aaron Cantu (QB, Schurr) — I’m putting Schurr into the area (thanks to the big man Tolegian) and if that is the case, I really like this kid. His highlight tape is excellent, so was the game film and I thought he played really well against Diamond Ranch in the quarterfinals that past season. I have the same concerns about him throwing an accurate deep ball (as with the next prospect) on the list, but I love the fact that he works “The QB guru” Chris Rix. He’s the real deal folks.

5) Chad Jefferies (QB, Glendora) — Quite simply, his game tape is not as consistent as Cantu’s. I think he’s at the same position on a lot of recruiting boards as Ayala’s Ryan Orozco. Another Rix prospect – which is always a good thing.

6) Aubrey Coleman (DE, Walnut) — Really surprised that UW reportedly put down the cash on a prospect that thrived against lesser competition and lacked against quality competition.

7) Jacoby Carter (CB, Diamond Ranch) — He’s a big-time spring evaluation kid. But, I like him a lot and feel that he’ll get offered. But I think it’ll be later rather than sooner.

8) Jay Anderson (RB, Bishop Amat) — Well the word is out on him on the recruiting front, “He’s just a good high school football player.” There is nothing wrong with that. But, the lack of a true 40 (or 100m) time to reflect how fast he is, and the lack of size hurts his cause. It’s the feeling among So Cal scouts that Loyola RB Jared Baker is faster (ran an electronic 10.9 100m last year and it shows on film) and the best running back in the league. Baseball might be his ticket into college.

9) Peter Nonu (DT, South Hills) — Would like for him to great an inch or two, but he is clearly one of the top DT’s in the area. Wrestled nicely in 2010 and it will work to his benefit next season.

10) Wallace Gonzalez (TE, Bishop Amat) — Well, if the results from the National Underclassman Combine are to be believed, then this kid has some issues that he ‘s going to have to resolve. The main one is that he ran his “electronic 40 yard dash” in 4.95. I put that in parenthesis because I have no idea if it was an electronic 40. If it’s a hand-time 40, scout’s usually add a tenth of a second to the time. So that puts him at 5.05. And I can safely tell you, no one on the Pac will touching TE’s that have 4.9 or higher 40 yard dashes. Sorry, we’ll take Junior Pomee of Rancho Verde over him. And UCLA felt the same way. When you couple that the lack of junior tape from last year, it raises some red flags for many scouts (including yours truly). Interested to see if he goes to the Nike Combine this weekend.

And now for the “Sleepers” that have a great chance of moving on recruiting boards in the spring….

Jeff Vargas (OT, South Hills) — Do yourself a favor and go on Hudl.com, find South Hills HS on the directory and watch Vargas’ highlight tape. It speaks for itself.

Allen Brown (OT, San Dimas ) — Just your typically sound OL prospect from one of the best Wing-T coaches in the business in coach Zernikow. I thought he looked great in the Baldwin Park game and had a solid game against Covina as well. Grades out decently with us. Interested on who takes interest in him in the spring.

Remontay McClain (WR, Covina) — Clearly one of the fastest athletes in the area, his problem is that his tape is not very good for someone of his athletic ability. To put it bluntly, when you are a WR, you need to catch the ball. And that is something that he is not very good at. If you can overlook that, he’s a prospect.

B.J Lee (RB, West Covina) — This is the fastest athlete in the area, but he has the same problem as well. His tape is not that great as well. As a matter of fact, he didn’t play a whole season of football. That’s going to be a problem for him, just ask Ricky Johnson.

Maurice Dupleasis (LB, West Covina) — Now, this is a kid that comes up real nicely on game film. A side to side LB that can hit. Again, a good 40 time raises his stock. Good player.

Wardell Crutchfield III (Safety, Baldwin Park) — Reportedly has offers, but have not been able to confirm any of them (but it’s not to say it hasn’t happen). Another prospect that is intriguing but after watching game tape on him, we have questions on how tough he is. A big performance against South Hills in week 1 could improve his stock. Interesting

Christian Orduno (OL, Bishop Amat) — Offensive lineman are always in high commodity and he has good size to be a quality player in 2010. Has a long way to go to get to the point of where Aiono is, but he has a chance.

