Big recruits at small school

08-31-2006

By Jake Fisher, San Diego Hall of Champions Intern

In ten years at Francis Parker, Coach John Morrison has never had two recruits as highly touted as Tyler Mabry and Gino Gordon.

Before the season even started Mabry had an astounding 12 scholarship offers. Gordon had two of his own and formed good relationships with Ivy League teams.

“We’ve had Division I players here before, but we’ve never had anything quite like this,” said Morrison.

This summer CalHiSports.com named Gordon and Mabry to the All-CIF preseason team. They were the only two Division V players on the list.

Playing for a small school has both positives and negatives when it comes to recruiting.

As Gordon describes it, he and Mabry are “big fishes in a small pond,” but at the same time college coaches may be skeptical of the players’ competition level.

“I could tell that I didn’t get as much attention as I would if I went to a big school,” said Gordon.

Mabry also notes the bias.

“Some people might say that it’s a disadvantage because you don’t get exposure,” he said. “But the Parker football program understands the academic demands and we still have gotten attention from over 30 coaches who come to the school.”

Small school San Diego athletes have succeeded in the past. Rashaan Salaam, a La Jolla Country Day alum, played 8-man football in high school and still went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1994 at Colorado and become a 1,000-yard rusher with the Chicago Bears.

Mabry is probably the most valued offensive line recruit in the county, even though he has only played three years of organized football. He received offers from schools such as Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Northwestern, and Utah before July. His massive 6-foot-7, 300 pound frame certainly helped.

“He is a skinny 300 lbs,” said Morrison. “Colleges look at him and say he could probably put on another 40-50 lbs and still be in great shape.”

Even though Mabry had many options, he knew that he wanted to attend Stanford. So, when Stanford offered him a scholarship he committed in less than ten minutes.

Mabry is leaning toward red shirting his freshman year so that he can get stronger.

“The sky is the limit for Tyler,” said Morrison. “I really think if he wants to he’ll have the chance to play on Sundays.”

Mabry is still focused on his education, though.

“If I had the opportunity [to play in the NFL] that would be fantastic,” said Mabry. “But if it doesn’t work out, I will always have a Stanford degree to fall back on.”

Although Mabry and Gino are good friends and are being recruited by similar schools, the two could not be more different on the field.

Gordon is a 5-foot-11, 190 pound running back and defensive back valued for his athleticism and versatility. Unlike Mabry, Gordon has been playing football his whole life.

Gordon believes he will play defensive back in college. Last year as a safety he made 50 tackles and picked off five balls.

His coach agrees that Gordon might end up playing defensive back but running back is still a possibility. During his junior season Gordon rushed for 973 yards and had another 251 yards receiving. He scored 15 touchdowns.

Gordon’s adaptability and experience earned him offers from both Oregon and Stanford. Gordon is also considering Ivy League schools, especially Harvard. He, however, has not made his final decision like Mabry, who is now trying to pull Gordon with him to Stanford.

“Right now, I’m Gino’s biggest recruiter,” said Mabry. “If Gino came to Stanford that would be the perfect situation.”

It would also be a situation that neither recruit would have expected. They both chose to attend Parker for academics not football. The small private school, which looks to defend its Division V championship this year, has never been an athletic powerhouse.

But Coach Morrison maintains that the college coaches get the real talent.

“I’ve always said that if you are good enough they’ll find you,” said Morrison. “It really doesn’t matter what size school.”