Sleeper of the Day, miniature version

ELLIOTT POWELL, RB, Eastern Alamance

Want to know the quickest way to become a sleeper?

Don’t grow. Be loaded with talent, heart and skill otherwise, but stop gaining in the height department two or three inches before the big-time recruiters would notice you and start calling.

Be like RB Elliott Powell, a rising senior at Eastern Alamance High in Mebane.

Powell is one of those elusive waterbugs of a back who has spent his prep career making defenders miss. He had well over 1,000 yards rushing as a junior, and he’s 190 solid pounds. But he’s also just 5-foot-6.

“He’s hard to catch,” says his coach, Robbie Harris. “He can run inside and out. Inside, he’s kind of small and hard to see. Outside, he’s just fast.”

Recruiters, though, are paying little attention so far.

“We’re a little surprised at that,” Harris said. “I know size is an issue, but speed is also an issue, and he’s fast.”

Harris said Powell ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at one combine this year; a 4.3 at another.

“My guess is he’ll end up playing at a smaller school, like Guilford or Greensboro or Catawba,” Harris said. “But you never can tell.” –Stan Olson

Our Sleeper of the Day item targets under-noticed Carolinas football recruiting prospects. As always, if you have a candidate, email me at solson@charlotteobserver.com.