Another missed junior stirring up recruiters

This one is 6-foot-2, 195-pound Monroe Parkwood wide receiver Marcus Leak. Despite a high ankle sprain that slowed him for four games, Marcus finished with 630 receiving yards and 5 TDs, along with 2 rushing scores and a punt return TD.

"The big fish are starting to swim now," said Parkwood coach Nelson Rowell today in reference to the pickup in Leak's recruiting. "He's a special, special kid.”

Leak also plays on the basketball team, and was fourth in the state in the high jump with a leap of 6-4 as a sophomore.

Leak was at the same UNC camp as Marvin Ridge wideout K.J. Brent last summer, and Rowell said, “Carolina offered Brent right there, and he’s a heck of a player. But I thought Marcus out-played him.”

I wasn’t aware of Leak until an alert reader tipped me off, and now he’s a candidate for our Top 25 list for 2011. So let me know about under-the-radar players.

*Marcus, by the way, is the younger brother of Parkwood senior QB Maurice Leak. Because of his 5-10 height, most schools want the elder Leak as a slot receiver or a defensive back. But Charleston (W.Va.) College thinks he can start four years for them under center, Rowell said.

“They run the spread and triple-option, so it should be a good fit,” Rowell said. “We’re excited about it.”

Maurice throws and runs well—his senior season produced 1,293 passing yards and 12 TDs, along with 420 rushing yards and 8 scores.

--Stan Olson