Underrated Players

[PurpleNation]

Out there are alot od Division I athletes that are being overlooked and underrated. What are some of the athletes that dominate on friday nights, but get no credit by National recruting websites when it is all said and done.


LB Mandela Robers(6'0 220lbs) I have him up there up there ranked just as good as MLB-Sergio Kindle. Mandela is an absolute beast and rivals shows him no love. He can play down hill and he can use his 4.4 speed to play Side line to Side line. Roberts was in on 118 TKLS last season and he did not play much in the second half or he could have really pushed 180 TKLS. When DCTFM listed there LB rankings I just closed the book and laughed. Mandela has set he name among the Elite LB's to come threw Lufkin.

[LeanderLions3033]

LB Mandela Robers(6'0 220lbs) I have him up there up there ranked just as good as MLB-Sergio Kindle. Mandela is an absolute beast and rivals shows him no love. He can play down hill and he can use his 4.4 speed to play Side line to Side line.

I dont know him at all, but i can tell you that hes not as good as Sergio Kindle, or he would be known nation wide, and would be considered the best high school football player in texas by many.

My personal most underrated player from Leander would have to be Billy Allen. Great hands, great speed, and solid size at 6'1" 185. He may end up going to a smaller D-1 school, but he is fairly underrated.

[PurpleNation]

Mandela will get his chance to show the nation he belongs up there with Sergio Kindle. Mandela will go D-1A to LSU,TAMU are his top choices.
Mandela does play better competion then Sergio does, but I am not knocking Kindle (Hook em).

[mcneilmav]

I think all of Leander's receivers are underrated. :(




I dont know him at all, but i can tell you that hes not as good as Sergio Kindle, or he would be known nation wide, and would be considered the best high school football player in texas by many.

My personal most underrated player from Leander would have to be Billy Allen. Great hands, great speed, and solid size at 6'1" 185. He may end up going to a smaller D-1 school, but he is fairly underrated.

[The Great Evaluator]

Dimitri Nance is one of the most underrated players in the state...Not so much by people on this board but by College Coaches. I talked to a scout from Oklahoma State last week and he mentioned Evans, Moody and Watkins but when i brought up Nance he didn't show any interest. I think a lot of people think running behind Trinity's line is the easiest job in the state but that kid has a lot of heart and good talent. I hope he gets an offer to a good school because he is a good kid.

[PurpleNation]

Dimitri Nance is one of the most underrated players in the state...Not so much by people on this board but by College Coaches. I talked to a scout from Oklahoma State last week and he mentioned Evans, Moody and Watkins but when i brought up Nance he didn't show any interest. I think a lot of people think running behind Trinity's line is the easiest job in the state but that kid has a lot of heart and good talent. I hope he gets an offer to a good school because he is a good kid.


Nance no doubt is a great RB. I have him up there behind Vondrell McGee. He may run behind a big O-Line but putting up 300 yards on any team is a Major feat. Nace does what a good RB is supposed to do. Run hard and down hill and win games.

[southlake thug]

From what I hear Nance is the real deal, and I hope he will be playing at a good DI school. But what about over-rated players? I am not diminshing the accomplishments or athleticism of Emanuel Moody, but I am having a hard time beleiving that he is UT or USC college material. There is no way I can compare Jamaal Charles and him. There game's are on a completley different level.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

From what I hear Nance is the real deal, and I hope he will be playing at a good DI school. But what about over-rated players? I am not diminshing the accomplishments or athleticism of Emanuel Moody, but I am having a hard time beleiving that he is UT or USC college material. There is no way I can compare Jamaal Charles and him. There game's are on a completley different level.
But who can you compare JC with??...LOL

[pack0808]

Lufkin's EJ Shankle, L Hewitt, M Roberts, R Taylor are all shoe in div1a players and all have several div1a offers and i might put Jamie Harris on that list?? Hewitt and Shankle have the most but i agree that M Roberts is very special. Great speed great hitter and not to mention he is a good kid. He is a beast!! He will be a top recruit before the season is over but he does have several div1a offers already like you stated!! Other seniors on Lufkin that have a good shot at div1a football are lb Eric Taylor, Stewart Willis, cb Chris Brown, wr's Thad Gordon and Ralph Thomas. Lufkin should have 4-7 div1a players again this year and possibly more. 2 juniors should be big time recruits next year in Dez Bryant and AJ Penson. Both will probably be blue chippers?? Dez is almost a guarantee if he stays healthy?? Of course this all depends on grades??


