Slot back talent highlights Navy's class of recruits

Quarterbacks and slot backs are crucial in Navy’s triple-option offense and this year’s recruiting class features several talented players at both positions.

According to research conducted by The Capital, Navy formally signed 28 direct-entry recruits yesterday. There are four highly-touted quarterbacks and three well-regarded slot backs in the bunch.
First-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo has also received commitments from 32 high school seniors he is planning to place at the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I. There are five more slot backs on that list, including the sixth-leading rusher in the history of New York state.

“Athletically, this group of recruits is as good as we’ve ever gotten here,” Niumatalolo said. “We got some outstanding skill kids with excellent speed. Speed is always at a premium here so we’ll take it any way we can get it.”

Navy’s quarterback haul is led by Kriss Proctor, who led Big Bear High to a 14-0 record and the California Interscholastic Federation East Valley Division Championship in 2006. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder passed for 1,590 yards and rushed for 1,456 as a junior and was named Player of the Year by both the San Bernardino County Sun and the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Big Bear employs a spread-option offense, which is why head coach Dave Griffiths decided to send a highlight tape of Proctor to Navy. Size concerns and an elbow injury that forced Proctor to miss three games caused some larger schools to back off the prospect. He ultimately chose the academy over Nevada.

“I think (Navy) is a great fit for Kriss. We patterned our offense after Navy so he is very familiar with what the quarterback is required to do,” Griffiths said.

Navy’s staff is equally high on the three other signal-callers who will arrive next season – Gordon Law of Berwick High (Pa.), Kameron Smith of Garner High (N.C.) and Syril Gaines of Benedictine Military Academy (Richmond, Va.).

Smith was a two-year starter at Garner and developed a reputation as a remarkable runner. The 6-foot, 175-pound speedster rushed for 880 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

“Kameron is a fantastic athlete. He was very dangerous and made some amazing plays while scrambling and a lot of times we would just direct snap it to him and let him run,” Garner head coach Nelson Smith said. “His highlight tape was incredible.”

Gaines, a big quarterback at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, drew the attention of numerous major conference programs after passing for 1,240 yards and rushing for 730 as a junior. However, he missed much of his senior season with an injury and wound up picking Navy over offers from Elon, William & Mary and Wofford.

“I love running the football so the option looks like a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve spent the past four years at a military school so going to a service academy is no big deal.”

Slot back Chris Hill of Lansing, Kansas is among Navy’s top incoming recruits. Hill, who rushed for 870 yards and nine touchdowns in 2007, was also coveted by service academy rivals Army and Air Force.

Two other speedy slots – Jarren Brown of C.H. Flowers High (Springdale, Md.) and Cooper Shockley of Westlake High (Cal.) – are coming directly to the academy. David Zapata, who rushed for 6,101 yards and scored 81 touchdowns during a record-setting career at Hornell High in upstate New York, headlines the crop of slots headed to NAPS.

“I am very excited about the A backs we were able to land. There is some terrific speed and athleticism in that bunch,” Niumatalolo said.

Navy was seeking to increase its talent level along the defensive line and specifically targeted prospects that could gain penetration and apply pressure. The Midshipmen gained commitments from five down linemen, two of whom are coming directly to the academy.

“We saw in the Super Bowl that if you can rush the passer you can disrupt an offense. Defensive linemen are always tough to find so we feel good that we got some good ones in this class,” Niumatalolo said.

Jabaree Tuani-McKissack of Brentwood Academy (Madison, Tenn.) is an impressive rush end prospect. The athletic 6-foot, 220-pounder recorded 62 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior and was a 2007 Tennessean All-Midstate first team selection.

One of Navy’s top incoming recruits is kicker Jon Teague of Fred T. Foard High in Newton, N.C. Teague, younger brother of Navy basketball player Adam Teague, was the nation’s 15th-ranked placekicker, according to Scout.com. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder booted a pair of 52-yard field goals, a 50-yarder and a 49-yarder as a senior while 87 percent of his kickoffs sailed into the end zone for touchbacks.

Teague, who doubled as a standout varsity soccer player at Fred T. Foard, had scholarship offers from Houston, Stanford, Iowa State and Oregon State among others.

“Jon is an incredible kicker. He’s got the strongest leg of any high school kicker I’ve ever seen,” Fred T. Foard head coach Ryan Gettys said.