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HEATING UP: Hastings’ Orogbo shaking off sleeper tag
Every recruiting cycle, there seems to be one player that comes out of nowhere and becomes one of the top recruits in the city of Houston.
Come on down Hastings defensive end Smith Orogbo. At 6-foot-5, 215-pounds, Orogbo’s size screams DI, Power 5 talent. Pair that with his junior stats 73 Tackles, 17 Tackles for Loss, 7 Sacks, and 2 Forced Fumbles, it's easy to see why the offers are rolling in.
The crazy part about Orogbo’s is that he didn’t start playing the game of football until his freshman year of high school, and he's already has become a dominant force on the field.
“I was a basketball and track athlete before I started playing football my freshman year,” he said. “I loved the sport once I started and I love the feeling of dominating on the field.”
Orogbo’s recruitment has taken off this offseason picking up offers from Kansas, Oklahoma State, Pitt, TCU, Cal, Oklahoma, Texas, SMU, Tulsa, and most recently UTEP, Memphis and Florida. Now at 19 total offers, you could say the junior is enjoying the recruiting process so far.
“It has been amazing," he said. "The love I get from the coaches and getting to know their programs is just a blessing.”
The talented defensive end plans to attend the Baylor, Oklahoma and TCU junior days in coming weeks. He also mentioned that he has heard from Texas Tech, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State the most as of late. Ohio State has been in contact as well.
Smith Orogbo is the diamond in the rough of this 2025 recruiting class and expect his offer list to grow quickly in the coming weeks.
OUT OF HIBERNATION: Winston's presence will power No. 20 Alief Hastings
Alief Hastings had another solid season in 2023. The Bears won 23 games, finished third in district, and reached the Area round of the playoffs.
Georgia Southern-commit Melinda Winston (Sr. G) will remain a key piece towards the Bears' success as the team captain. She averaged a team-leading 17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, three steals and two assists per game a year ago, and has already surpassed 1,000 career points in her illustrious high school career.
Head Coach Corey Brotherton will also look to Amyah Weathersby (Jr. C) to bolster Hastings' push, after averaging 7.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Winston and Weathersby will be the dynamic duo for the Bears this season, while Reese Santos (Sr. G) and Kamren Stiggers (Sr. G/F) are other players to watch as well.