DG45 - Revisited

Back in the early days of the house of dread - back when it took me 2 hours to do a dread gallery instead of 2 weeks, and back when Yardbarker was a popular way for pro athletes to interact with fans (before Twitter came along and became a far more popular way) - I ventured into the world of college football recruiting (which is practically a sport all by itself) when I posted DG45 a month or so after National Signing Day (Feb. 4) in 2009. I quickly checked the websites of a few newspapers along with internet coverage of the Under Armour All-America game trying to find as many photos as I could of high school players with dreads that had just chosen the college teams they were going to be playing for. I had no idea how much (if any) interest there would be. It was the first DG I did that didn't feature action photos. As it turned out - and much to my amazement - DG45 became the most popular DG I did.

Five years have passed since then, and the 51 players I featured have now finished their college careers. So I thought it would be a good time to see how they - and their dreads - are doing after all this time. While I knew back then that several of the players were expected to be stars, most of them I had never heard of before and had no clue how they would perform. As it turned out, 11 of them have already made it to the NFL (one of those has already been cut), and another 5 are rookies currently in NFL training camps. Several had very good college careers, while several others didn't finish at the same schools they started. Some are ex-dreads (of course). One was shot after finishing his career.

So, with all the details and updates - and without any further delay - here once again is dread gallery #45 - five years later.

1. Wearing a hat like that, there's only one school that Trent Richardson could be signing with - and it ain't Auburn!
When I led off DG45 with this photo 5 years ago, I referred to Richardson as superstar RB Trent Richardson. And he certainly was that after signing with Alabama out of Pensacola Escambia HS. Trent was 2nd string at Alabama his first two seasons (behind Heisman winner Mark Ingram) before racking up more than 2,000 total yards and scoring 24 TD as a junior - a performance that almost earned him the Heisman (he finished 3rd in the 2011 voting). And don't even think about considering him a traitor for signing with the Crimson Tide instead of the Gators. Although in Florida, Pensacola is more than 100 miles closer to Tuscaloosa than it is Gainesville.

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2. As if getting Trent Richardson weren't enough, the Crimson Tide signed Eddie Lacy too. Lacy, who played for Dutchtown HS in Geismar, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina forced his family out of suburban New Orleans, waited for his turn with the Tide. He redshirted in '09, was 3rd string in '10, and 2nd string in '11, before racking up 1,500+ total yards and 19 TD as a junior in 2012. Like Richardson, he entered the NFL draft after his junior season and appears on his way to a great career with the Green Bay Packers.

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3. Stephon Gilmore (left to right), DeVonte Holloman, and Jarvis Giles signed their letters of intent (LOI) after already enrolling at South Carolina. Gilmore and Holloman made it to the NFL; but Giles' career unfortunately never got off the launch pad. Also unfortunately, it looks like Holloman, whose rookie 2013 season with the Dallas Cowboys ended when he bruised his spinal cord, will never play again. Doctors have advised him to retire.

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4. Also signing with South Carolina, out of Fletcher HS in Jacksonville Beach, FL, was WR Lamar Scruggs. After redshirting in '09, he had 3 catches over the next two seasons with the Gamecocks before transferring to North Carolina Central. In the right photo Scruggs celebrates his TD catch in Week 2 last season, one of 2 TD he scored for NCCU. In his two seasons with the Eagles he had a total of 39 catches for 426 yards.

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5. DE/TE Dyron Dye, a state champion his senior year at Sanford (FL) Seminole HS, poses with his family after signing with Miami. After redshirting in '09, his dreads were gone by the time the 2010 season got underway. Dismissed from the team last August, he played his senior season at Bethune-Cookman.

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6. S Ray Ray (real name Aravious) Armstrong, a teammate of Dye in HS, also signed with the U. In three seasons with the Hurricanes he had 134 tackles, 4 INT, and 6 PBU - and also one all-ACC selection - before he too was dismissed from the team before his 2012 senior season as part of that illegal benefits scandal that helped land Miami on NCAA probation. Hoping to play as a senior, he transferred to Faulkner University, an NAIA school in Montgomery, AL, but was declared ineligible. But that was not the end of the story.  

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7. Bradley Wallace, a QB at Dwyer HS in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, signed to play as a safety for Troy. But he never played a single game for the Trojans, and I couldn't find out anything about if he ever played at any other school. 

