I spoke with a few high-profile high school football coaches from around the Carolinas who were very impressed with the recruiting strategies of new Duke coach David Cutcliffe. They say he's taking the Wake Forest/Vanderbilt approach, going after kids other programs might overlook and working hard for ones that school might not normally target.
“I've never seen Duke get in the door like this,” one coach told me. “He's got a lot of these guys, who are great players on poor teams. Guys that aren't highly recruited, but you redshirt them a year and make them bigger and stronger and they're ready to play.”
Those same coaches say North Carolina is building a monster. All five say they are impressed with the sheer size of the Tar Heels, and praise the move to have linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen – recently named a top 25 national recruiter by rivals.com – start working the western half of the state, where he'll be good with kids from large urban areas such as Greensboro and Charlotte.
Excuse me, but I just can't help thinking the NFL fined Julius Peppers 10 grand for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan as a way to support embattled ref Ed Hochuli.
Hochuli called Peppers for the hit that wiped out a touchdown interception return by Richard Marshall. Replays, at best, were inconclusive. So, if you ask me, the NFL made a judgment call that backed Hochuli, who blew one in Denver a few weeks ago that allowed the Broncos to beat the Chargers.
The best girls' high school golfer in the state, two-time state champion Courtney Gunter of Indian Trail Porter Ridge, was named an HP Scholastic Junior All-American by the American Junior Golf Association Tuesday. Gunter, who has signed with North Carolina, carries a 4.5 grade-point average and ranks sixth in her senior class of 348. She's ranked 41 {+s}{+t} nationally in the Polo Golf Rankings and is a favorite to win a record third straight state title this month.
In 2005, quarterback Jamarr Robinson led Myers Park in a surprising run to the N.C. 4AA semifinals after finishing the regular-season 6-5. Last week, Robinson helped Maryland's junior varsity stop N.C. Tech's 39-game winning streak. Robinson, a freshman on the Terps' varsity team, threw for 151 yards and ran for a score as Maryland beat Tech, Charlotte's post-high school grad team – 20-7. Tech, which has outscored opponents 377-47 this year, plays prep powerhouse Fork Union Military in Charlotte next week at a site to be determined.
Reach Langston Wertz Jr.: lwertz@charlotteobserver.com
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