The Next Level

There is a thread like this on the baseball board and thought it might be a good place to talk about local prep stars and how they are doing when they move up to college.

A good article in the High Point Enterprise today on Ragsdale lineman Brandon Drumgoole who I think is going to be a star some day for Wake. On a side note the article mentions Jon Terry the big Ragsdale lineman that signed with dook. No mention of it in the article but I read on another board that he tore his ACL the first days of practice. A red shirt year for sure.

Post any other news you have about players that are moving up.

Drumgoole fits right in at Wake

By: Steve Phillips , STAFF SPORTS WRITER 08/15/2004


So far so good for Brandon Drumgoole.
Five whirlwind days is admittedly little time to form a definite opinion. But as Wake Forest prepares to enter the serious part of its preseason football drills, the recent Ragsdale High graduate is convinced he's right where he needs to be.


"I think I am holding my own,'' said the freshman defensive end, who reported to campus with Wake's other first-year players last Monday. "It's very different from high school to college. The players are a lot bigger. The speed of the game goes a lot faster. But I am pretty fast myself.''
Fast enough for Wake defensive ends coach Keith Henry to speak excitedly about Drumgoole's potential.

"His takeoff getting off the ball, rushing the passer ... it's unbelievable,'' Henry said. "And his ability to chase the football was what really impressed us about him. He can run down the football (carrier) as well as rush the passer. With that quickness, he gains two yards on that first step (following the snap of the ball). That's one of the first things we noticed and loved about him.''

Wake fans probably won't see it in a game situation for at least a year. The Demon Deacons' 2004 recruiting class features two other talented defensive ends - Charlotte's Jeremy Thompson and Anthony Davis of Columbia, S.C. - and Wake is hopeful of redshirting all three this season.
"Brandon has great natural ability, there's no question about that,'' head coach Jim Grobe said. "But we need to be patient with our young guys. We're going to play the best players. If you're a freshman and you're the best player, you're going to be on the field. But if you're not the best player, or you're even with other guys, we're going to try and save that year.''

The 6-foot-6 Drumgoole is listed at 235 pounds on Wake's preseason roster but says he is actually 10 pounds lighter. Drumgoole believes he needs to add at least 20 pounds to his tall frame before he can realistically hope to play in a major college game. Wake's coaching staff plans to have him up to 270 by his senior year.

With the Deacons donning the pads on Saturday and beginning two-a-day practices today, gaining weight may initially seem a laughable fantasy. Drumgoole, however, doesn't see a problem. "The weight room and eating - that should take care of it,'' Drumgoole said. "We are eating four times a day, so I think I can do it.''

Henry foresees Drumgoole easily adding the pounds and maintaining his quickness. "It's sometimes a fine line, but Brandon has that height and body frame where he can put some weight on and still keep that speed,'' Henry said.

Drumgoole fell in love with Wake Forest when he visited spring practice during his junior year in high school. He made a verbal commitment in May of 2003, nearly nine months before his high school class' national signing day.
Drumgoole plans to major in engineering at Wake, which will require a rugged five-year academic load that includes summer classes at an engineering school such as N.C. State or North Carolina A&T.

"I think I can manage football and school,'' said Drumgoole, who sported a 3.7 grade point average at Ragsdale. "When I was in high school, I had to manage football, school and working (at Emerald Point in Greensboro). Now I'm not working, and I don't have a car on campus. I will always be here.''
Drumgoole himself made the decision to leave the car at home.
"Let me get the knowledge I need to be successful in college first,'' he said. "Then I'll think about driving the car over here.''

Drumgoole isn't the only Ragsdale graduate seeking to make his mark at the major college level. Two Tiger teammates and close friends - offensive lineman John Terry and safety Andreas Platt - signed with Duke last February. Wide receiver Emmanuel Byers is vying for playing time at Virginia after taking a redshirt year last fall. Doug Brown has put up big offensive numbers as a receiver at North Carolina A&T, and quarterback Wes Pope is at Elon.

