When the football recruiting letters come for Curtis Grant — and they come frequently from all over the country — he reads them and gives them to his mother for inclusion in a scrapbook.
She may need several scrapbooks by the time her son is finished at Hermitage High School.

The junior has what major colleges covet in a linebacker: size, speed, instincts and an appetite for work.

Grant is 6-3, 225 pounds and covers 40 yards in 4.5 seconds. He’s averaging about 13 tackles for the third-ranked Panthers (2-1), who open Colonial District play tonight against Deep Run (1-2) at 7 at Hermitage.

“He’s got the size, he runs very well and he hits very hard,” Hermitage coach Patrick Kane said. “And he’s doing his job in the classroom. There are no question marks.”

The list — in no particular order — of potential suitors that Grant rattles off is impressive: Virginia Tech, Boston College, Maryland, West Virginia, Miami, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA, Northwestern, Kansas, Purdue, Syracuse, Oregon.

Those are the ones he could remember in a quick rundown.

“To tell you the truth, I really don’t keep up with [how many I get],” he said. “I’m just thankful to get some.”

Grant had 14 tackles as Hermitage knocked off then-top-ranked Varina 7-6 last week. Part of that, Kane said, was by design. The Panthers’ defensive scheme has tackles Jaquan Roney and Jamal Samuels occupying blockers so that Grant and fellow linebacker Daryl Howell can roam free.

And part of that was instinct and homework.

“He enjoys working hard, getting his body better,” Kane said. “He enjoys studying film, learning the game better. He has all those phases he likes working toward, which is going to be a huge asset to him at the next level. Sometimes the kids who work hard on the field don’t get into the film work. He’s got so many avenues to improve because he enjoys doing them.”

For now, Grant is trying to put all the attention on file so he can focus on getting better.

He doesn’t think he runs all that fast, which is why during the offseason you’re likely to find him chugging up and down the towering stadium steps on one side of the football field at Hermitage. Or jumping rope. Or pulling a sled. Or running sprints.

He’s already improved his 40 time by .2 since he was a freshman, when he introduced himself to the area by knocking down a 2-point conversion pass in a 21-20 victory over unbeaten Highland Springs in the Central Region, Division 6 playoffs.

“I just want to do a little bit more than the next person,” he said, “so you can defeat your opponent, you know?”

          The Grant file
          The basics: 6-3, 225-pound junior linebacker/tight end at Hermitage High School

          Describes himself on the field as: “An animal. I’m aggressive. I’m a whole different person on the football field.”

          Describes himself off the field as: “A social butterfly, as my mother would say.”

          If he had one wish: “To be healthy and live to like 1,000.”

          Quotable: “He’s very hungry to be successful. He wants to get better.” — Hermitage coach Patrick Kane

    How good do you think your defense is now, and can you tell how it compares to the strong defenses you had back in the ’90s?

    “At this point, I’m not into comparing anything. We’ve still got a lot to play. Defensively, we’ve improved upon last year – I can say that. And at times we’ve played very well, but at times we’re not as consistent as we need to be. Again, I think we’ve got some players up front in Sean Lissemore and Adrian Tracy who are very consistent about the way they play and kind of set the stage for us. Jake Trantin at middle linebacker is playing very well, and we have some other guys who are doing well, too. I think we’re a little faster than we’ve been in the past and we’re playing very hard, and hopefully we can keep that going.“

    How much does it mean to the league to be able to get this kind of exposure with the game being broadcast (on the Versus Network)?

    “For us or Villanova I think it’s really good to be able to get that kind of exposure and get people to see us. And players like to perform in front of people. They like to have a lot of people at the game, and hopefully we’ll have a big crowd up at Villanova, too, as well as all the people on TV. I think it adds to the excitement of the players. It makes it great for them to get that attention and exposure and the opportunity to play in front of that many people.“

   
    Do you think Villanova is the biggest test for you so far?

    “Well, they’re very good. And like I said before, we’ve had trouble with them the last few years, that’s for sure. So we’ve
got to get ourselves focused and improve and get ready to play.“

    I noticed a quickness on defense. Is that a concentration on the part of the coaching and strength staffs?

    “Well, those things don’t usually just happen. It’s preparation, working hard and recruiting. Those are a lot of the factors that go into that, but I think we are a little faster on defense. That’s one thing we had looked at the last few years, and we thought we needed to try to get a little faster and a little quicker. I think we are, and I think that’s very evident when you watch us play.“

    Can you talk about the challenge of playing in the CAA? With so many good teams, you know that not all of them can make the playoffs and some good team will get left out.

    “Well, I can name one last year that didn’t make it. ...  It’s kind of like a lot of things. If you look at the big picture it kind of looks pretty tough. That’s why you don’t look at all the teams you have to play all year but you just look at it game by game and week by week. You approach it that way instead of looking at all the ones we’ve got to play in our league and how tough and balanced our league is. ... We’re playing one team this week, and it’s a very good team. We’ve got to get ourselves ready to play this game.“

    Is there a reason you’ve struggled with (Villanova) the past couple of years, or is that just how it goes sometimes?

    “They were better than us, I guess, the past couple of years. ... Last year they jumped out to a big lead. Luckily, we came back in the second half and played alright, which made it a little more respectable. They’re a very good team. When you play against an outstanding team, and a well-coached team, if you’re not really clicking then there’s a chance to get beat. That’s what happened.“

The list of schools recruiting Reco McCarter suggests new VCU basketball coach Shaka Smart has landed quite a player.

