Thursday, January 28, 2016

Juan Perez - Q&A

Today's guest is Juan Perez.  Juan was a two year starter for Cypress Ranch, receiving all-district mention twice as well as academic all-district.  Last year, Cy Ranch reeled off ten straight wins after a season opening loss, before falling to eventual state champion Katy in the second round.  The year before, the Mustangs made it to the state finals, bowing to Allen in the championship game.


***Juan is currently uncommitted***


Hudl Highlights

LSC Scoop - Juan, what an outstanding senior season, both individually and as a team. What will you remember most from last year?
What I will remember the most from this last season was the Cypress Ridge game. One of my teammates laid on the ground with a broken forearm. He was a game changer no doubt about it. Something got into me and I went 100 times harder for him for my team they needed a boost of energy. Will all glory to God we came away with the victory for our school and him.

Q - Tell us a little bit about recruiting. When did colleges start coming around? Was it ever a distraction?
Colleges started to contact me in December. It could definitely be a distraction if you let it get to you head. In this situation you just have to be patient and let God do his magic

Q - Who are the schools interested in you?
Adams State, Harding University, Angelo State, Midwestern State, Texas A&M Commerce. Those are the ones that relly stick out to me

Q - What schools are you most interested in?
In this process you can't ever be picky anything offered to you is a blessing, there's no time to be picking favorites.

Q - How big of a role do academics play in your decision? Have you decided on a major?
Academics always come first to me. I believe that is something coaches want to see is a STUDENT before an ATHLETE. If you don't have the grades then you're technically wasting your time trying to play and get an education. That's just how I feel about it. I am looking to be a mechanical engineer. If that doesn't work out possibly a dentist.

Q - What strengths do you have that will help you be successful at the collegiate level?
The urge to want to prove people wrong. I am always being told I won't be good enough because of my size. I block that away. I believe in working hard so that I can be the one with the last laugh. Size doesn't matter, if you can ball that's the only thing that you should be judged on.

Q - Who are your role models, or the people that have helped you get where you are today?
Honestly ? My little brother .. He is my inspiration he suffers of autism. I want to get my degree and play for him. I one day want to take care of my brother. I want him to know that I love him with all my heart and I wake up everyday for him.

Q - Any advice for guys that will be going through this process in the next year or two?
Keep your head up high no matter who's recruiting you. Don't wait till your senior year to get your name out there. Send your film out as soon as possible to get exposure and be on top of the other people and evaluated first. That's a mistake I committed and advice others not to commit.

Q - What teammates do you think have the ability to play at the collegiate level? Are they being recruited?
At Cypress Ranch there's a lot of players that can honestly ball. But focusing on the senior class . Brayden Stringer, Collin Rock, Nick Stiff, and Mark Bruno . Those guys have their own respective colleges .

Thanks Juan.  Hope to see you in the trenches in the LSC for the next four years.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Brent Hertel - Q&A

Today, we have Brent Hertel, TE from Cypress Falls.  In the Eagles run offense, Brent didn't catch a ton of passes (10), but averaged almost 25 yard per catch and had 4 TDs.  After the season, VYPE Magazine named him to the All-Greater Houston football team.  At the time of the interview, he had not yet committed to a college.  Since then, he has announced his decision, which we added to the bottom of the interview.

HUDL Highlights


BRENTLSC Scoop - Brent, what an outstanding senior season, both individually and as a team. What will you remember most from last year? Thank you! What I think I will remember most is just being around such an amazing team and being able to enjoy a great season with them.



Q - North Shore barely edged you oute in the playoffs. How hard was that game, and were you rooting for or against them the rest of the way? Man that was the hardest game of my life. When we were down and the clock hit "0:00" it hit me that my high school football career was over, I was devastated. Congrats to North Shore for winning state! They were a great group of players and I was rooting for them after they played us!
Q - Breaking away from the team for a second - how did the change in offense affect you? I really enjoyed the change of offense. I am a very physical player and the offense we ran this year just showcased my type of play style. In a team perspective, it suited us and helped us reach the third round of playoffs which is what really mattered.

Q - Tell us a little bit about recruiting. When did colleges start coming around? Was it ever a distraction? Recruiters started coming around towards the middle of the season. It was never a distraction to me, it really just pushed me to be better.

Q - Who are the schools interested in you? Texas A&M Kingsville, West Texas A&M, A&M Commerce, Prairie View, Texas Lutheran, Concordia
Q - How big of a role do academics play in your decision? Have you decided on a major? Academics plays a huge role in the decision i make. Football will end sometime for me, whether it be after college, or maybe even after the NFL, but whenever it ends it's important to have a good degree! For my major I am still trying to decide between business or engineering.
Q - What strengths do you have that will help you be successful at the collegiate level? I feel my work ethics is what will truly make me successful at the next level. I may not be the biggest, strongest, or the fastest, but I will be the hardest working and do everything I can in my power to better my team and myself.
Q - Who are your role models, or the people that have helped you get where you are today? The man who helped me get to where I am right now is my father. He is a great person who motivates me to be the best I can be in whatever I do. One day I can only hope to be as good as of a man as he is.
Q - Any advice for guys that will be going through this process in the next year or two? My advice for the guys that will be going through this process next year would be to start early and start sending your film out, go to a lot of college camps to get yourself noticed, stay hopeful when no one comes for you, and then stay humble when they start trying to knock the door down for you.