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8. TE Tyrell Edwards (left) and twin brother LB Tariq Edwards, from Cheraw, SC, both signed with Virginia Tech, but only Tariq ever played with the Hokies. Tariq, whose dreads were gone already by the 2010 season, finished with 22.5 career TFL. He was cut by the Miami Dolphins during the first week of training camp about a month ago. Tyrell reportedly never went to college, staying home to raise his own twin children. 

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9. First up on signing day at Pahokee HS was O-lineman JaQuan Bentley, putting on the hat of the Alabama State Hornets. He was on the ASU roster in 2009 but not any more after that, and I don't know if he played anywhere else. Next up was Willie Hickman, with the green Eastern Michigan hat in front of him. And last up was Nu'Keese Richardson - with Florida and Tennessee hats in front of him - about to announce his bombshell. I also mentioned that Norman Griffith had a banner behind the table instead of a seat at the table because he tragically was shot to death early during the team's 2008 season.  

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10. RB Vincent Smith and LB Brandin Hawthorne weren't in attendance Pahokee's signing day ceremony because they were already enrolled at Michigan. Smith had a decent career as a reserve RB, finishing his career with 1,269 yards rushing, 435 yards receiving, and 17 TD. But unfortunately what he will be remembered for the most was that he on the receiving end of that highlight reel tackle by Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina in the 2013 Outback Bowl in his final game in a Michigan uniform: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8846588/vincent-smith-michigan-wolverines-talks-hit-jadeveon-clowney-south-carolina-gamecocks ..... Sorry, Vincent, but I still laugh every time I see how far that helmet flew off your head.

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11. Back in 2009 Coach Rodriguez was busy stocking the Michigan roster with players with dreads, and that included WR Je'Ron Stokes, a four-star recruit out of Philadelphia (PA) Northeast HS. But after catching only a total of 3 passes in his first two seasons, it was on to Bowling Green, and then on to Norfolk State last season. He never had more than 15 receptions in any season. At least he graduated: http://www.nsuspartans.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1991 

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12. While Stokes didn't do much at Michigan, that certainly wasn't the case with Denard Robinson. You think? All Robinson, wearing his Deerfield Beach (FL) HS jersey in left photo, did during his 4 seasons with the Wolverines was rush for 4,495 yards - most ever by a QB in the history of college football. He scored 42 TD and threw 49 TD passes. Even though he wasn't a good enough passer to be a pro QB, the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him in the 5th round last year. On the right is a photo of Denard celebrating a play with RB Beau Blankenship at a minicamp practice two months ago. Robinson had a shaky rookie season with the Jaguars in 2013, including a Week 15 fumble at the 1-yard line that cost him what would have been his 1st NFL TD. But now that the Jaguars have drafted a decent QB, I think they'll be able to make better use of Denard's blazing speed in the seasons ahead.

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13. Just think, the large number of TD scored by players with dreads for Clemson the past few years would have been even larger if WR Bryce McNeal had stayed with the team. McNeal, who attended a HS in suburban Minneapolis and is shown here at the 2009 US Army All-American Bowl, redshirted at Clemson in '09, had 19 catches for 187 yards as a freshman in '10, then left the team early in the 2011 season. After graduating from Clemson (in three years) he was set to play for Louisville in 2012 but left the team there just before the season began after participating in training camp and apparently (I don't know for sure) has not played since. 

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Gadsden (AL) City HS, about an hour northeast of Birmingham, had three players with dreads sign Division 1 scholarships ......

14. TE Darrell Smith just finished his career at Clemson. After redshirting in 2009, he was mostly a special teams player during '10 and '11 and proved to be a good enough blocker that he moved from TE to FB for his last two seasons. He had 22 career tackles but touched the ball only 5 times on offense, including 2 carries (right photo) for 5 yards on senior day.  

