1. Ronnie Martin, Spartanburg 5’11” 180 Committed to South Carolina
My Take: None of the major recruiting service have Ronnie Martin listed higher than a three star and none of them have him as the best defensive back in South Carolina. That’s where they are wrong. Many people look to stats for the answers and that’s where Martin is the best. You see he only has a few interceptions but that’s not because he wasn’t in the right spots it was due to the fact that opposing teams didn’t even target Martin’s side of the field. Northwestern’s vaunted passing attack only threw to Martin’s side three maybe four times in the entire game and two of them were on bubble screens. Marin received offers from Nebraska, LSU, Illinois, Maryland and Wake Forest but committed to South Carolina early in the process. South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson got a gem in the recruiting process when Ronnie Martin committed.
2. Pat Martin, J.L. Mann 5’11” 195 Committed to Tennessee
My Take: Pat Martin is a hard hitting safety that has sideline to sideline speed. He doesn’t miss on many tackles and he is also no slouch in zone pass coverage. Where Martin needs to improve is on his single man to man coverage if he is ever put in those situations in the SEC it could be a long day for him. Martin committed to Tennessee and Coach Terry Joseph on August 15th, 2010 but rumors have swirled that he will switch his pledge to South Carolina. Only time will tell if those rumors come into fruition.
3. Robert Smith, Woodland 5’11” 200 Committed to Clemson
My Take: Robert Smith has many similar characteristics to JL Mann’s Pat Martin. The only difference between the two is Smith is not as polished of a tackler and did not face the type of competition that Ronnie or Pat Martin faced in their career. Smith can be considered a project because if you polish his skills with correct coaching he could be a sleeper in the same way Rashard Hall was. Smith committed to Clemson on January 15th, 2010.
4. Zeph Grimes, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 6’0” 200 Committed to Illinois
My Take: Zeph Grimes fits the mold of the new generation safety. He has speed to back it up too. Grimes, however, hasn’t faced an amazing amount of talent in his high school career therefore he hasn’t had to put his skills on display. He’s a good tackler – not great. He’s good in coverage – not great. His speed is good – not great. But going to the Big Ten as he is, you don’t necessarily have to have great speed. Grimes is a good find for Ron Zook and someone that he can polish and make a decent player out of.
5. Glen Hillard, T.L. Hanna 5’10” 170 Committed to East Carolina
My Take: T.L. Hanna’s cornerback Glen Hillard is built a lot like Ronnie Martin, that’s where the comparisons stop however. Hillard gave up a few deep balls this year and hasn’t been proven in bump and run and man-to-man situations. That’s something he’ll really need to work on if he wants to contribute for Ruffin McNeill’s ECU Pirates because a lot teams like to throw it all around in the Conference USA. With the right coaching however these techniques can get turned around easily.
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