Riley Dodge Highlight Of 2008 Recruit Class

[MeanGreen61]

http://media.www.ntdaily.com/media/storage...s-3194206.shtml

[PerryG2480]

With all of the awards and accolades Riley has received, it's amazing he wasn't a 4 star recruit.

[trud1966]

Nationally acclaimed Southlake Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge highlighted the 2008 NT football recruiting class Wednesday, signing a National Letter of Intent to play for his father, head coach Todd Dodge. Riley Dodge headlined a list of 26 new additions to the Mean Green this fall. He is considered one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation.

He was named to the prestigious 2008 Parade All-American High School Football Team, which Todd Dodge said is the highest possible honor for high school football players.

"We feel Riley was absolutely the best quarterback and dual threat in the state of Texas this year," he said. "We couldn't have found a better guy to fit our scheme."

Riley Dodge was also named to the EA Sports first-team All-American Multi-Purpose squad for 2007 in addition to being named the 2006 and 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year.

During his four years at Southlake, he passed for more than 8,000 yards and rushed for more than 2,000 yards with nearly 140 total touchdowns.

He also won state championships under his father's coaching tenure in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons.

Despite the father-son connection, Riley Dodge was not seen as a guarantee to come to NT.

In his junior year, he orally committed to playing for University of Texas head coach Mack Brown. Not until last summer did he change his mind.

"Last June he called me up and said, 'Dad, I need to visit with you,'" Todd Dodge said. "He said, 'Why don't we just do this together [by both being at NT]?' And I said, 'It's about time you came to your senses.' It was a very special day."

Even though he coached his son in high school, Todd Dodge admits it will be more special for him to do it at the college level, saying, "it's a unique situation that doesn't come about very often at the Division I level."

Athletic director Rick Villarreal said NT is lucky to have a player of Riley Dodge's widely acclaimed caliber.

"A player like Riley could play almost anywhere in the country," Villarreal said, "but we had that one intangible that nobody else had in that his dad is the head coach. You take those advantages any time you can get them." Despite seeing Giovanni Vizza produce an impressive freshman season last year, Todd Dodge said he will give his son every fair chance to win the starting quarterback job, just as he will for all players at all positions. If Riley Dodge does not win the starting job, his father said he doesn't plan on having a two-quarterback system, as he will either redshirt his son or move him to another position.

"He could play wide receiver, he could return kicks or play in the secondary," Todd Dodge said, "but he wasn't brought here to do that. He was brought here to play quarterback."

Overall, the 26 new players are made up of nine defensive backs, five offensive linemen, four wide receivers, three defensive linemen, two running backs, one quarterback and one kicker.

The nine defensive backs are what the head coach and newly hired defensive coordinator Gary DeLoach are most excited about.

Last year's Mean Green defense ranked toward the bottom of every major defensive category in Division I-A football.

Newly converted defensive back James Hamilton, who was a quarterback while playing for Cedar Hill High School, earned high praise from his new head coach.

"He's one of the best football players I've seen in a long time," Todd Dodge said.

With such departures as defensive leaders Maurice Holman, Aaron Weathers and Jeremiah Chapman to graduation, the new look for the 2008 NT defense will feature plenty of underclassmen.

Because DeLoach was hired two weeks ago with a detailed recruiting plan from the other coaches already in place, he had little say about the incoming defensive recruits.

Recruiting coordinator Chuck Petersen said DeLoach was pleased with all of his head coach's choices.

"[DeLoach] didn't come in and say, 'I don't want this guy' or 'I want somebody else,'" Petersen said. "He was committed to the kids we were committed to."

On the offensive side, Haltom High School running back Lance Dunbar and Arlington Martin High School running back Jeremi Mathis will help NT fill the rushing vacancy left by graduating senior Jamario Thomas. "We nailed it exactly with these running backs in what we wanted," Todd Dodge said.

Looking to upgrade an already promising spread offense, he discussed the depth among the incoming receivers.

Forrest Rucker from Hearne High School averaged 15.2 yards per catch last season. Todd Dodge was particularly impressed with Rucker's speed off the line of scrimmage.

"[Rucker] is one of those guys who is open before the ball is even snapped," he said.

Receiver Willie Taylor from Hillcrest High School also drew considerable praise from his new head coach, who likened his skills to that of Casey Fitzgerald, the Mean Green's most valuable player last season. Many of the 26 incoming players played in state championships, with most of them on the winning side, which Todd Dodge said he hopes will boost NT for years to come, especially after the Mean Green finished 2-10 in 2007. "All they've ever done is win," he said. "They've seen something special happening here even though we've had disappointments last year."

What Todd Dodge enjoyed most about National Signing Day wasn't the additions of new talent but rather the scholarships the university is able to give to the student athletes.

"We tell our players through the recruiting process that because of their God-given ability and hard work and parents' and coaches' support of them through the years, that we're basically able to give a $100,000 gift to their family today," he said. "And that's very special for those families."

[emmitt01]

With all of the awards and accolades Riley has received, it's amazing he wasn't a 4 star recruit.

Were he 3-4 inches taller he might have been even a 5* recruit. Of course, were he 3-4 inches taller he might now be coming here.

Course my wife always tells me a couple inches isn't that important...I can only assume she knows her football.

[MeanGreen61]

With all of the awards and accolades Riley has received, it's amazing he wasn't a 4 star recruit.

Rivals has him as a 5.7 3-star just .1 away from 4-star (5.8).

[Dodge2007]

Todd Reesing is about 5ft. 9" and plays big 12 football and had no hype or fan fare.

There has to be more reason why riley wasn't offered a spot to play QB in mid major or BSC school? What could that be?

Most feel Riley will start early on. The way TD beams about Riley, he'll get his chance asap.

[MeanGreenEagle]

"Last June he called me up and said, 'Dad, I need to visit with you,'" Todd Dodge said. "He said, 'Why don't we just do this together [by both being at NT]?' And I said, 'It's about time you came to your senses.' It was a very special day."

Makes me feel all warm and squishy inside.

[Dodge2007]

Makes me feel all warm and squishy inside.

I bet Meager, Tune and the the rest of the boys feel the same. Getting future QB's (of value) is going to be an issue, that will be a fact for at least two more recruiting seasons. I hope Tune, Vizza, Meager, and Johnson stick for awhile.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

With all of the awards and accolades Riley has received, it's amazing he wasn't a 4 star recruit.

I think that a big reason was because Texas did not plan to play him at quarterback and he went through recruiting classified as an 'athlete'. True, he had played some receiver and was also a returner but his forte is at quarterback. UT thought that he was too short. I seem to recall they passed on another quarterback from their backyard who went to Purdue and is now in the NFL.

IMO if Riley Dodge had been classed as a quarterback he would have had a 4-star rating.