I went to the Lake Travis vs. Shreveport Evangel game Friday night. Here's some observations.
First, let me tell you that I don't watch much HS football. I was in HS 20 years ago and watched plenty then in the SA area. So I'm no expert.
1) Gilbert - I'm sold. It was like watching a good college QB on a HS team. I was tracking his stats in my head for a while - early in the second quarter he had ~200 yards and 3 TDs. I stopped at that point. He was putting his throws on the money, hitting guys in stride where they could catch the ball while running smoothly, showing good arm strength (the 90 yard TD completion had the ball in the air about 55 yards as far as I could tell), also drilled the ball several times on shorter routes. The one thing that really jumped out at me, though, was that he was very calm and composed. A number of times I thought for sure that he'd take a sack - there'd be 2 or 3 guys coming at him. He'd throw an accurate pass on what must have been the third read on the play. He did that time and again. Very impressive. Can't wait to see him on the 40 acres. I know that there are some GD bashers around, but I think he's done an excellent job on the QBs that we've had here at Texas. Gilbert could be another 4 year starter when McCoy is gone.
I'd say that Gilbert is the best HS football player I've ever seen. The previous best was Chris Pryor from Judson. I bet 95% of those reading this really think I'm an amateur now, but the 5% of you that saw Pryor will understand the compliment to Gilbert. I've also seen the Cash brothers, Johnny Walker, and Mitch Price in HS, so I've seen some decent talent.
2) Lake Travis has ridiculous facilities. My buddy and I showed up early. We tried to get in, but the door was locked. A LT employee came over and asked if we wanted to check it out. He let us in and we got to see it. Five million bucks for an indoor facility that looked to be regulation width and from the 45 through an end zone. All with artificial turf that felt like real grass. The weight room was ridiculous as well. The whole campus is nice.
3) I'm getting really old. Fred Akers' *grandson* was playing safety for LT. Brewer's kid is the backup QB, Erxleben's kid is the punter and DE.
4) Shreveport has some good players - Giles and Tyson look like legitimate DI players. Shreveport had a bunch of stupid penalties (my buddy saw them throw some punches) that kept drives alive, etc. The game should have been more competitive.
5) LT's best WR, McCrary (son of Hardee McCrary) can play. He made some nice grabs. He seemed to have decent speed (got deep several times, I think against Giles) but I have no real way to measure it since I hadn't seen any of these guys play before. I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a scholie at a DI school. That will probably come down to a 40 time.
6) Kelly - I watched him exclusively on a number of plays. He looks athletic and light on his feet. He had a good game, but line is the hardest spot in HS to tell how good anyone is. When LT was getting run on they'd send him out there and the difference was night and day.
I'm happy to answer any questions. Or at least try to...
First, let me tell you that I don't watch much HS football. I was in HS 20 years ago and watched plenty then in the SA area. So I'm no expert.
1) Gilbert - I'm sold. It was like watching a good college QB on a HS team. I was tracking his stats in my head for a while - early in the second quarter he had ~200 yards and 3 TDs. I stopped at that point. He was putting his throws on the money, hitting guys in stride where they could catch the ball while running smoothly, showing good arm strength (the 90 yard TD completion had the ball in the air about 55 yards as far as I could tell), also drilled the ball several times on shorter routes. The one thing that really jumped out at me, though, was that he was very calm and composed. A number of times I thought for sure that he'd take a sack - there'd be 2 or 3 guys coming at him. He'd throw an accurate pass on what must have been the third read on the play. He did that time and again. Very impressive. Can't wait to see him on the 40 acres. I know that there are some GD bashers around, but I think he's done an excellent job on the QBs that we've had here at Texas. Gilbert could be another 4 year starter when McCoy is gone.
I'd say that Gilbert is the best HS football player I've ever seen. The previous best was Chris Pryor from Judson. I bet 95% of those reading this really think I'm an amateur now, but the 5% of you that saw Pryor will understand the compliment to Gilbert. I've also seen the Cash brothers, Johnny Walker, and Mitch Price in HS, so I've seen some decent talent.
2) Lake Travis has ridiculous facilities. My buddy and I showed up early. We tried to get in, but the door was locked. A LT employee came over and asked if we wanted to check it out. He let us in and we got to see it. Five million bucks for an indoor facility that looked to be regulation width and from the 45 through an end zone. All with artificial turf that felt like real grass. The weight room was ridiculous as well. The whole campus is nice.
3) I'm getting really old. Fred Akers' *grandson* was playing safety for LT. Brewer's kid is the backup QB, Erxleben's kid is the punter and DE.
4) Shreveport has some good players - Giles and Tyson look like legitimate DI players. Shreveport had a bunch of stupid penalties (my buddy saw them throw some punches) that kept drives alive, etc. The game should have been more competitive.
5) LT's best WR, McCrary (son of Hardee McCrary) can play. He made some nice grabs. He seemed to have decent speed (got deep several times, I think against Giles) but I have no real way to measure it since I hadn't seen any of these guys play before. I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a scholie at a DI school. That will probably come down to a 40 time.
6) Kelly - I watched him exclusively on a number of plays. He looks athletic and light on his feet. He had a good game, but line is the hardest spot in HS to tell how good anyone is. When LT was getting run on they'd send him out there and the difference was night and day.
I'm happy to answer any questions. Or at least try to...
