DRC NT adds two recruits..Rob Gordon CB

[OldTimer]

I really like the way Vitto reports NT commits....each one comes after he has called the recruit and he picks up info you on the player that you don't see in other papers factual reports.

Football: UNT football adds two recruits

Mean Green get commitments from CB, DL

08:27 AM CST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Marquis Sykes transformed late in his high school career at Coppell.

Sykes played at 193 pounds as a junior, started his senior year at 230 and ended it as a 6-3, 253-pound Division I prospect at defensive end. The work that Sykes put in to improve his physical attributes paid off early this week when he joined Ardmore defensive back Robbie Gordon in orally committing to North Texas.

Sykes made his decision late Sunday, while Gordon committed on Monday after mulling over an offer from Sam Houston State and his chances of receiving a scholarship from Tulsa. Gordon took an official visit to Tulsa, but had yet to receive an offer.

Oral commitments are non-binding. The first day recruits can sign a national letter of intent is Feb. 1.

“We went 4-6 my junior year,” Sykes said. “I didn’t want that to happen again and I really wanted to play at a Division I college, so I spent every day in the weight room after school.”

Sykes earned first-team All-District 6-5A honors as a senior as a defensive end and attracted the attention of Tulsa and Louisiana-Monroe in addition to UNT. Sykes cancelled visits to the two other schools after committing to UNT.

“Marquis will be great in college,” Coppell coach Mike Fuller said. “He is a little bit of a late bloomer. He got taller, faster and stronger his senior year after working really hard. A lot of people started recruiting him late.”

A visit to UNT helped convince Sykes that it was the best place for him to continue his development.

“UNT has a really nice program and Coach [Darrell] Dickey seems like a players’ coach,” Sykes said. “I believe that going to UNT gives me my best chance at a conference championship.”

Sykes played all along Coppell’s defensive front during his high school career. Fuller said that experience would pay off when Sykes gets to UNT.

“Where he ends up depends on what they want to do with him,” Fuller said. “He has really good hands and feet.”

Gordon, 6-0, 170, said UNT’s coaches project him as a cornerback.

The preseason Oklahoma all-state selection named UNT’s location as one of the key reasons he decided to play for the Mean Green.

“Denton is right between where my parents live,” said Gordon, who intercepted four passes as a senior. “My mom lives in Ardmore and my dad in Dallas. They will both get to see me play at UNT.”

Sykes is part of a rapidly growing batch of high school linemen UNT has added to its recruiting class. The group of five also includes Matt Menard, a 6-5, 275-pound defensive lineman, who committed to UNT earlier in the week.

Menard was part of a three-man defensive tackle rotation at Houston Westfield, which advanced to the Class 5A Division I semifinals. Orlando Toldson, who has committed to Tulsa, was also a member of Westfield’s rotation.

Menard was named second-team All-District 22-5A, despite splitting time with two other players.

“Matt has great size and quickness, Westfield coach Corby Meekins said. “He worked really hard to get where he is and improved a lot between his junior and senior year.”

The addition of Sykes and Gordon gives the Mean Green 10 oral commitments from high school players to go along with four junior college recruits who transferred to UNT in December.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

UNT COMMITMENTS

The following is a list of players who have committed to North Texas beginning in the 2006 season.

Player School

TE Brian Carlson* Kilgore CC

FB/RB Avery Curry Galveston Ball

OL Kelvin Drake Galveston Ball

OL Nick Foster Allen

CB Robbie Gordon Ardmore, Okla.

DB Roy Loren* Coffeyville CC

DL Matt Menard Houston Westfield

ATH Chris Neal Kaufman

LB Craig Robertson Stafford

DL Esteban Santiago El Paso Coronado

TE Bryant Seidle Cypress Fair

OL Trent Stanley* Coffeyville CC

DE Marquis Sykes Coppell

QB Woody Wilson* Coffeyville CC

* Note – Player is a midterm junior college transfer who has already signed a national letter of intent.

Edited January 24, 2006 by OldTimer

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Oklahoma High School Rivals site listed Kansas State, Kansas, and Missouri as teams that have recruited Gordon as well.

Class 5A playoff preview: Don't overlook Ardmore defense

By Brandon Chatmon

The Oklahoman

Ardmore has an offense that averages more than 40 points per game. It features one of the state's top recruits in Jermaine Gresham.

The Tigers also have a stellar defense that hasn't received the recognition it deserves.