(After the interview, Brent announced his commitment to Texas A&M-Kingsville.)
I chose the Javelinas because it's almost like a second home. The campus is beautiful, I will get a good degree there, and the coaching staff is amazing. I'm excited to get the season rolling already lol

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Alex Shillow - Q&A


We have Alex Shillow this morning.  Alex capped off his senior season with an Associated Press second team all-state selection.  Teaming with Louis Kelley, Pflugerville had one of the top secondaries in the Cen-Tex region.

HUDL Highlights


LSC Scoop - What an outstanding senior season. What will you remember most from last year?
Thank you, and what I will remember most is the memories that were made throughout the season with my brothers. We faced adversity on and off the field but we stuck through it, played hard and had a memorable season. 

Tell us a little bit about recruiting. When did colleges start coming around? Was it ever a distraction? Colleges started coming around a little after the season but really right when the new year came around my phone started ringing every day. It never was a distraction but I was and am highly into the recruiting process so it's actually a great time in my life. 

Who are the schools interested in you? Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas A&M-Commerce, Midwestern State, Southwestern Oklahoma State and Missouri S&T are all really on me.


ShillowWhat schools are you most interested in? Hard to rank them right now but I'll have a decision by signing day, haha. 

How big of a role do academics play in your decision? Have you decided on a major? Academics play a big role in my decision because football is going to end for all of us one day, so I need to know I'll be getting a good degree from my major which is Business Management.


Who are your role models, or the people that have helped you get where you are today?
I want to say thank you to my parents first, because I wouldn't be here with out them. My coaches, Grindtime, and all my teammates who've pushed me to be the greatest athlete I could be so far. 

Any advice for guys that will be going through this process in the next year or two? The biggest advice to guys about to get recruited is be realistic with yourselves and ask as many questions as possible during the process. Send your film as much you can as well. Don't doubt yourself, all you need is one school to give you an opportunity! Then ball out. 

What teammates do you think have the ability to play at the collegiate level? Are they being recruited? I got a couple teammates getting recruited from LSC schools, but my DT Tyler Turner and Jordan Barrs, DB D'Morea Horton, LB Manny Daniels, and WR Dawson Tamez all got the talent but just need an opportunity.

Thank you Alex. Best of luck on your decision.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Charles Jefferson Q&A

Charles JeffersonToday's guest is Charles Jefferson defensive back who played at Rochester CC last yearn and recently gave a verbal commitment to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

LSC Scoop - Hello Charles, thank you for your time. You're not from Texas, so can you tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Charles Jefferson. I am from Belle Rose, Louisiana and went to Assumption high school in Louisiana, the same high school as Brandon Jacobs. My brother and I were raised by my grandmother and grandfather (our mom died when we was 3 years old). At Assumption I started all 4 years, I was all state my freshmen year, all-region as a junior and senior and all-district as a sophomore, junior and senior.

It hasn't been a straight shot out of high school. Tell us about the path you have taken so far.
Out of high school, I was attended the University of North Dakota. We found out I wasn't a qualifier, so I sat out my first year of college. I then went to Blinn College, tried out for the team but had family problems and had to withdraw from school. After I got all that straight I then transferred to Rochester JC where I played this year 

Tell us a little bit about your recruiting this fall. I was highly recruited from Houston, U Mass, Texas State and ULL. They dropped their interest due to me not being a December graduate. As of right now I have 17 offers (from FCS and D2 schools). As the season went on and the FBS schools weren't showing as much interest as before, I showed more interest in the FCS schools.  I also talked to the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M Kingsville before I went to Rochester and he loved my film and showed a lot of interest in me, but at that time I was stuck on going D1.

I chose to go the D2 route, because I have 3 years (of eligibility) left vs. 2 years at D1. Once I made that choice, I had to see what school would fit me best. Some of my choices were Sioux Falls, Emporia State, Minnesota State and West Alabama. Coach Brown from Kingsville and I started talking again. They were the most consistent D2 out of all of them and I fit their defensive scheme. So I talked to my family and WE made a decision that Texas A&M Kingsville was the school for me.

How solid is your commitment to Texas A&M Kingsville?
You can almost say it's a done deal with me going to Kingsville. I will be enrolled in school for the summer start in June and I am a kinesiology major.

 How did academics fit into your decision?
These next 3 years is more to me then football. I want to get my Bachelors and Masters degrees at Kingsville. I like the small class sizes, it's more one on one with the professors at Kingsville.


My brother played college football for Grambling State He won 2 championships there and had a shot at the league, but he got caught up in other stuff. I always told myself I'm going to finish what he started.


