Has early recruiting damaged the ability of athletes coming on late in their high school career opportunities at attracting offers from Power Five schools? Nowadays it is not uncommon for colleges to throw out offers to freshman or sophomores, and if you don’t get early offers, it’s hard to get invited to distinguished exposure camps such as the Regional Nike Openings or Rivals.com Three Stripe Camp.
First year head coach Cam Jones led Lakeside-Atlanta to its first non-losing season in more than a decade. This was no easy task playing in Region 7-AAAAAAA with the likes of Brookwood, Norcross and Parkview. Lakeside runs the spread triple-option, so it may come as a surprise that its top prospect is a wide receiver.
Demonte Pressley led the Vikings with 29 catches for 621 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned two kicks the distance while recording seven tackles, one INT and one FR. As a sophomore he caught 19 passes for 368 yards and five touchdowns to go along with a kick return for score. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound vertical threat has averaged over 20 yards per reception over the last two seasons.
Despite the impressive production, Pressley has yet to receive an offer at any level. The lack of offers translated to not being invited to either camp listed above. Pressley is set to attend the MVP Camp on April, 30 at Lassiter High School. An impressive performance could boost his stock as 247Sports Recruiting Analyst Rusty Mansell and Rivals.com Analyst Chad Simmons will be on hand evaluating the talent.
“Demonte is probably the most athletic and dynamic player I have been around,” Jones said. “At Tampa (Fla.) Chamberlain we had several players sign with FBS colleges and he has similar attributes, I still expect him to blow up. I think he is a future all-conference performer at a Power Five school, Pressley has all the tools to excel at an SEC or ACC school.”
Pressley currently has a 2.83 overall GPA, and has yet to take a standardized test. He was scheduled for the ACT last Saturday, but with his mother in the hospital, Pressley had to forego the test. Coach Jones and Pressley are in the process of rescheduling for the next available ACT date.
“He is definitely hungry for success, we do a good job of monitoring grades and he has never had a problem in that area,” Jones said. “He is a great communicator and an upfront kid. We workout at 6:15 am every morning and he works his tail off every day.”
Last month, he made Junior Day visits to Georgia Tech and Georgia State. With the spring evaluation period starting today, his next unofficial visit is still up in the air as he waits to hear from college recruiters that visit the school.
Right now the colleges showing the most interest are Georgia State, Florida State, Louisville, Syracuse and USF. The former Dade County resident would love to hear from Florida and Miami his childhood favorites. Pressley moved from Coral Gables to Atlanta between his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“I just haven’t been to enough camps, and the school has just not had that many FBS players over last ten years,” Pressley said. “And it doesn’t help that I haven’t received invites to the top camps that have already taken place in Georgia.”
Basketball may have gotten in the way of some opportunities as Pressley is a starter on the Vikings varsity squad. Once a 100-meter, 200-meter and long jump participant, he has recently given up track to concentrate on football.
This fall Coach Jones plans on utilizing Pressley as a two-way starter. Though their base set is still the triple option they plan on getting Pressley more touches. It doesn’t hurt that 6-foot-5 signal caller Matthew Holt returns at the helm of the Viking offense.
“He’ll be playing a lot more defense this coming season as a hybrid linebacker/safety,” Jones said. “Who knows his athleticism may allow him to eventually project as a college outside linebacker. Once spring ball is over I’ll definitely be taking him on more college visits and to camps.”
For those college recruiters interested in evaluating the speedy outside receiver, stop by Lakeside High School just off the I-85/I-285 split. Otherwise they can see Pressley in action May, 12 when the Vikings visit Jefferson (Ga.) for their spring game. Visit his recruiting profile by clicking HERE.
article submitted by site contributor Barry Every – follow him Twitter @BVEvery
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