"We don't really feel overlooked," Ardmore safety Ellis Knight said. "The offense goes out and does its job, and we just do ours. It's a complete team effort."

Ardmore's starting defense has allowed 31 points in 11 games, including 10 points to defending state champion Carl Albert in a first-round playoff game.

"We have good players on defense," Ardmore coach Mike Loyd said. "I think sometimes they get overlooked. It makes you a better coach when you have good players."

Loyd singled out Kevin Andrews, Brian Booker, DeJuan Miles, Marquis Booker, Ellis Knight and Robbie Gordon as key components of the defense.

"It's as focused a group of young men that I've ever had," Loyd said. "There's a lot of tradition here and they want to bring that gold ball back."

Ardmore's closest game was Sept. 30, a 38-18 win over Lawton MacArthur.

"We want to win that championship," Knight said. "We just have one goal in mind. We try to just go out and dominate."

What brings out the best in the Ardmore defense?

"When we hear we're not physical," Knight said. "Before games, we hear teams talking about what they're going to do. That's just motivates us more to go out and dominate."

Top first-round performance: Tulsa Washington's Michael Harris rushed for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the Hornets' 44-27 victory over Claremore. All four touchdown runs were more than 30 yards.

Second-round matchup: Tulsa Washington at Shawnee. With Booker T. running back Michael Harris and Shawnee quarterback Tucker Brown on the same field, it will be a joy for fans to watch and an defensive coordinator's nightmare.

One surprise of the first round: Coweta's victory at Tulsa Bishop Kelley. Coweta, led by all-everything performer Mike Bryan, was the lone road team to win.

One non-surprise of the first round: Ardmore beating Carl Albert 33-10. Gresham continued his dominant senior season with seven catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns as Ardmore eliminated the defending champion.

Make sure to see: Bixby running back Marshall Fraley. He has 299 carries for 1,797 yards and 20 touchdowns. Bixby's (10-1) lone loss was 17-10 to Class 6A powerhouse Jenks in the season opener.

Edited January 24, 2006 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[meangreendork]

Sykes looks to have the size of a LB or TE. But hey, if he can be a rush end and nail the offense, he's got my vote at DE. Our new CB signee has HEIGHT. No offense Ja'Mel, you were fast and had good hands, but it's hard to cover a guy who's 6'3" if you're not even 5'9".

[H-towngreen]

Sykes looks to have the size of a LB or TE.

←

Sykes weighs 253 lbs. He already has the size to help out a DE.

[GreenBat]

From the DMN recruiting Blog

Coppell’s Sykes could be a steal for North Texas

Staffer Brandon George had this to say about Coppell's Marquis Sykes:

Coppell defensive end Marquis Sykes had a standout senior season after growing up over the summer. Sykes could turn into a great find for North Texas’ 2006 class after he committed to the Mean Green on Sunday.

Sykes is one of those hidden gems in the recruiting game. Sykes didn’t start gaining much attention until his senior year, when most recruits these days start to make a name for themselves well before their last season in high school.

Sykes went from 6-1, 205 as a junior to 6-3, 230 as a senior. His bench press increased from 215 to 305 pounds, and he dropped his 40-yard dash time from 4.9 to 4.7 seconds. Gaining size and strength while not losing speed turned heads. He was getting attention from Kansas, Wyoming and UT-El Paso early last season, but North Texas came through in the end.

Jesuit coach Bob Wunderlick had this to say about Sykes after Sykes had two sacks and three quarterback hurries against Jesuit in Coppell’s season-opening win:

“He makes plays. He has long arms and is a big, good-looking, athletic kid. He’s the real deal."

[H-towngreen]

You have to like his size and speed, hopefully he will be able to push for some playing time.

Do we have stats on any of these new recruits?

[Eagle1855]

I see where you are going, and I wouldnt. Those are strong accusations based on very little, if anything... just my opinion

[Stan R]

yes, it did set off a warning - whoever is the current DE in that position had better be doing some serious off season workouts or he's going to lose his job.

[SilverEagle]

If it didn't set off alarm bells with the opposing coaches in his school's district, then I don't see why it should with us.

[H-towngreen]

You have to also remember that he also gained several inches in height. Now thats not the only reason for the weight gain. With all of the weight gainers out there now it is not really all that crazy as long as you put in serious time in the weight room. Which it sounds like he did.

[DeepGreen]

Shoot, I can beat that. I can quit my diet on a minutes notice and put on 20 pounds in less than two months!