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15. CB Dre Kirkpatrick's dreads sure have come a long way since signing day. He had only 3 career INT in three seasons after signing with Alabama, including none during his All-America junior season in 2011, mostly because teams were afraid to throw the ball to the receivers he was covering. But he hasn't enjoyed the same success in the NFL yet. A 1st round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, he was slowed by injuries in his rookie season before doing a little better last season. But you may have noticed the Bengals selected another corner in the 1st round this year, so Dre (real name D'Andre) needs to start playing better or he may be leaving the Bengals sooner rather than later: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/6/25/5822034/dre-kirkpatrick-expectations-2014-cincinnati-bengals-contract   

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16. The third player from Gadsden City HS, WR Kendall Kelly, joined Kirkpatrick at Alabama. And if you sign with the Crimson Tide, you must be pretty good. But we'll never know how good Kelly would have been. He redshirted in 2009 then started having heat-related health issues in 2010 and ended up taking a medical hardship, meaning he stayed on scholarship but could no longer be a member of the team. 

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17. This is what Trent Richardson's dreads looked like (left photo) before they went into hiding at Alabama, as he practices for the Under Armour All-America Football Game, and before they reappeared once he got to the NFL (right photo, during the Colts' Week 2 preseason game a couple of weeks ago). Five years ago I was gushing about how many TD by players with dreads the Crimson Tide were going to have, with Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Kendall Kelly, and Julio Jones on the same team. What I didn't know was that Coach Saban was going to ruin things by not letting their dreads flow outside their helmets.
As you probably know by now, after his stellar career with the Tide, Trent was the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft; and after a good but not great rookie season, the Cleveland Browns shockingly traded him to the Indianapolis Colts, where he had a poor 2013 season. He vows 2014 will be better. We'll see.

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The next three photos were of players who signed with South Carolina.

18. During his short stay with the Gamecocks Jarvis Giles, who attended Tampa Gaither HS, shown here at practice for the Under Armour All-American game, had some of the best dreads of any RB I had ever seen (up to that point), and I was so disappointed when he left the team. After rushing for 277 yards and 1 TD as a freshman in '09, he thought his playing time was going to increase. But then Marcus Lattimore joined the team; and after Coach Spurrier gave him the ball for 37 carries in the Week 2 game of the 2010 season, Giles had already seen enough. Deducing that he would be spending much more time on the bench than on the field if he remained with the Gamecocks, Giles shortly after that game left the team and announced he was transferring, not even waiting until the end of the season. After sitting out the 2011 season, he appeared to be set to play for Louisville in 2012 but left there too before playing a single game. He finally was back in action last season, rushing for 403 yards and 1 TD for Division 2 team Florida Tech. But the dreads are gone now, and his senior season is in jeopardy after a misdemeanor arrest for marijuana possession this past winter. Ironically, if he had just stayed at South Carolina, with the two knee injuries Lattimore suffered, he might have had a productive career.  
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19. While Giles scored only 1 TD for South Carolina, that was one more than RB Ben Axon did. Axon, from Bradenton (about 45 miles south of Tampa) Manatee HS, signed with the Gamecocks but was denied admission to school after an arrest for marijuana possession in May '09. He cut off his dreads, then went to junior college in 2010, and ended up at Western Kentucky - with his dreads grown back - where he rushed for 34 yards on 8 carries in 2012.     

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20. The Gamecocks struck out on Giles and Axon, but they struck gold with Stephon Gilmore. After being named Mr. Football in South Carolina in 2008 after starring at QB for Rock Hill South Pointe HS, Gilmore, shown on defense at the Under Armour All-American game (left photo) and at the Buffalo Bills' practice a month ago (right photo) was a 3-year starter in the Gamecocks' secondary, finishing with career totals of 181 tackles and 8 INT. He was drafted in the 1st round (10th overall) by the Bills in 2012; and if he keeps his dreads, they'll have a chance to be the longest in NFL history by the time his career is over.

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From South Carolina we then moved to Tennessee ......

21. When it was his turn at Pahokee's signing day ceremony, WR Nu'Keese Richardson surprised more than a few people when he decided to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. And thus began his odyssey. He was kicked off the team before his freshman season was over after being arrested and being charged with attempted armed robbery (with a pellet gun - he ended up getting probation); he finished his freshman year at Hampton, then played in junior college in 2010. Then he disappeared from the radar for a couple of years, announcing that he was done with football. Then when I was preparing my NFL draft preview, I find out that he wasn't done with football, playing the 2013 season for Pikeville, an NAIA school in Kentucky. Then just after I finished DG151 (featuring this season's rookies) I find out that he had signed with the Indianapolis Colts. In the photo above he's warming up for the Colts' Week 2 preseason game on Aug. 16. Nu'Keese was released by the Colts a couple of days ago. Hopefully we haven't heard the last of him. He's got great speed and is a very talented player. Seems like a perfect candidate for somebody's practice squad. Or perhaps he could give the CFL a try.    

