The THSCA North-South all-star game saved the best for last when a scoring

strike from North QB Tate Wallis to WR Joey Athena with ten seconds left lifted

the North to a come from behind 16-9 victory over the South. North DE Brandon

Johnson was voted the game’s defensive MVP while South kicker Joey Price of

Port Neches-Groves was voted the offensive MVP with three FGs of 38, 51, and 53

yards.

Texas A&M had six signees in the game. DT David Ross of Forney and

DE Brandon Johnson of Bryan saw the most playing time of any of the six

and so had the greatest impact on the game. As noted earlier, Johnson was the

game’s defensive MVP. He utilized an explosive first step off the edge and

good leverage to either force the play toward another direction or make it

himself. Several times he simply blew into the backfield untouched. Overall, it

looks like A&M has found someone who may be a real contributor at OLB.

I last saw Ross personally in the Class 3A state championship game last year

when he gave a great effort on a broken ankle (which has since healed). Ross

reminds me a great deal of Linnis Smith who was approximately the same size

coming out of high school. Like Smith, Ross has a tremendously quick burst off

the ball. His three-point stance includes a flat back and he keeps his feet

aligned with his hips to generate power. Most of the time plays with his pads

square to the line. When he combines these attributes, he generates great

leverage and as a result was able to overcome numerous double teams to either

make plays in the backfield or force the play elsewhere. He also is able to

chase down plays very well and has good instincts; he rarely takes a false step

or takes himself out of position.

Hop and I talked to both David as well as his dad after the game. During the

recruiting process, Mr. Ross said that David took trips to TCU, Louisiana Tech,

OU, and A&M. Mr. Ross noted that "he never quite got the same feeling

at the other schools as he did at A&M. He felt this way about the coaches in

particular". Mr. Ross believed that "Texas A&M was the best

combination of academics and athletics for David. In addition, the people seemed

genuinely interested in David Ross the person and not just David Ross the

athlete". However, Mr. Ross was impressed with his son in that "David’s

experiences with Texas A&M led him to come to the same conclusions that I

did in that it was the place for him". David’s father noted that Brandon

Johnson and David will be roommates this fall which might enable David to get a

little home cooking since Brandon is from Bryan. David stated that he was last

measured at 6-4 and 265 lbs. but he certainly looks larger than that at this

point. He will major in kinesiology at A&M.

The North had four Div-I signees on its DL: Ross, Johnson, Tech’s

Fred Thweatt, and North Texas’ Chris Moss. As a result, South

QBs were under tremendous pressure all-night and RBs were consistently dropped

for losses. Not only that, it should be noted that Johnson and Ross (both

A&M signees) were defensive MVPs in the all-star games this summer (Ross

being MVP of the Oil Bowl).

Bryant Singleton of Galveston Ball played both CB and WR for the South

but certainly had a greater impact in the secondary. As a CB, he broke up two

passes and displayed several positive attributes including the ability to play

up on the receiver, open his hips when reacting to the receiver, and nice

recovery and closing speed. He also caught a pass and took a good shot but

popped right back up. In talking to Bryant after the game, he said that he

"wanted to play WR but I will do whatever it takes to get on the

field".

Jami Hightower was recruited as an OL but played TE in the game, many

times in an unbalanced alignment. Although it was difficult assess Hightower as

an OL prospect strictly from this game, it was very apparent that he has really

quick feet and typically had no problem whatsoever keeping himself between the

defender and QB on pass blocking assignments. He also used his hands well and

usually got in a shot before the defender could react.

On run blocking, he

knocked at least two people about five yards off the ball. Hightower is regarded

as a quiet type by many observers but he was very upbeat after the game, even

calling over future A&M teammates Ross, Singleton, and Johnson for a group

photo. Hightower said that he plans to major in engineering at A&M.

The South’s John Roberson saw quite a bit of action at both CB and

WR although due to pressure from the North’s DL, Roberson rarely had a chance

to catch any passes. Even so, Roberson had some big plays on offense, defense,

and special teams. As a WR, he had two nice catches on inside screens where he

worked his way to the opposite side of the field from where he originally caught

the ball and gained good yardage. As a CB, he intercepted a long pass in the

first quarter and showed a great backpedal to close to the ball and timed his

leap perfectly to make the grab. As a returner, his kickoff return after the

North scored their first TD allowed the South to drive only a short distance for

he game-tying FG. The bottom line with Roberson is that he is a playmaker. He

has great instincts, the quickness to avoid tacklers in confined spaces, soft

hands, and is able to time his leaps so that he catches the ball at the top of

the leap. He seems destined to help the Aggies on special teams this fall.

Jaxson Appel played both offense and defense but like Roberson did not

get a chance to show his stuff as a WR due to the pressure of the North’s

front four. In addition, he was rarely tested as a safety.

Overall, the performances of the A&M signees (in particular Ross and

Johnson) indicates that this class was probably underrated by many observers.

Freshman report to A&M on August 6 and it is safe to say that most of the

players in the all-star game will have an impact early on.

Also of note, several players from Highland Park HS came out to watch the game. Down below is a picture of them