Garrett Pendleton (QB, Bonita ) — Eric Podley does a great job with his QB’s at Bonita and there is something about this kid that intrigues me. He reads his progressions well, throws a nice intermediate ball and has some toughness to him. The early senior film on him is going to dicate whether he gets recruited or not. But, there is something about this kid that I like.

Tarez Lemmons (OL, Bonita ) — As a whole, this is a nice OL group in the valley this year (yes, Fred this might be the year that you feature the OL on the cover of your football preview this) and this a kid that also intrigues me. Shows a good knee bend and has decent technique. However, he had a tough night against CO and SH, but I’m looking for him to have a nice senior year.

Charlie Avila (DL, Charter Oak) — Typical strong kid from CO that has been a starter for two straight years. Needs to have a better motor though for college and his size will be a major issue for college coaches. Solid prospect though.

Other players to watch prospects include:

Dorian Granados (WR, Damien)

Corey Murphy (TE, Glendora)

Kevin Kolbeck (TE, San Dimas)

Now for some quick notes from being on the road for three weeks,

* One of the best area track meets to attend is the Covina Invitational and it didn’t disappoint last week. Meet director Kevin Glasby does a great job and the talent was great. One of the highlight of the day was the trip to the snack bar. I’ve not seen a better grill than the one that was fired up at the event. The Hot Dogs were not just great…THEY WERE THE BOMB! Thanks for all the help KG!

* I had a chance to go to the Arcadia Invitational this past Saturday and – as usually is the case – it didn’t disappoint. My former colleague Rich Gonzalez does a great job as meet manager and he (along with his staff) did a great job on Saturday. Rich, you are best! It was great to see you…

* One observation. I had a chance to physically take a good long look at DeAnthony Thomas – the stud RB from Crenshaw who has the nickname of “The Black Mamba.” He ran a 10.6 electronic 100m in the invitational final and won the 200m invitational with a 21.4 time (defeating USC WR bound Robert Woods). I can see where my colleagues in the city section question where he can handle the physicality of Pac-10 football. He doesn’t jump off the eye balls when you first look at him physically. But there is no question about his speed. He is very fast folks.

* If Rio Ruiz continues on his tear of the baseball diamond like he did last week at the National Classic, I’m not even going to bother putting him in my rankings for the class of 2012. That’s because he’ll be a high MLB draft choice. He’s awesome folks!

* I had one SH observer tell me last week “Jamie Canada is going to better than Jeremy Payton and just as good as Bryan Payton.” You should take the observer very seriously when his name is Salaam Payton (who is the father of Jeremy and Bryan). Like a said, when you can run an 11.3 electronic 40 (making him the 6th fastest sophomore in the Southern Section), you raise a lot of eyes amongst college coaches right away. Plus, he has no academic issues. He is a football player running in track, rather than a track guy trying to play football.

* I had a chance to take in UCLA’s scrimmage on Sunday and I’m looking for UCLA to give USC a real run for it’s money when November comes around. Which will make all the UCLA honks in the sports department at the Tribune happy (yes I’m talking to you Fred and Steve).

* I had a chance to take a good look at Diamond Bar QB Andrew Cameron at Matt Bechtal’s QB camp last Saturday at Citrus College and I like the way he is progressing. His film shows that he can run the ball a little bit. But more than that, I’m very impressed with his personality. Seems like a humble kid. I’m cheering for him to have a good senior season.

* I would like to have a pre-combine “Cover it Live” Chat with all you readers on Friday night. I might do it here or do it on my blog. I will let you know this week.

* It was great to see Phil Michelson win the Masters on Sunday. But, the high TV rating for the event was for Tiger Woods… not Phil. But that’s ok. You intend to track one feel good story and another one occurs. If nice guys do finish first, then there has to be a CIF championship for Arroyo HC Jim Singiser in the very near future.

* Finally, sometime next week, I’m going to attend a Glendora game when Plutko is on the mound. When you have 15 scouts at your game, you can be rest assured that this kid is going to make it. I love going to baseball games when there is a true prospect to enjoy.

Have a great week!

Abigail Van Buren “The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.”

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