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22. You'd never suspect it from this photo, but by the time James Green's college career was over his dreads were longer than arguably every other WR in Division 1. Green, a Miami native who transferred to Tallahassee Leon HS for his senior year, signed with Tennessee but never went there. He sat out the '09 season then enrolled at Toledo. After seeing little action his first two seasons, he figured to be on the field a lot in 2012; but he suffered a knee injury just before the start of the season, and I don't think he ever really recovered from it. He finished 2012 with only 8 receptions and had no catches at all as a senior: 
http://www.utrockets.com/roster.aspx?path=&rp_id=4063
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23. Jerod Askew was a big star at Oscar Smith HS in Chesapeake, VA, and was expected to be a star for Tennessee. He wasn't. In fact, he was so lousy that he was redshirted in '09 and played only 1 game in '10 before moving on. Apparently out of school the next two years, he played last season at Mt. San Antonio College (a junior college in California) with super long dreads, finishing with 13 tackles in 6 games. If I understand the NCAA's rules correcetly, he wouldn't be eligible to play anymore at an NCAA school; so perhaps you'll see him at an NAIA school near you this season. 

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24. Rae Sykes didn't do much for the Volunteers either, but at least he finished his career there - unlike Richardson, Green, and Askew. A transfer from from JC with three years of eligibility remaining, he played 1 game as a sophomore and 8 as a junior, finishing with 3 career tackles, before becoming academically ineligible for his senior season.

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25. What's this picture (on left) doing in a dread gallery, you ask? Well, I'll admit back then I was having some difficulty telling the difference between dreads and long braids, so this picture of WR Marlon Brown at the Under Armour All-American Game was photo 25 in the original DG45. But after signing with Georgia, Brown cut off the braids and started growing dreads. And the longer they got, the better he got, increasing his receptions from 2 to 11 to 15 to 27 in his 4 seasons with the Dawgs, including 8 TD catches. His breakout senior season ended after 8 games due to a torn ACL, an injury which prevented him from being drafted; but he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent and had a terrific rookie season in 2013.

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Photos 26 through 33 featured players who signed with Florida schools.

26. Luther Robinson, D-lineman from Fort Pierce (FL) Westwood HS, is interviewed after signing with the U. After redshirting in '09, he was a mostly a reserve in his three seasons with the Hurricanes (he missed the 2011 season due to injury), finishing with 40 tackles in 33 games. According to a couple of recent articles in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Robinson, who was not drafted, is outperforming 3rd round draft choice Khyri Thornton so far in the Green Bay Packers training camp. It'll interesting to see what comes of that with roster cuts looming.  

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27. And now, the rest of the story - the Ray Ray Armstrong story, that is. After not being allowed to play in 2012 either at Miami or Faulkner, Armstrong, who must have led all players in the Under Armour All-America Game in the number of wristbands worn around their legs, signed as a free agent with the St.Louis Rams after not being selected in the 2013 draft. He switched positions, from S to LB, and played in all 16 games as a rookie - mostly on special teams - finishing with 13 tackles and 1 FR.

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28. After his stellar Madison County (FL) HS career ended with an appearance in the Under Armour All-America Game, DT Jacobbi McDaniel signed with Florida State. Unfortunately he cut off his dreads during the offseason after his freshman year. He's now bringing them back, as you can see as he poses with his mom (?) and Coach Fisher (right photo) on senior day last November. Jacobbi's solid but not spectacular FSU career was interrupted when he broke his ankle midway through the 2011 season, which caused him to redshirt in 2012. He finished with career totals of 13 TFL and 2 INT - and that victory in the BCS title game. Although not drafted, he's currently trying to earn a roster spot with the Cleveland Browns. 

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29. I was greatly looking forward to seeing RB Bradley Battles' sick dreads on the field for many carries in a South Florida uniform after he signed out of Marianna (FL) HS; but unfortunately he hardly ever played. After redshirting in '09, he appeared (briefly) in 17 games over the next three years for the Bulls, carrying only 17 times for 59 yards and 0 TD. He finished his career last season at Division 2 Clark Atlanta U (right photo), where he rushed for 398 yards and 3 TD on 113 carries.

