NUC Phoenix Combine Highlights from Richard Opert, Arizona Republic

Richard Obert, Arizona Republic

Keeping track of high school sports and college recruiting

Combine highlights

The Dave Schuman National Underclassmen Football Combine rolled into Apache Junction for the weekend.
Here were a few highlights from Saturday's freshmen and sophomores:
Lakeside Blue Ridge's Chans Cox was the freshman MVP. He came in as a running back at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. But Schuman can see him playing linebacker and tight end. He says much of his game already is "polished."
Phoenix Desert Vista's Matt Young and Chandler Hamilton's Allen Thigpen stood out among the freshmen quarterbacks, Schuman said.
Phoenix St. Mary's freshman Thair Blakes was the wide receiver MVP. He is already 6-4. "He's still trying to get comfortable with his body," Schuman said.
Among the sophomores, Schuman was impressed with the quarterbacks and skill players, including Northwest Christian running back Casey Jahn and Scottsdale Notre Dame QB Jordan Gehrke.
Jahn did 34 repititions at 155 pounds in the bench press. Gehrke, 6-1, separated himself from Scottsdale Chaparral's Connor Brewer, Phoenix Brophy Prep's Chase Knox, Tucson Amphitheater's Gaven De'filippo and Mesa Red Mountain's  Austin Freeman as the quarterback MVP.
Schuman said it was a five-man race among quarterbacks, but added that Gehrke, who backed up Will King last season on the varsity, "didn't have a bad throw."
"He had spectacular drop on his passes," Schuman noted. "He beat out some good guys. How that translates in football games, you don't know. But it was a good QB group. I was shocked."
Wide receiver Davonte' Neal was the sophmore MVP, after taking the freshman combine MVP honor last year. Neal is on a mission since leaving Laveen Cesar Chavez for Chaparral last month. He played most of his sophomore season with painful shin splints and didn't live up to the hype. He wants to show he's not all hype. He ran 40 yards in 4.41 seconds -- the fastest 40 time on the day. During one-on-one passing drills, Schuman said Neal was "uncoverable" and was a "man among boys."
Neal is only 5-8, which could be a knock on him in recruiting. But his skills set puts him "on another plane," Schuman said. Schuman compares him to Rutgers receiver Tim Brown, who has the same stature and made All-Big East last year after catching 55 passes for 1,150 yards and nine TDs.
Jordan Walker of Rockhust High in Kansas City, Mo., came here to visit his cousin, St. Mary's lineman Ian Walker. Since Ian was participating in the combine, Jordan figured he would, too. He came away with the sophomore running back MVP.
And Ian said his cousin, "didn't have a good combine."
" They had him at 4.6 in the 40. He's run faster than that," Ian said.
Jordan said he hardly touched the field last  season on varsity with two junior running backs (who can run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds) ahead of him.
Sunday, the juniors have their turn from 8 a.m. to about 1 p.m.