And your plans after college?
The NFL. But if that doesn't work I want to be a coach, definitely something close to Sports.

Thank you Charles. Best of luck in the future.





Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Casey Rosellini - Q&A

Today we will visit with Casey Rosellini. Casey was a three year starter at QB at Cypress Falls recently and was one of the first high school commits to an LSC school.


LSC Scoop - What a season Cy Falls had, finishing the season with a heartbreaking 28-21 loss to eventual state champion Galena Park North Shore, a game in which you actually led 21-7 in the first half. What kind of memories will you take from last season?
Casey - The fact that we were even in that position to begin with after having some pretty unsuccessful seasons in the previous years speaks volumes to what hard work and dedication can do with a football team. I won't remember each individual game but what I will forever remember & cherish were those long days in the weight room and on the track, 7 on 7 tournaments in the heat of June, the early morning practices during two a days, and the locker room full of guys I spent 4 years with.


That was as tough as any team played North Shore in the playoffs, including the state championship game. Any thoughts on "That could have us"?
We definitely felt that we should've been the state champion, but we also accepted that it just wasn't meant to be, and that the ride we went on was unforgettable in itself.


Were you rooting for them against Converse Judson and Austin Westlake?
I was rooting for them, because they were from Houston and it shows how much talent we have in our city. We believe our city has the best football in the country.


You switched to a run-heavy offense last year. The team improved from 6-14 the prior to years to 10-3 last year, but your passing numbers went down as a result. Did you have any reservations about the switch? or could you tell it would bring the team more success?
At first, I think the entire team was skeptical. We didn't know what to expect. But as time went on and the results were showing on the field, we all bought in. I, personally, did not care about stats much because I had already thrown for a lot of yards and touchdowns in my career to that point, and I was just focused on getting our team and program back to where it needed to be. 


Do you think it had any effect on colleges that might be evaluating you?
I'm sure it played a role in recruiting, because of course most schools run the spread and the coaches want guys who are throwing the ball constantly and that have familiarity with/fit their system. But I believe it all worked out like God intended it to. I ended up at a great university with some of the best coaches and richest traditions in the country.


The flip side of student-athlete is academics. Congratulations on being named Academic All State. What will your major be in college? What is your dream career outside of sports.
Thank you, it was a huge honor. My mom is in charge of academics in my house, so I give all the credit to her for keeping me focused. I intend to major in Kinesiology and I want to be a football coach at the college level. I pride myself on having a very high football IQ and I love to recruit, so I feel like I'll fit right in.


Recruiting can be hectic and nerve-wracking - have you enjoyed the recruiting process? What schools have you been talking to?
Recruiting was definitely stressful. Schools constantly would show interest and then the next week, you'd never hear from them. It really can get to you if you let it, so the key is to stay confident in your abilities, keep your head up, and be patient. I was actively recruited by Davidson, ACU, and UNT.


You were an early (for the LSC) commit to Texas A&M Kingsville. Why are they a good fit for you, and what do you expect to bring to the table for them?
I chose Kingsville because I really liked the coaching staff and I saw what they had planned for the future and I wanted to be a part of it. I want to win championships and get a great education on top of that, and I couldn't think of a better school to do that. I believe that I will bring leadership and toughness to our team. My job will be to lead our team every game and to always be ready to play.


At this point, it appears that the Javelinas have really been hitting the Houston area hard. Do you know any of the other guys that have been recruited by TAMUK? Will it be weird at first to have teammates that were rivals just a couple of months ago, or will that shared competition bond you together?
Actually, all of our commits and most of our recruits talk to each other every day. We have a common goal of winning championships and the fact that we all have played against each other helps because we all have mutual respect for each other's abilities. Our recruits from Houston take pride in playing in such a great football city and great programs, and we want to bring that winning attitude and pedigree to TAMUK to win that 8th National Championship.


Who were your biggest influences both on and off the field. What role has your family had in your development, and what is there impression of Texas A&M Kingsville and the coaching staff?
I am an only child, so all of my parents attention was focused on raising me to be the best person I could be. My mom was in charge of my academics and my dad was in charge of athletics. I had to put in a lot of time and hard work to perfect my craft and keep my grades up. They are the reason I am where I am today.
Coach Thornton (WR's) was actually a coach at Cy Falls for a year before going to TAMUK, so I had a good relationship with him prior to being recruited by the school. And once I talked to Coach Wilkinson on the phone and at my home visit in December, I knew I had to take a visit as soon as possible. I toured the campus and facilities, met the coaching staff, fell in love with the school and knew I was going to be a Javelina. It's such a blessing to have the opportunity to play football and get a great education at a school like this as well as becoming a part of the Javelina Nation. I can't wait to get started.

Thank you Casey. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.



HUDL Jr. Season Highlights - Link

Lone Star Conference

Angelo State University

Cameron University

Eastern New Mexico University

MSUMustangs.com

Texas A&M-Commerce

Tarleton State University

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Texas Woman's College

University of Texas of the Permian Basin

West Texas A&M University

Western New Mexico