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30. After signing with South Florida out of local power Seffner Armwood HS, DE Ryne Giddins cut off his dreads and grew them back at least twice during his five seasons with the Bulls (he redshirted after playing 3 games in 2009). He had 118 tackles, 19.5 of which were sacks, 4 FF and 1 INT in 51 career games (23 starts) for USF. Currently he does not have dreads, and earlier this week he was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

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31. More sick dreads that didn't carry the ball for USF. Just like with Bradley Battles, I was excited in anticipation of seeing WR Kevin Williams in action for the Bulls. The St. Petersburg Gibbs HS star was set to return home after a transfer from Los Medanos (CA) JC; but he never even made it to training camp with the Bulls in 2009, and I don't know where or if he ever played for another team.
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32. After wearing a North Miami Beach HS jersey (left photo), WR/DB Kemal Ishmael went on to UCF and went on to be one of their best players ever. A 4-year starter at safety, he had 368 career tackles (third most in school history), 13 PBU, and 6 INT, and capped his career by earning CUSA defensive player of the year honors in 2012. Drafted in the 7th round by the Atlanta Falcons in 2013, Ishmael, shown leaving practice with Texans CB and former UCF teammate A.J. Bouye two weeks ago, only played in 4 games as a rookie but figures to play much more this season. He's currently listed as 2nd string on the depth chart on the Falcons' website.

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33. O-lineman Rupert Bryan, from Glades Central HS, signed with FIU and made 43 career starts at OT. And in the second last game of his career the 270-pounder got to live his version of a lineman's dream when he threw a quick block then retreated into the right flat, caught a lateral, and sped (?) 5 yards into the end zone for a TD in the Panthers' win over FAU (right photo and video on link below).
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8640886 ...... Did you see the way he kept his balance after making the catch? That display of athleticism earned him a look as a FB with the Miami Dolphins; but they cut him during June minicamp last summer.

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34. After finishing his career at Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas HS with an appearance in the Under Armour All-American Game, WR Duron Carter followed his dad's footsteps to Ohio State. But due to academic woes, he played there only one season, catching 13 passes for 176 yards in '09. He cut off his dreads the following season, which he spent at junior college. Those aforementioned academic woes prevented him from continuing his college career but they haven't done anything to diminish his talent. These days he's hanging out in the CFL, starring for the Montreal Alouettes (he led the league in yards per catch last season - 18.6). The Montreal GM says he thinks Carter will be in the NFL in 2015.

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35. S Duran Lowe, front Plant City (FL) HS, signed to play for Wake Forest. He redshirted in '09 then played 29 games (4 starts) the next three seasons, recording 91 tackles and 1 INT, before cutting off his dreads before what was supposed to be his senior season. But he was dismissed from the team during training camp before the 2013 season due to a "violation of university policy."

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36. S Nick Beard, from Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic HS, watched his mom sign his LOI to Eastern Illinois, where his dreads became among the longest in the FCS. He also played some pretty decent football for the Panthers, earning 1st team all-OVC honors in 2012 and 2013. He finished his career with 240 tackles, 26 PBU, and (sadly) zero INT.

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37. CB Willie Hickman (#5) was joined by former Pahokee star CB Janoris Jenkins on the sideline during the Florida Class 2B state championship game in December 2008, won by Pahokee 21-17 over Ocala Trinity Catholic. 4 weeks later Jenkins finished his freshman season at Florida with a BCS title game win over Oklahoma. And 4 weeks after that Hickman signed with Eastern Michigan. He never played there and apparently didn't played anywhere else until spending the 2012 season in junior college. He played last season for Division 2 Chowan University, and the team's website had him listed as a sophomore. I presume he's still there, but he no longer has dreads. 

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38. After attending West Roxbury HS in suburban Boston (his father was a DE for the Patriots) and appearing in the US Army All-American Bowl, OT Brennan Williams took his talents to North Carolina, where he was a reserve his first two seasons before starting the last two. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft; but injuries have derailed his career. After recovering from a torn labrum in his shoulder (which caused him to miss the last month of his senior season at UNC), he injured his knee on the 2nd day of the Texans' rookie minicamp in May 2013. He ended up having microfracture surgery done on his knee and missed last season. And now he's not on the team any more, as the Texans waived him just before the start of training camp this year after he failed his physical. I'd love to see those multi-colored dreads in the NFL, so hopefully he'll become healthy enough to play at some point in the future.

