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LATE TO THE PARTY: Mayde Creek’s Haastrup new to recruiting scene
Every year there always seems to be one prospect in the city of Houston who bursts onto the recruiting scene, late to the party.
This year, look no further than Mayde Creek’s Tobi Haastrup -- a 2025 DE who has picked up 21 offers in the past month -- and went from unknown to a 4-Star national recruit overnight.
How did he get here?
...
Haastrup’s journey to football is more unique than most, starting with living ‘across the pond’ in London.
“I lived in London for nine years and the main sports over their were futbol and and track, so that’s what I played when I moved over to the US," he said. "I really was trying to get a track scholarship originally, but realized if you’re not running a 10.1 or 10.2, there aren’t many schools offering you for track.”
After some convincing from some coaches, Haastrup traded in his spikes for cleats.
“The football coaches came up to me over the offseason and convinced me to give football a shot," he said. "They told me I had the size and the speed, so I decided to give it a shot for my senior year.
“I went to SAC (speed and strength) camp all summer and trained non-stop. I really knew nothing about what I was doing other than getting off the ball, because it was similar to getting a good start out of the blocks in track.”
Many people who have only been playing football for three months might struggle or have a slow start, but Haastrup introduced himself to Texas High School football was a bang.
In his first game playing the sport, Haastrup finished the game with four sacks, seven tackles and two QB pressures, a stat line that even many high-level 5-star prospects might not eclipse in their high school careers.
“Before the first game I really was just leaving it up to God, praying for the confidence in myself to go out there and apply what I had learned so far,” he said.
After that first game stat line, Haastrup got his first taste of the recruiting process picking up 21 offers from some big-time Power 4 programs overnight.
“I always thought that I would get a scholarship to run track, so whenever they started to come in for football I just had to thank God. None of this would be possible without him.”
Haastrup will have a big decision coming around signing day and will be visiting LSU, Boston College, Missouri, Ole Miss and Florida State in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned.
VYPE Houston Helmet Stickers: Week 2 (9.7.22)
Welcome to the second week of Helmet Stickers for the 2022 Texas high school football season.
There were tons of amazing performances last week across the greater Houston area, including some that are video-game hall of fame worthy. We compiled all of those top performances in the VYPE Houston Football Player of the Week Fan Poll - CLICK HERE TO VOTE - but then we boiled that down to the Top 6 performances.
These are Week 2's Helmet Sticker selections.
Tyvonn Byars, Lake Creek (32 carries, 325 yards, 2 TDs, 3 rec. 28 yards, 1 TD)
- Byars had a monster game for Lake Creek last week in a 54-42 win over Fort Bend Elkins. Byars busted loose for 325 yards and two scores on 32 carries. The 325 yards is a school record. He also had three catches for 28 yards and a score. Byars has 462 yards and six scores on 47 carries this season. The sophomore in his first varsity season is making noise. In his first varsity game last week, he rushed for 137 yards and four touchdowns. Byars is looking like he is going to be a big problem this season.
@TyvonnByars finished with 32 carries, a school record 325 yards, and 2 TDs. Also had 28 yards receiving and a TD🔥🔥🔥@Matt_Stepp817 @LakeCreekFBall @texashsfootball https://t.co/nYuMqP1y0u
— coach larsen (@CoachDLarsen) September 3, 2022
Marquell Hannah, Northbrook (3 carries, 122 yards, 3 TDs)
- Marquell Hannah had a huge night for the Northbrook Raiders. How about each of his three receptions went for touchdowns in a 24-17 win for Northbrook. This win was monumental for the Raiders as it snapped the state's longest losing streak at 42 games for the Raiders. Hannah played a huge role in the win.
TJ Burkhalter Jr, Klein Forest (12 tackles, 7 sacks, 1 FF)
- This stat line almost seems unrealistic but ... it is very real. TJ Burkhalter Jr. for Klein Forest in a 24-17 win over Humble last week racked up 12 tackles and seven sacks for the Golden Eagles. Wait, how many sacks? Seven is a ridiculous number for a single game. Some players never get that in a season. Through two games, Burkhalter leads Klein Forest in tackles (17) and sacks (8).
Donovan McKey, Mayde Creek (19 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks)
- Mayde Creek improved to 2-0 with a 49-27 win over Waller last week. A big piece was the play of Donovan McKey on defense. He racked up an amazing 19 tackles and two sacks in the win. For the season, McKey is leading the team with 27 tackles, averaging 13.5 per game. delete
Just a taste of my domination last night 🦍@CoachJensen3 @rashadbobino44 @CoachWashMCHS @RobbyDischer @ pic.twitter.com/Pw0maHfW5u
— Donovan mckey (@fw_dxt) September 3, 2022
Reed Odell, Tomball Memorial (18-27, 418 yards, 6 TDs, 11 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD)
- Despite falling short to Cypress Creek 56-54 in a wild finish, Reed Odell of Tomball Memorial still deserves a helmet sticker for his performance. Odell passed for 418 yards and six scores and ran for another 60 yards and a score. That is 478 yards of total offense and seven scores. Through two games, Odell is 38 for 57 (66%) for 719 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. Odell will be a key piece to Tomball Memorial making a run in 2022.
Chase Jenkins, Alief Taylor (18-26, 321 yards, 3 TDs, 10 carries, 103 yards, 3 TDs)
- The Rice-commit put on a show last week against Westside. Jenkins passed for 321 yards and three scores and rushed for another 103 yards and three touchdowns. That is 424 total yards of offense and six scores. Through two games, Jenkins has passed for 489 yards and three scores and rushed for another 241 and six scores. He is a dual-threat signal-caller that defenses have to account for in the pass and run game.