McCarter, a 6-7, 185-pound forward out of Wayne Country Day School in Goldsboro, N.C., committed to the Rams this week. His coach, Terry Jones, said Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn, George Washington and some other ACC schools were “sitting on the fence” waiting to see if McCarter would qualify academically.

Jones said he is “90-95 percent sure” McCarter will qualify.

“He’s turned things around,” said Jones, who noted McCarter came to him “in a hole” academically two years ago. “He’s headed in the right direction. He’s a success story.”

Several recruiting services rate McCarter as a high-major talent. Jones said that for much of McCarter’s recruitment, a high-major program was his first choice.

“He realized a smaller [mid-major] situation would be better for him, moreso academically,” Jones said. “Athletically, it would take care of itself no matter where he went.”

McCarter averaged about 18 points and 7 rebounds last year.

“Reco is a guy who continues to improve,” said Dave Telep, Scout.com’s national basketball recruiting director. “Athletically, he’s a good board man, and the Rams will put his live body to use. As his jumper improves, he’ll be able to step back and make shots. Fits their ‘havoc’ style perfectly. He was built to run, defend and use his athleticism.”

Jones said McCarter is versatile enough to play small forward and point guard.

“The coaches liked him because of his defensive ability,” Jones said. “They were salivating at the opportunity to put him at the top of a zone press.

“He can do a number of things offensively. He’s explosive. He can change the course of a game quickly with some of the things he can do.“
Jones is Smart’s second recruit for 2010. He also has a commitment from Rob Brandenberg, a 6-2 guard from outside of Columbus, Ohio.

“Coach Smart and his staff are working off a short list of talented prospects,” Telep said. “They’ve done an outstanding job of not only identifying prospects, but gathering intelligence, and now they are in a position to come away with a big-time recruiting class.”

Scott Secules has resigned from his position as VCU’s senior associate athletic director for external affairs. The former University of Virginia and NFL quarterback (Dallas, Miami, New England) had overseen the athletic department’s development, marketing and public relations since 2006.

Secules said he recently sat down with VCU Athletics Director Norwood Teague and mutually decided it was time to look elsewhere and “pursue other things” for him and his family.

Secules recently interviewed for the athletics director’s job at UNC Greensboro, but it went to another candidate.

“I’m proud of what we accomplished and appreciative of the opportunity Norwood gave us to come here,” Secules said. “It’s not easy to leave. It’s a neat place to work, and we experienced a lot of success.

“I know there are good things in store for the Secules family, and I look forward to finding them.”

Teague said he would wait until the first of the year to fill the position.

“Next week, it may be Tim more at quarterback, then the week after that it may be Kyle,” Woods said. “I think when we have both in the game, we’re better.”

Hughes, a senior, started against UR and had 133 yards rushing and 141 passing. He scored two touchdowns and passed for two more and was named the Big South Conference’s offensive player of the week.

Maypray, a dangerous runner who can also play slotback, carried five times for 20 yards and caught a 44-yard TD pass from Hughes.

“Tim was hurt a lot [last] week,” Woods said. “Kyle really stepped up going into this game. This was our best plan, I thought. I was very impressed. We talk about Tim, because he is a very fast runner, but I saw Kyle Hughes go 66 yards against the defending national champions. So he can run as well, too.”

The seventh-ranked Dukes (2-1) play at Hofstra (2-2), a team it clocked 56-0 last year. The Pride lost to Richmond 47-0 earlier this season.

JMU follows Hofstra with games that should decide the pecking order in the CAA: at home against No.¤1 Richmond, at home against No.¤2 Villanova, and at No.¤5 William and Mary.

He’s more concerned about the test the Tribe will get from the Wildcats. William and Mary, 1-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association and 4-0 overall, hasn’t beaten Villanova (1-0, 4-0) in the past four meetings.

“This team looks, from what I’ve seen, to be as good, if not better, than any of those other teams,” Laycock said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, so we’ve got to concentrate on that.”

Villanova comes in averaging 228 yards rushing, which ranks sixth in Football Championship Subdivision. Wildcats quarterback Chris Whitney is averaging 69 yards rushing and 126.5 yards passing.

William and Mary’s defense is yielding just 59 yards rushing, which ranks eighth.

“You aren’t looking at a team that’s one dimensional on offense,” Laycock said. “They can run and mix in the pass. .¤.¤. There’s not just one player you can concentrate on, either. You’ve got to be able to cover the whole field, and they’ve got the opportunity, and certainly the ability, to make big plays.”

Laycock, on comparing this team with some of the other good teams he’s had: “I’m not into comparing anything. We’ve played four games, so all that means is the worst we can be is 4-7. .¤.¤. You kind of don’t look at the overall thing until probably the season’s over — at least I don’t. We’re just trying to be a little better this week.”

Shoop was the defensive backs coach at Massachusetts in 2006. He was aware of the Tribe’s potential on the defensive line when he took the job at William and Mary in 2007. 

          The Tribe had three freshmen who saw considerable time in 2006: Adrian Tracy, Sean Lissemore and C.J. Herbert.

“Before I took the job here, I remember the guys at UMass saying, ‘Geez, those young guys up front are pretty good.’ So I was excited about that when I got here.“
Lissemore, on the defense’s evolution in the past three seasons:

“People always told us we had a bright future as a unit. We had the potential to be really good. ... You’ve got to go through the rough times to get to the good times. Those rough times, building that character, have carried over to our success.”

William and Mary is ranked 19th in scoring defense (14.3). Delaware is ranked ninth (11).

Sophomore tailback Jonathan Grimes has carried the ball 187 times without a fumble. Including receptions and kick returns, he has touched the ball 250 times without coughing it up.

No Tribe running back has lost a fumble since Delaware last year, a run of nine games.