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39. Another participant in the US Army All-American Bowl, DT Josh Boyd, from Philadelphia (MS) HS, went on to stardom at Mississippi State. He had 18 TFL, including 8.5 sacks, in 51 career games for the Bulldogs. Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in round 5 in 2013, Boyd had 6 tackles (1 TFL) in 9 games as a rookie. With the recent injury suffered by B.J. Raji, Josh may find himself in the starting lineup this season.

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40. And now we come to the sad story of Tahj Jones. After signing with LSU out of Sulphur (LA) HS (located about halfway between Baton Rouge and Houston), Jones, a LB, redshirted in '09, then recorded 47 career tackles (mostly on special teams) over the next 4 years. There should have been many more tackles than that, but Jones played just 1 game as a junior, becoming academically eligible only for the Tigers' bowl game; and only 8 games as a senior, slowed by a hamstring injury. But after showing off his great speed at LSU's pro day (right photo), he seemed certain to get at least a tryout in some NFL team's rookie minicamp. But two days after pro day, he was shot - and by a former LSU player no less. He was very fortunate to survive, but his football career is on hold. Hopefully he'll recover enough to play by next year. But I'm afraid he'll become the latest former LSU player with dreads - following Demetrius Byrd and Chad Jones - to have misfortune ruin their chance to play in the NFL.
http://www.wwltv.com/sports/college/-Ex-LSU-LB-Tahj-Jones-wants-to-play-football-again-after-gunshot-wound-256455761.html
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/05/former_lsu_linebacker_tahj_jon_5.html

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Up next were three players from NoCal.

41. Talented WR Diante Jackson, from Walnut Creek, HS (about 20 minutes east of Oakland) should have been making regular appearances on the dread stars list the past 4 years; but after signing with Oregon, he redshirted in '09 and ended up never playing for the Ducks. Then after falling off the radar for 3 years, he played last season at Whittier. Not surprisingly he was too good for Division 3 competition (58 catches for 1,114 yards and 10 TD). He held a pro day back in March, but as far as I know no NFL team has signed him. But I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of him. Keep trying, Diante.
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/sports/20140311/football-scouts-evaluate-diante-jackson-at-whittier-colleges-first-ever-nfl-pro-day  

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42. S DeJon Gomes was the first player from DG45 to make it to the NFL; but that was because he was already a junior (JC transfer) when he signed with Nebraska in 2009. Gomes, a native of Hayward (about 20 minutes south of Oakland), was named honorable mention All-Big 10 in both of his seasons with the Cornhuskers, finishing with 7 career INT. Drafted in the 5th round by the Washington Redskins in 2011, he played two seasons with the team before moving on to the Detroit Lions last season (meeting up with Cardinals' special teams ace Justin Bethel after their Week 2 game in right photo). DeJon has played 46 games in three seasons and has 55 tackles, 5 PBU, and 1 INT so far.

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43. From Concord (right next to Walnut Creek), WR C.J. Porter was supposed to sign with Utah but changed his mind and stayed a little closer to home at Division 2 Humboldt State. And that's the last we've heard of him. He never played for Humboldt State, and I can't find anything about if he ever played at another school. 

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44. WR Drexel Copeland, from Jonesboro, GA, and nearby Mt. Zion HS, got a kiss from his mom after signing with Georgia Southern. But for whatever reason, there is no record of him ever playing for GSU or for any other team.

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45. Back to signing day at Palm Beach Dwyer HS, joining Bradley Wallace (photo #7) and Coach Daniels were RB Donald Russell, who scored 3 TD in two seasons with Kentucky and 13 TD in two seasons after transferring to Georgia State; and DT Irvin Titre, who I mistakenly wrote had signed with Delaware State. Actually, he signed with Delaware and had 34 tackles in an injury-plagued 5-year career with the Blue Hens.

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46. At Jones HS in Orlando LB Willie Scott signed with Iowa State. We never got a chance to see if these really were dreads that he had or not. They were gone by the start of the 2010 season. After redshirting in '09 and playing very little in '10, he had 99 tackles as a DE over his final three seasons.