But i would consider Thad Gordon and Eric Taylor very underrated. Everybody knows about Shankle, Hewitt, and Roberts. I agree that rivals should definitely have M Roberts listed though.

[KT2000]

Dimitri Nance, Trinity RB
Mandela Roberts, Lufkin LB
Will Thompson, Katy DB-WR-KR-KC-EQB
Andy Dalton, Katy QB
Baron Batch, Midland RB
Lyle Leong, Abilene WR
Donta Sloan, Garland RB

Just a few that jump out at me as underrated immediately.

[pack0808]

Is cb Will Thompson from Katy the one that made the legendary interception that sealed the deal vs SLC in the 2003 finals??

[bhs06]

Our leading reciever is a sophomore, Blake Cantu, who has 3 touchdowns and is among the top in the area in recieving. Unfortunatley for him, Joe and DeAndre English seem to be getting the offensive attention.

[KT2000]

Is cb Will Thompson from Katy the one that made the legendary interception that sealed the deal vs SLC in the 2003 finals??

Yes. He followed up his performance during the 2003 playoffs (after moving up from JV) by having an All-State (3rd team) season as a junior. He had over 90 tackles and 6 INTs (not positive, but close) last year in addition to his stellar performance in kick return and coverage teams.

He's blocked three kicks in three games so far this year and has one or two INTs. It looks like Thompson is saving his best season for last with what he's done so far this year.

[pack0808]

Sounds like a stud!! 90 tackles by a cb?? Is that correct?? Daang if so!! Those are lb type stats.

[PurpleNation]

Pack0808 I got good news Ralph Thomas is not a SR. He is just a JR. So Lufkin should be a force next season with him and Dez.

[KT2000]

Sounds like a stud!! 90 tackles by a cb?? Is that correct?? Daang if so!! Those are lb type stats.

He started the year at CB but ended up playing safety in part because of injuries, but also to give him more freedom so defenses couldn't simply run or pass away from him.

[wide-e-wide]

Dang...does Thompson clean up peanut shells after the game is over?
Dude is all over the place...

[RGVBadBoy]

South Texas has some REALLY UNDERATTED players

RB Bradly Stephens McAllen Memorial 5'11 190 4.35 (10.7 100m)
RB Waldo Garza Sharyland 5'10 210 4.5 (11.0 100m)
RB Juan Martinez LaJoya 5'9 190 4.6
WR Eddie Murrillo Laredo Nixon 5'9 165 4.4 (10.6 100m)
WR Juan Carrion Browsville Rivera 6'0 190 4.5
WR/K/P Johnny Guillen Harlingen 5'9 170 4.4 (42yrd punt AVG.)

[LeanderLions3033]

Bradley Stephens is far from underrated. I think he is the best Junior running back.

[Fleeman93]

I don’t really think you can say he is underrated yet since he is only a sophomore, but sooner or later you will hear the name Aundre Dean out of Katy.

[pack0808]

Pack0808 I got good news Ralph Thomas is not a SR. He is just a JR. So Lufkin should be a force next season with him and Dez.

Yeah i knew that i do not know why i put him?? Brain fart!! Ralph will probably play baseball in college instead??

[SeguinMatadors]

My most underrated player is a guy have seen a lot of over the past couple of years. Desomond Jackson, a junior corner from Seguin. He is 6'1 190ish. He is an absolute shut down corner with 4.4 speed and good hip swerve. Great athlete. He was mentioned as a top underclassmen corner before the season but I think with Seguins success and the way he plays, he will get a lot of hype coming into next year. Here is something that was posted on him in the San Antonio Express News today.

Remember the name: Recruiting letters for Seguin defensive back Desmond Jackson began trickling in this summer.

That was before the first five games of his junior season. He's scored on three interception returns — two in one game — and one punt return so far.

"He's definitely a Big 12 player," said Seguin coach Jim Carson, who cautioned that Jackson needs qualifying scores on college board exams. "He's a good tackler and a real smart player. He could play offense if that was our philosophy. He can obviously run with the ball."

[CoppellCowboy57]

Nance, is a greating running back...He is very underrated...BUT he does run behind one of the biggest O-Lines in 5A, but when he gets out into the open field, oh man, he can make moves left and right and break long runs.

The reason Moody is USC/UT, and possibly now LSU, Matrial is because hes had an amazing season last year, if you watch some of his runs...MAN OH MAN...Hes played three Great defensense in a row, and now another good defensive team in Irving Mac. I think Moody is a tad over rated though...