This is the last profile to get Staking The Plains all caught up with the recruiting profiles. I usually don’t fall this far behind, but in transitioning websites, basketball, baseball and spring football, I became preoccupied. Skyline running back Da’Leon Ward is technically the first player that committed for the 2016 class and joins TE Donte Coleman, OL Gio Pancotti and OL Emoree Giddens.
| RUNNING BACKS | |
|---|---|
| DA’LEON WARD | RUNNING BACK |
| HT/WT: 5-11/180 FORTY: 4.48 HIGH SCHOOL: Skyline (Dallas, TX) VIDEO: Hudl RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals  5.7 | Scout | ESPN N/R | 24/7 Sports 87CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8604 PROFILE DATE: April 27, 2015 OFFERS: Louisville, TCU, Texas Tech, UNLV |
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The Player Speaks: Thanks to the Dallas Morning News via Rivals that it was Texas Tech and TCU that had been showing Ward the most attention:
“TCU and Texas Tech have been showing me the most love,” Ward told Rivals.com on Sunday. “TCU has been on me for a while and Tech just offered so they have been on me a lot lately. I’m just ready to make up my mind. Just want to get it over with and not drag it out.”
Scouting Report: Before we get to the nitty-gritty, Ward has had a really productive two years, including rushing for 853 yards and 6 touchdowns as a sophomore and doubling that as a junior, rushing for 1,779 yards and 20 touchdowns. Ward did that on just 70 more carries, which is pretty spectacular. If my numbers are correct, Ward averaged a bit over 100 yards a game, but he carried the ball only 12 times a game, so it’s pretty clear that he has a huge burst of speed and finds open holes.
A lot of Ward’s carries come off of the very standard hand-off in a spread offense, but Ward is finding the correct holes and he’s not just running outside, he’s running between tackles. I really like that. Ward’s yards don’t seem to come off of big huge plays or runs, they are good chunks of yards, so maybe Ward is a bit limited on the break-away speed, but when you gain nearly 10 yards a carry, you’re doing something correct.For a high school team that had some pretty terrific receivers, for Ward to have 16 or so catches means that he’s capable of catching the ball out of the backfield, but the Skyline offense wasn’t dependent on screens to the running backs.
Da’Leon, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
2016 Texas Tech Football Commits
| RUNNING BACKS | |
|---|---|
| DA’LEON WARD | RUNNING BACK |
| HT/WT: 5-11/180 FORTY: 4.48 HIGH SCHOOL: Skyline (Dallas, TX) VIDEO: Hudl RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals 5.7 | Scout | ESPN N/R | 24/7 Sports 87CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8604 PROFILE DATE: April 25, 2015 OFFERS: Louisville, TCU, Texas Tech, UNLV |
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| RECEIVER | |
| DONTE COLEMAN | TIGHT END |
| HT/WT: 6-4/220 FORTY: N/A HIGH SCHOOL: West Mesquite (Mesquite, TX) VIDEO: #Hudl RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals N/R | Scout | ESPN N/R | 24/7 Sports 84CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8367 PROFILE DATE: March 23, 2015 OFFERS: Arizona State, Boise State, California, Fresno State, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech and Washington |
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| OFFENSIVE LINE | |
| EMOREE GIDDENS | TACKLE |
| HT/WT: 6-5/265 FORTY: 4.90 HIGH SCHOOL: Coronado (Lubbock, TX) VIDEO: Hudl RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals N/R | Scout N/R | ESPN | 24/7 Sports N/R CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.000 PROFILE DATE: April 15, 2015 OFFERS: Weber State, Texas Tech |
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| GIOVANNI PANCOTTI | OFFENSIVE LINE |
| HT/WT: 6-6/273 FORTY: 5.53 HIGH SCHOOL: Episcopal (Bellaire, TX) VIDEO: Hudl RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals 5.6 | Scout | ESPN N/R | 24/7 Sports 83CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8396 PROFILE DATE: April 15, 2015 OFFERS: Houston, Texas Tech |
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