County grows bumper crop of BCS college football talent for 2009

‘‘I don’t remember this much happening before July ever,” Northwest coach Andrew Fields said. ‘‘I’ve seen by November, December, we end up sending 12 to 15 guys off to Division I. With these numbers so early, it could reach 18 to 20 by December.”

Three members of Montgomery County’s class of 2009 have already made verbal commitments to BCS Conference football teams. Six more hold multiple scholarship offers from major programs.

That’s at least nine county-based players who seem certain to sign with large Division I-A schools. Tight end Marcus Whitfield (Northwest) and safety Xavier Hughes (Seneca Valley) each holds a written offer from West Virginia University of the Big East, according to their coaches, along with others from non-BCS I-A programs.

Last year, five county players signed Division I-A scholarship offers directly out of high school, all at BCS schools. Over the past four years, an average of nine county players earn I-A scholarships, with just over six per season going to BCS teams.

It’s not just depth that makes this class unique. It also includes Montgomery County’s single most sought-after player in memory. Good Counsel linebacker Jelani Jenkins is currently rated the 10th-best prospect in the entire nation by the Web site Rivals.com.

A number of other local players are in contact with Division I-A schools, and could land offers depending on how their summers go. More could crop up with good fall seasons.

But these nine, at least, bear watching.

Jason Ankrah

Defensive end, Quince Orchard

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 250 pounds

40 time: 4.7 seconds

Leaders: Maryland, N.C. State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Other notable offers: Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee

Noteworthy: Has played only three years of football, one as a varsity starter.

Quince Orchard coach Dave Mencarini on Ankrah: ‘‘He’s got the most potential out of any of our guys. ... He’s a gifted athlete who’s still learning the game. What coaches see is a big, strong, fast and athletic guy.”

Ankrah on Ankrah: ‘‘All of this came out of nowhere. Last year [’06 season] I sat behind Griff Courtney, and this past season was my time to start. And this is where it’s taken me.”

Avery Graham

Defensive back, Clarksburg

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 183 pounds

40 time: 4.29 seconds

Leaders: Verbally committed to Maryland

Other notable offers: Not listening to other offers

Noteworthy: State indoor⁄outdoor 100-meter and shot put champ will also run track for Terps.

Clarksburg coach Larry Hurd on Graham: ‘‘Everybody has said they’d offer him. You name it, they’ve wanted to see him. I mean, look at him. ... Avery has been clear with everyone: He’s a Terp, and he’s going to be a Terp.”

Graham on Graham: ‘‘When I got to high school, I didn’t know any plays or anything like that. I just took it game after game, practice after practice, and the coaches saw the progression.”

Travis Hawkins

Athlete, Quince Orchard

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 185 pounds

40 time: 4.41 seconds

Leaders: None

Other notable offers: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, N.C. State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Noteworthy: Says Penn State, West Virginia and Illinois are recruiting him to play on both sides of the ball.

Mencarini on Hawkins: ‘‘He has the ‘Wow’ factor. He’s powerful. He hasn’t played any corner ... but he’s such a gifted athlete.”

Hawkins on Hawkins: ‘‘I’m going to take as many visits as I can this summer to narrow my list. I’m going to try to get down to a top seven by the end of June.”

Jelani Jenkins

Linebacker, Good Counsel

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 213 pounds

40 time: 4.4 seconds

Leaders: None

Other notable offers: Approximately 40

Noteworthy: Will take trips to California, Florida and the Midwest this summer.

Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy on Jenkins: ‘‘Jelani brings them in, but coaches might look at his film and say, ‘Who’s that left guard?’ ... It’s great to have Jelani as the bell cow. But there’s only one college he can go to.”

Jenkins on Jenkins: ‘‘I just have to be careful which calls I answer. I try to avoid talking to a whole lot of .com people. I put the numbers in my phone of the coaches, so I know it’s them, not just a bunch of random area codes.”

Cody Magill

Tight end, Quince Orchard

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 240 pounds

40 time: 4.8 seconds

Leaders: Hoping for offer from North Carolina this week

Other notable offers: Syracuse

Noteworthy: Already an accomplished blocker, will see more balls thrown his way this season as his receiving skills develop.

Mencarini on Magill: ‘‘Where he jumped the most this past year is just in strength. He played this past season at 220, now he’s 240. ... He has all the tools to have a productive college career as a tight end.”

Magill on Magill: ‘‘I’ve been to the UNC campus when I was younger because I had a cousin who went there and I loved it. I was 11-years-old and I fell in love. That’s my dream school in terms of academics.”

Caleb Porzel

Running back, Good Counsel

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 190 pounds

40 time: 4.21 seconds

Leaders: Illinois, Maryland, Pittsburgh, West Virginia

Other notable offers: Minnesota, Syracuse, Virginia

Noteworthy: That 4.21 is legit; he ran it at the Scout.com⁄Under Armour combine in Baltimore.

Milloy on Porzel: ‘‘He committed to Virginia early in the process, but as coaches kept coming through, he thought he rushed it a little bit. ... I know Maryland and West Virginia are very high on him.”

Porzel on Porzel: ‘‘I didn’t know what to expect. ... It’s always been a goal for me to be able to play at the college level. I just had to show what I can do in terms of my speed, get that out there.”

Sean Stanley

Defensive lineman, Gaithersburg

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 250 pounds

40 time: 4.84

Leaders: Verbally committed to Penn State

Other notable offers: Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Noteworthy: Joins several other early PSU commits from Maryland, including acquaintances Darrell Givens (Lackey) and Stephon Morris (Eleanor Roosevelt).

Gaithersburg coach Kreg Kephart on Stanley: ‘‘His biggest asset is something they don’t measure, which is his first two or three steps. He’s quicker there than anybody. He runs a 40 with [Dan] Atwood, he’s ahead after three steps.”

Stanley on Stanley: ‘‘I always liked the idea of going back down south. The SEC probably had most of my favorite schools, but Penn State stood out from everybody.”

Terrence Stephens

Defensive lineman, Quince Orchard

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 295 pounds

40 time: 5.1 seconds

Leaders: Verbally committed to Stanford

Other notable offers: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, N.C. State, Penn State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, West Virginia

Noteworthy: Will attend Stanford’s prospect camp in three weeks so he can recruit other rising seniors to join him there.

Mencarini on Stephens: ‘‘He would have had a bunch more offers, but once he committed, schools handled it in a classy way.”

Stephens on Stephens: ‘‘It was overwhelming to see the attention that I was getting, but I thought about going to Stanford every night before I went to bed. ... I knew from the beginning that I wanted to go there.”

Anthony Young-Wiseman

Defensive back, Whitman

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 195 pounds

40 time: 4.49 seconds

Leaders: None

Other notable offers: Duke, Syracuse, West Virginia

Noteworthy: After first playing quarterback four games into last season, will be under center full-time for Whitman this fall.

Whitman coach Jim Kuhn on Young-Wiseman: ‘‘He’s the kind of guy who walks into a gym for a pickup basketball game and you say, ‘There’s a great athlete.’ He has that sense about him. He has ‘it.’”

Young-Wiseman on Young-Wiseman: ‘‘The right school has to have good academics. The coaching staff should be friendly and likeable. Everybody’s different; you’re just looking for a perfect fit.”