insider.espn.go/blog/ncfrecruiting/west/post?id=10931 For decades, California junior colleges have served as must-stop locations for college football coaches across the country. From head coaches Bill Walsh and John Madden (College of San Mateo) to Hall of Fame offensive linemen Ron Yary (Cerritos College) and Larry Allen (Butte College) to current NFL standouts Aaron Rodgers (Butte College) and Jason Pierre-Paul (College of the Canyons), the juco ranks in the Golden State have produced some legendary football figures. Los Angeles Pierce College hasn’t had much of a say in that overall success, but head coach Efrain Martinez appears to have turned things around in a big way since taking over in 2007. After two years as an assistant coach there, Martinez took the reins and was faced with a daunting task. “We were the worst-rated program in the state of California,” Martinez said. “So when we first started, the idea for us was that we had to be different.” Martinez said he and his staff asked themselves what players at that stage of their careers are looking for, and came up with an answer. “It all comes down to scholarships,” Martinez said. “So that’s when we started to work extra hard -- harder than any other coaches -- to get our guys out, because that’s the only shot we had.” According to Martinez, Pierce College sent 15 football players to four-year schools during his first year. The second year, 18 players went out. And the third, 21 recruits continued their careers. “Last year, we had 24 Division I guys leave and 40 guys total that went on to four-year schools,” Martinez said. “That’s just unheard of.” [+] Enlarge Courtesy of Pierce College Beau Sandland, the No. 2 juco tight end in the Class of 2013, signed with Miami out of Pierce College.That crop of recruits featured five who landed in the ESPN JC 100, including the No. 2 defensive tackleMarquel Combs (Kansas), No. 2 tight end Beau Sandland (Miami) and No. 2 cornerback Howard Wilder(Cincinnati). “What happens after a while is kids see that this coach is going to help get us out, and that’s when the really talented kids come in,” Martinez said. But with so much attention spent getting recruits out to four-year programs, it might be someone who took the opposite course who has the biggest impact on the Brahmas this fall. Linebackers coach Juan Navarro has been at Pierce for just over a month, but the former defensive assistant at Florida International already has had a huge impact. After working at Miami and following Mario Cristobal to FIU, Navarro made the transition to Pierce and is enjoying the process. “They’ve helped me understand the landscape, timelines and benchmarks or junior college football, and I’ve been provided an opportunity to share my experiences,” Navarro said. “It’s been fun.” Navarro is very familiar with Pierce College, as he attended high school at Los Angeles James Monroe, and his family lives in the area. While coaching at FIU, he recruited California junior colleges, including Pierce. Although it wasn’t often that he found himself on campus. “Before [Coach Martinez took over] this was a place you didn’t come to,” Navarro said. “Coach Martinez has done a great job of attracting people who have contacts across the country. When we get the kids here and they go out -- if five guys go out one year, those five guys know 10 guys, then those 10 guys know 20 guys. You start sending guys out and you’re going to attract that caliber of talent.” Pierce College is already home to several recruiting success stories this summer, but one in particular abides by that word-of-mouth process. Philadelphia is certainly known as a basketball city, but it might be Pierce that helps put it there as a football one. Several years ago, safety Gerald Bowman made the long-distance trip from Philadelphia to Pierce and wound up with a scholarship offer to USC. This past spring, wide receiver Jaelen Strong-Rankin took the same journey and will begin his career this fall at Arizona State. The thought around Pierce is that Strong-Rankin has the ability to put together one big-time season and head off to the NFL next year. In fact, the 2012 Pierce roster had 17 players who prepped in Philadelphia, including twins Tyree Stone-Davis and Tyrin Stone-Davis. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound athletes said they didn’t know Bowman or Strong-Rankin personally, but they did know their stories coming out of their home city. “Pennsylvania isn’t really a youth football state, and Philadelphia isn’t really a youth football city, so in order to keep chasing our dream, we knew it would make sense to come to the best juco in the nation, LA Pierce,” Tyree Stone-Davis said. “We came here to chase our dream.” The twins began playing football at six years old were always drawn far more to the gridiron than the basketball court. Dominant high school athletes, Tyrin played running back until he grew to well over six feet tall and was forced to make the move outside. He’s done all his maturation without the aid of a speed or receiving coach. Instead, the twins do much of their film study on YouTube, watching great wide receivers and defensive backs and studying their footwork. Tyree watches Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson and others, although that wasn’t who he studied growing up. “I thought I’d be the next Michael Vick,” Tryee said. “But when I came to Pierce, it hit me that I had to learn the plays and everything. My heart wasn’t into playing quarterback like that. I wanted to just drop back and throw a deep pass or scramble and just make plays happen.” Tyree Stone-Davis had spent time in high school working at cornerback against his brother, and when he spent some extended time there upon arriving at Pierce, he knew he had a new home. “Now it’s me,” he said. “I’m a corner now.” Before long, schools came calling for the twins, and while a number of programs showed interest, Illinois and San Diego State were the two that offered both. It didn’t take long for the brothers to come to a decision. Tyrin committed to the Illini early last week, while Tyree followed suit two days later. “The Big Ten produces a lot of NFL players, and I’m from Philly, so the conference was always on my mind,” Tyrin said. “I looked at the roster several times, and they have receivers leaving, so I feel I can step in and produce at a high level. Wes Lunt came over there, and I was a fan of his at Oklahoma State. There’s an opportunity for him to be my quarterback, and with the offensive coordinator they have now, Bill Cubit, over from Western Michigan, I’m just excited.” Tyree said he held out because he didn’t want to be locked into following his brother wherever he went, but the more he thought about it, the easier the decision became. “After a while I just thought, what am I waiting for?” Tyree said. “It’s the Big Ten, and I can go compete for a spot there. On top of that, it’s one of the best academic schools in the country.” It won’t be the last time Illinois coaches chase a Pierce prospect this fall. Tight end Trevor Kanteman signed with the Illini as part of the 2013 class, and Illinois has offered several other Pierce players in the 2014 class, including tight end Isaac Ijalana, who will take an official visit in early September. [+] Enlarge National Underclassmen Combine Nick Arbuckle came to Pierce from Ventura St. Bonaventure, where he was a backup, and has developed into a potential Division I quarterback.One player who could push Pierce up the perception charts is quarterbackNick Arbuckle. Though he hasn’t received an offer yet, Martinez believes his signal-caller has NFL potential and is someone being closely monitored by Ohio State. Defensive tackle Hakeem Allonce is committed to Illinois and offensive tackle Justin Scott recently committed to West Virginia. Defensive end Corey Richardson, linebacker Reece Schmidt, cornerback Erik Collins, offensive tackles Brandon Mitchell and Rasalic Mackey, and defensive end Jon Johnson are just a few of the Brahmas expected to be pursued by schools this fall. With recruiting on the rise, Martinez said it’s time now for things to pick up on the field. “This year is going to be special,” he said. “We have the talent, and now I think we have the coaching staff. It’s on us now. I’m putting a lot of pressure on our coaching staff to get our guys prepped and ready to have that successful season.”
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 19:59:56 +0000
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