The McNabb Report: Weekend's Hottest Recruiting Spot

David McNabb reports on the latest news in local high school recruiting every Wednesday on VYPE.com/greaterdallas and VYPE/com/collincounty. Recruiting Hot Spot: DeSoto vs. Skyline If you're into recruiting, you have to be into Skyline vs. DeSoto this Saturday. Two of the state's -- and indeed the country's -- hottest hotbeds of football talent meet in the second-round of the Class 5A playoffs at 2 p.m. at Carrollton's Standridge Stadium. Skyline has a senior class with defensive back Steve Williams, the No. 32 2009 prospect in Texas by theoldcoach.com. Williams made a commitment to Oklahoma this summer and recently visited the Sooners in October. He's still considered a soft verbal commitment but a fall trip to California also has the Sooners wondering whether Williams will be returning with OU for the Red River Rivalry with Texas the next four years at the Cotton Bowl, about five miles from Skyline's East Dallas campus. Skyline senior running back James White has committed to Iowa State while receiver Marquis Boyce and defensive back Kerry Nation are Division I prospects as well. Skyline is coming off a 40-21 first-round win over Rowlett. Junior linebacker Domonique Patterson is one of the Raiders' 2010 Class of prospects. The 6-1, 210-pound former running back returned an interception for a touchdown against Rowlett. Patterson and Skyline junior linebacker Corey Nelson already have picked up college scholarship offers from Big 12 schools. They'll add more nationally once spring evaluations get done. Patterson is "leaning" in the recruiting jargon toward Texas A&M but hasn't verbally committed. "(A&M) basically is my number one school," Patterson said. "I've always liked A&M, just the school and the position and everything about the school. I don't feel like looking too far into it right now but I just always liked A&M." Skyline's 2010 Class also has nationally rated receiver Mike Davis and defensive lineman Cedric Stevenson. There's sophomore talent with linebacker Anthony Wallace already on recruiting watch lists. At DeSoto, there's 2011 talent with starting quarterback Ryan Polite. The 6-3, hard-throwing Polite even played as a freshman for the super-talented Eagles. Speedy sophomore running back Antoine Jimmerson also will be a high-profile '11 prospect. DeSoto's strength under first-year coach Claude Mathis is its junior class. The 2010 prospects are led by cornerback Adrian White, who received offers the first day colleges were allowed to make them. Wide receiver Darius Terrell is a 6-3 speedster already on the Top 250 national list by rivals.com. Also on the national 250 list is 6-7 offensive lineman Evan Washington, whose father Marvin was an NFL defensive end. DeSoto junior running back Marcus Murphy also has been a key to DeSoto blossoming toward the playoffs by winning five of its last six. DeSoto got off to a 1-4 start in Mathis' first-year but seems to be hitting its stride with a 40-14 victory over Temple last week. DeSoto senior offensive lineman Chris Atchison also is a major prospect. He committed early to SMU but now may open his choices his up as more colleges begin to make offers off a strong season. More Recruiting Updates Hillcrest wide receiver Michael Harrison (6-2, 190) continues to get more recruiting attention as the Panthers won a district title and got a first-round playoff victory over Pinkston last week. Harrison will get to showcase his skills against a top-ranked Class 4A opponent in a second-round playoff against Rockwall-Heath at Texas Stadium at 9 p.m. Friday. SMU, Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe and Kansas have shown the most interest. Colorado State has made an offer to Harrison, who is projected as a defensive back or receiver but has played a wide variety of positions at Hillcrest. Dallas Christian (11-0) is the top-ranked team in TAPPS Division II. The Chargers have a dominating defense led by senior linebacker Blake Rudd, who picked up a recent Air Force offer to go with one from Army...Dallas Christian quarterback Corey Brooks also is attracting looks from major colleges. A possibility is that the 6-4 Brooks ends up at Texas Tech as a pitcher in baseball and a quarterback candidate for the Red Raiders.