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47. One of 5 players with dreads in Purdue's 2009 recruiting class, Dade City (about 40 miles north of Tampa) Pasco HS CB Josh Johnson watched his mom sign his LOI. Johnson starred on the field (6 career INT and 31 PBU) and in the classroom (two-time academic All-Big 10 selection) in his 4 years at Purdue. He still had his dreads when he was in training camp (and not making the team) with the San Diego Chargers last year. Now an ex-dread, he has 1 INT in 7 games so far this season in the CFL with the B.C. Lions.

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I wrapped up the original DG45 with 6 players from the DC metro area. Little did I know that only one of them would spend his entire career at the school with whom he signed.

48. Part of the Washington Post's All-Met offense for the 2008 season were RBs Caleb Porzell (on left in top photo), from Good Counsel HS in Olney, MD; and RB De'Antwan Williams (on right), from Woodbridge (VA) HS. Both were highly touted. Porzel stayed local, signing with Maryland. But he was gone after only one season, rushing for 75 yards on 30 carries in '09 before transferring to a junior college for the 2010 season. I don't know where he went after that. There's no indication he ever attended another Division 1 school. Realizing he wasn't going to get the playing time he wanted at Rutgers, Williams ended up starring at Division 2 Indiana U (PA) (bottom photo), where he had back-to-back 1,300-yard rushing seasons. In his final game for IUP last November he rushed for 315 yards and 3 TD. He was on the radar of NFL scouts but has not signed with any NFL team yet.

http://www.insidenova.com/sports/prince_william/de-antwan-williams-looks-to-the-nfl/article_542e24a4-af89-11e3-b4eb-001a4bcf887a.html


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49. Washington Dunbar HS WR Deon Long signed with West Virginia but never went there, instead beginning his career with a redshirt year at New Mexico in 2010. The dreads were gone by the time he played his first game for the Lobos in 2011. After Coach Locksley was fired, he transferred to junior college and then to Maryland, where he's getting set for his first season in the Big 10 after a broken leg last October ended his promising junior season.


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I thought I was going to be watching Penn State games after their recruiting class included three players with dreads ...... I should have known better. I didn't know it then, but (the now late) Coach Paterno was no fan of long-haired players. 

50. After committing verbally to Ohio State and then signing with Penn State, Ft. Washington (MD) native Darrell Givens never made it to Penn State. Eligible by NCAA standards but not by Penn State standards, Givens, a CB, began his career with Rutgers in 2010. After recording a total of 2 tackles in two seasons for Rutgers, it was on to Towson. but he didn't play there either. Now an ex-dread, Givens played last season for NAIA school Kentucky Christian and presumably is still there getting set for his senior year.

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51. To say the least I was very disappointed when I saw a photo of WR Devon Smith without dreads in July '09, three weeks before his first training camp with Penn State. Believing that he would never cut off his long dreads, that's when I first started thinking that maybe he (and anybody else with dreads for Penn State) was required to cut them. Anyway, Smith, the 5-foot-7, 155-pound sprinter from White Plains, MD, caught 56 passes for 795 yards and 3 TD and was a kick returner in his three seasons at Penn State before a drug arrest in March 2012 got him dismissed from the team. He transferred to Marshall, brought back the dreads (see right photo, as he is introduced on senior day last November), and had a very productive 2013 season, finishing with 39 catches for 653 yards and 4 TD. He's a very dangerous punt returner, so he probably ought to give the CFL a try. But I haven't seen anything about him with any CFL or NFL team this season. With the tremendous speed he's been blessed with, he should to be able to do something in pro sports. 

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52. Upon closer examination, these were actually braids (left photo) on the head of WR Brandon Felder when he was at Oxon Hill (MD) HS. But it didn't matter; braids, dreads, whatever you call them, Paterno wanted nothing to do with them. Felder, who for most of his career at Penn State was know as Brandon Moseby-Felder, redshirted in '09 then had two very quiet seasons. With Paterno gone, he started growing dreads (right photo, about to hug RB Bill Belton during his senior day ceremony on Nov. 16 last season) - and started making some big plays as a junior and senior. He had a total of 59 catches for 749 yards and 4 TD in 2012-13.