Thursday, June 07, 2007

2001, a very good year!


Lets take a walk down memory lane. Hop over to the Washington Post's 2001 High School Football All Metropolitan Players. The group photo is not available. However, check out some of the names.



  • Marcus Mason, RB, Georgetown Prep, now trying out for the Redskins

  • Terry Caulley, RB, Patuxent, invited to Redskins OTAs, recently released

  • Ahmad Brooks, LB, Hylton. The son of former Redskin DL Perry Brooks is now trying out for the Cincinnati Bengals

  • Mike Imoh, RB, Robinson, tried out for the Redskins in 2006

  • Billy Gaines, WR, Urbana, attended University of Pittsburgh, died as a result of a tragic accident. Based on timing, he should have been a team-mate of H.B. Blades at Pitt.

  • Vernon Davis, TE, Dunbar (DC), finding success with the San Francisco 49ers

  • Shawne Merriman, LB, Douglass, the most prominent of this group is finding success with the San Diego Chargers

  • Conrad Bolston, DL, St. John's, now trying out for the Minnesota Vikings

  • Marcus Hamilton, DB, Centreville, now trying out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Nine of the 44 first and second team All Met schoolboys of 2001 are good enough to try out for an NFL club. That strikes me as a high percentage, although I've made no comparisons to other class years, or to metro areas in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Texas, cradles of football. This suggests that the Washington DC metro area is a ripe recruiting area for football as well as basketball.

Shawne Merriman and Vernon Davis have established themselves, but most of the All-Met Nine are late round draft picks or free agents. Marcus Mason will have a tough time cracking the Redskins line-up. He will have to beat out Derrick Blaylock for a spot at running back, or Rock Cartwright as a special teamer. Terry Caulley was the 2001 All-Met offensive player of the year. He set the rushing record at UCONN; however, he is considered undersized for the NFL. He could catch on as a special teamer elsewhere. Ahmad Brooks, the 2001 defensive player of the year, has good genes going for him.

Best wishes to all these guys.

The Google curse: To get hooked looking stuff up when you should be in bed.

Photo: Shawne Merriman, chargers.com from www.sdhoc.com

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