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Friday, Feb. 5, 2010

Mother Nature arrived the night before in the form of snow, closing county schools. But the show still went on for the country's annual climax to the frenzied college football recruiting process, occurring the first Wednesday of each February, as seven talents took advantage of the first opportunity to officially declare the next stops in their careers through National Letters of Intent.

Headlining the county –– and Southern Maryland Athletic Conference for that matter, as they were no signings in Calvert and St. Mary's counties –– was a pair of Westlake teammates in Josh Alexander and Julian Blair.

Alexander, who boasted a SMAC-leading 21 sacks last fall, confirmed his verbal commitment last month by signing with the University of Connecticut to play outside linebacker, while the speedy Blair inked his name with the University of New Mexico where he will showcase his dynamic defensive back abilities.

"I've been watching on ESPN how they're talking about the versatility of all the recruits going to Florida," Alexander said shortly after completing the signing process at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at home. "I'm just as versatile as them, if not better. I think I'm better than half of them. But I'm not going to talk about it, I'm just going to show them. I'm going to pop up at the next level and make a name for myself.

"I'm just going to work harder."

North Point's Nico Washington and Westlake's Courtney Jarvis also placed their John Hancocks on letters of intent Wednesday, signing with the ranks of NCAA Division I-AA, now called Football Championship Subdivision.

Washington will be in the trenches at defensive tackle on a full ride for Norfolk State in Virginia, while Jarvis, a defensive back, is headed to Lehigh in Pennsylvania on a generous partial scholarship.

McDonough receivers Javarrus King and DeVante Stamps also ensured they will remain teammates in college –– continuing their close friendship as well –– as they signed full rides Thursday morning with Division II Concord University in West Virginia.

Their signings were originally scheduled for Wednesday, but were postponed due to the school closings.

Westlake defensive end Sean Garland is also on his way to the Division II level, thanks to a partial ride with Bowie State.

Unlike their normal mindset of wanting a day off when snow will allow, several of the athletes scheduled to be involved with National Signing Day were actually disappointed that school was closed.

"It kind of threw me off [not having school today]," said Washington, who filled out all his appropriate paperwork at home with North Point head coach Ken Lane Wednesday afternoon. "It's basically like a dream come true, four years of hard work. Basically, I'm a college player. Now, it's going to be hard work."

Jarvis said, after still signing at Westlake on Wednesday morning despite there being no school, "Yeah, [I wanted to have school today], but [the signing] was great. I thank God. He's the first person to thank. Lehigh is the right place for me. I trust the coaches, and I like the school. I felt nobody could beat Lehigh."

Jarvis was so impressed with Lehigh that he turned down offers from Towson, Wagner (N.Y.) and Colgate (N.Y.) among others.

Washington felt the same way about Norfolk State.

"I'm excited about the chance to get out of the first round [of the playoffs in Division I-AA]," Washington added. "With North Point, we couldn't get out of the first round the last two years. I'm just ready to compete."

Norfolk State head coach Pete Adrian said through the college's Web site: "Nico can really run for a player his size. He has a lot of ability and could get into our rotation as a freshman."

Blair also received high praise from his new college head coach in New Mexico's Mike Locksley via the Lobos' Web site.

"Julian came to our camp this summer and ran the fastest time of all our campers," Locksley said. "He ran a sub-4.5 [second] time for us [in the 40-yard dash], and he jumped off the charts with all of his skill sets a as a defensive back. We're expecting him to come in and help us in the secondary… He's also very physical and has great change of direction and great closing speed. Those are all the things you like to see out of a defensive back."

Locksley also expects Blair to be used as a return man for New Mexico's special teams.

"We really helped ourselves in the secondary by having Julian come aboard," Locksley added.

For Stamps, there is no shortage of confidence when it comes to the impact he and King can have at Concord.

"[Concord] is just a few playmakers away –– I like where they're at," said Stamps, won over by Concord's coaches and players as they showed the McDonough duo plenty of love and attention. "I know we can make a big difference at Concord. In high school, we were thinking the same things on the field so it's going to be a good connection that's going to keep going. We both study the game together."

Stamps admitted that he could have been a Division I recruit, probably for a program like University of Buffalo or the University of Richmond, if not for his SAT scores.

"I can't blame anyone but myself," he said about not qualifying for the Division I route. "At least I get to try my hand at Division II. There's nothing holding me back."

McDonough teammate Derrick Joseph initially appeared like he may take his explosive skills to Concord as well.

Now, according to McDonough head coach Luke Ethington, Joseph is more likely bound for Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference.

Westlake head coach Dominic Zaccarelli said he could still have about four more players sign scholarships to play college football.

Lackey's Herman Bowman will obtain preferential status in playing for Division I-AA Towson University after he received a full academic ride through a grant from the state.

Bowman did not sign a letter of intent with Towson.

Girls soccer signings

Football was not the only sport enjoying the official beginning of to the college-signing season. So were soccer recruits on Wednesday.

North Point forward Michelle Grozinsky signed with Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Westlake forward Amelia Tarlton would have also soaked in the day with a signing. But instead of taking an athletic scholarship with Division I Marist College, she chose to accept the school's academic offer. Tarlton will officially play for Marist's team as a recruited walk-on given the scholarship route she is taking.

Tarlton, who may also swim for Marist, was also offered a fine arts scholarship by the private school before settling for the academic ride, which presented the most money.

"It's been a goal of mine to play for a Division I college," said Tarlton, a four-year varsity starter at Westlake and a forward for a nationally ranked travel team from Bowie. "I've been playing since the second grade. It's definitely going to be a big transition but I know it'll make me better. Coming from Westlake, I learned about leadership as captain the last two years. I learned how to take a loss and turn it into something positive."

dcogle@somdnews.com