Finding high school football talent in South Florida is not a difficult thing to do.
Seeing the players mature in college and selected in the NFL Draft gives an opportunity for reflection, and with the first Round set for Thursday evening in Chicago, it appears the Sunshine State will spend a lot of time in the spotlight.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Miami Central (FL), and Norland (Miami, FL) could have 10 players drafted among the three high schools.
Receivers Phillip Dorsett (Miami) and Rashad Greene (Florida State) — pictured right — are virtual locks to hear their name called. Offensive lineman Bobby Hart (Florida State) has received a draftable projection while tight end Gabe Holmes and defensive back Cody Riggs (Notre Dame) have had varying levels of intrigue but both will be signed as free agents if they are not selected.
Dorsett, Greene, and Hart all played on the same team as part of the Class of 2011. That Raiders team also boasted current St. Louis Rams defensive back Marcus Roberson and recent Michigan quarterback transfer Jake Rudock. They won the Florida state championship and finished No. 2 in the HSFB100 final poll.
Holmes was part of the Class of 2009 that won the HSFB100 national title while Riggs was a junior on that championship team. They nearly repeated as a senior before the team fell to Manatee in the playoffs.
A special class of players came through Miami Central in the Class of 2011 as well — the team finished the year ranked No. 14 in the HSFB100 as a result of the talent — claiming the first state title in school history. The program has been a threat to win every year since it broke through, and could be a national title challenger in 2015.
Durell Eskridge (Syracuse) and Charles Gaines (Louisville) moved to the defensive side of the ball in college but the duo was on the receiving end of passes from Rakeem Cato (Marshall) in high school. Cato was protected by John Miller (Louisville) on the offensive line who also opened holes for Devonte Freeman who was drafted last season by the Atlanta Falcons.
Offensive lineman Ereck Flowers (Miami) has been making room for Duke Johnson (Miami) to run through for years as teammates at the University of Miami as well as Norland High School.
Together, the duo won a pair of Class 5A championship and was ranked as high as No. 12 following the 2011 season. They played together for the last six years after three at Norland and three in the ACC.
Another former Viking could hear his name called this weekend with tight end Jean Sifrin getting a draft grade out of Massachusetts. Sifrin did not graduate from Norland. Instead, he received his GED after dropping out and returning to college. His teammate in 2005 was Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In between the time of Sifrin and the Flowers/Johnson years, came Browns receiver Dwayne Bowe, Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes, and Chargers linebacker Tourek Williams.
The success of the players and the teams is no surprise to FloridaHSFootball.com publisher Josh Wilson.
“Those teams all won a state championship or multiple state championships with those players,” he said. “The players largely responsible for those wins are now being taken in the NFL Draft.“It just goes to show that football is a way of life in South Florida. The amount of talent that shows up every year at St. Thomas Aquinas or Miami Central — and there are more — is elite. You can’t discount the talent here and those schools will keep producing draft picks for the next couple of years with how good they have been recently.”
OTHER SCHOOLS THAT COULD HAVE MULTIPLE SELECTIONS
* Trae Waynes (Michigan State) and Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) both could be first round picks. The pair played together at Bradford (Kenosha, WI) but they didn’t win a state title and weren’t ranked nationally ranked.
* Grant (Sacramento, CA) will see Shaq Thompson (Washington) and James Sample (Cal) selected this weekend. The team was one of the best in NorCa and were ranked in the HSFB100.
* Franklinton (LA) won the state championship and was ranked nationally when it was led by Terrence Magee and Josh Robinson. The pair will likely be picked to play in the NFL this coming weekend.
* Crespi (Encino, CA) had quarterback Bryan Bennett and offensive lineman Hrosniss Grasu to propel the Camelites to a section title when they were together. Prior to this past season when a three-pronged rushing attack pushed the team back to the national landscape, the Bennett-led years were at the school’s peak.
* Palm Beach Gardens (FL) will celebrate the selections of Gerald Christian and Nick O’Leary. His Dwyer High School team was a HSFB100 each year O’Leary played.
And there’s more to come…