"Ragsdale has just been producing good players,'' Drumgoole said.
The Tigers now boast arguably the nation's top prep running back in Toney Baker. Although Wake has not been mentioned in most of the recruiting speculation, Drumgoole dreams of engineering a 2005 signing day coup.
"I'm trying to get Toney to come over here and work out with some of the guys,'' Drumgoole said. "I think he will wait until close to signing day before he decides. He's got offers from everywhere you can think of. But I just want to get him over here and have him spend some time. Hopefully, if he comes over here, he will see what I saw and commit to Wake Forest.''

Meanwhile, Drumgoole helped former Ragsdale teammate Michael Burton put together a highlight tape over the summer. Burton is currently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy, but Drumgoole has delivered the tape to Wake recruiting coordinator Ray McCartney for evaluation. "I'm trying to do my own recruiting,'' Drumgoole said. "Coach Mac said if I see some players that I think stand out, to let him know about it.''


In the meantime, Drumgoole will keep working to make sure the Deacons are glad they found out about him. "It's just been draining the amount of football we've given him in just these first four practices,'' Henry said. "He's had to learn probably about 18 defensive fronts. But he's a kid who is very smart and knows the game. It's like I told him and the other young guys: 'Just wait in the wings and learn this game.'

"He's going to play a lot for us one day and help us win a lot of football games. We're very excited about that.''

Steve Phillips can be contacted at
888-3580 or [email protected]

 

It looks like Terry did tear his ACL. At the East/West all star game no less. Only a month before school started. He even went back in and finished the game after he tore it. I bet this makes more high profile kids stay away from that all star game.

And sorry for the cut and paste but the High Point paper require registration to read the stories.


Terry, Platt impress Duke coaches


By: Tom Berry , STAFF SPORTS WRITER 08/18/2004


Former Ragsdale teammates Jonathan Terry and Andreas Platt appear to have a good future on Duke's football team.
Platt's future will come first.



While Platt has been making an impact in practice with the Blue Devils, Terry can only watch after recently undergoing knee surgery. Duke head coach Ted Roof said on Tuesday that Terry, an offensive lineman, will be redshirted this season.


"It's very unfortunate because (Terry's) going to be a good player for us," Roof noted. "Now he's just going to have to get his feet wet, get into his school (work) and learn what to do.

"He's got a great attitude for a kid who just had knee surgery at the same time he's making the transition to college."

A 6-foot-3, 315-pounder, Terry helped open holes for Toney Baker's 3,380 yards rushing last season at Ragsdale. He injured his knee during the North Carolina East-West All-Star game in July.

Platt, a safety, has been looking good through Duke's first week of practice, according to cornerback Kenneth Stanford.

"He tackled well in our most recent scrimmage," Stanford noted. "He's making a good impression."

The Blue Devils return seven defensive starters from a team that finished 4-8 overall but won two of its last three games. Three of those starters are in the defensive backfield - Stanford, cornerback Brian Greene and safety Alex Green - along with several veteran reserves.

"We have a lot of experience coming back in the secondary, so I'm not sure about (Platt's) role," Stanford said. "He has the opportunity to learn. He takes coaching well and I have no doubt he'll be a very good player in the future."

Platt, a 6-2, 175-pounder, played just four games as senior at Ragsdale because of a broken foot. He still recorded 26 tackles and caught 14 passes with five touchdowns.

Platt and Terry are Duke's only incoming freshmen from North Carolina. Roof estimated the number of freshmen playing this season will reach "double-digits."

Duke opens the season Sept. 4 at Navy. The Blue Devils have three road games before playing their first home contest against Maryland on Sept. 25

 

the next level forum is only for baseball? i did not know that, i thought it was for all local preps who had moved on to college in any sport. my bad.

 

Next Level is for all college sports.

Thanks Wossa for that information. That Drumgoole kid sounds like a class act. Shoot, I'm wondering how Ragsdale gets all that talent year in and year out.

 

I guess I had thought it was pretty much baseball related since that was usually what was in there.

I have no problem if Braves wants to merge these over there.

Ragsdale has had a phenomenal run of athletes the last 5 or 6 years in lots of different sports. They are going to have excellent wrestling, track, football, baseball and soccer teams again this year. In addition to the athletes they have great coaches and one of the best ADs in the state.


And Drumgoole and Terry are going to be great players in a few years. Especially Drumgoole - in addition to being a great defensive lineman he was a great high jumper and hurdler for the track team. Once he adds about 50 pounds of muscle he is going to be a stud for Wake.