Ardrey Kell juniors making a big splash

We’ve been talking about early offers this past week; how about rising junior Drew Owens of Ardrey Kell High?

Owens, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound TE, has received on-the-spot offers after one-day evaluations by North Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Wondering why? Owens has been clocked at 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash, an excellent time for a guy 50 pounds lighter. And he has a vertical jump of 35 inches.

He’s also drawing early interest from South Carolina, Clemson, Virginia, N.C. State and East Carolina, according to his strength and conditioning trainer, Doug Thomas.

And let’s not forget about his teammate and fellow rising junior, Justus Pickett. He’s 5-11 and 178 pounds, and has been clocked at 4.40 and has a vertical of 38 inches, which will grab your attention.

He was first offered by Stanford in February, and received offers after one-day evaluations from Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

He’s receiving considerable attention from Ohio State, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, UCLA, LSU, East Carolina, Maryland, Oklahoma State and N.C. State.

It appears the Charlotte area is pretty well-stocked with remarkably talented rising juniors this year.

--Stan Olson