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Pirates land Palmetto State star
ECU player Taylor
Hudson helped sell his coaches on Mauldin's Dre Massey
By
Sammy Batten
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Calling Dre Massey "a playmaker'' on
the football field is an understatement. Perhaps a better description,
especially for Massey's senior season at Mauldin (SC) High School, is
"THE playmaker.''
The 6-foot, 175-pounder was
practically a one-man offensive show as a dual-threat quarterback and
return man for the Mavericks, which produced a 7-5 record and state
playoff berth. Massey completed 206 of 324 passes for 2,793 yards and 28
touchdowns, while also rushing 245 times for 2,043 more yards and 34
scores.
But as incredible as those season
statistics read, Massey's single-game performance against Boiling
Springs late in the season was even more eye-popping. He gained national
attention in Mauldin's final regular-season game against Boiling
Springs, including a mention in USA Today, by passing for 213 yards and
four touchdowns and rushing for 354 yards and seven more scores in an
83-70 triumph.
It was news of that performance
delivered by Mauldin alum and current East Carolina offensive lineman
Taylor Hudson that accelerated the Pirates' interest in recruiting
Massey, according to Mavericks coach Lee Taylor.
"Taylor (Hudson) was going to them
(ECU coaches) every week and telling them, 'Dre did this,' and 'Dre did
that Friday night,''' Lee Taylor said. "Well, Taylor told me he went in
there Saturday after Dre scored 11 touchdowns and told the coaches what
he'd done. They didn't believe him until they pulled it up online.
"(ECU inside receivers coach) Coach
(Donnie) Kirkpatrick, who had been in touch with me off and on regarding
Dre during the season, got in touch with me right then.''
The Pirates brought Massey in for an
official visit last weekend, then followed up with an in-home visit
Monday to secure a verbal commitment from the future ECU wide receiver.
Massey made the pledge after also
entertaining an offer from Marshall and serious interest from Oregon
State. The Beavers had scheduled Massey for an official visit for
January 24, but that has now been cancelled due to his ECU commitment.
"Oh man, I just loved the atmosphere
up there,'' Massey said Tuesday when asked what sold him on the Pirates.
"You could just feel the love. Everybody you spoke to was talking about
family. Everything the coaches told me, the players would turn around
and tell you the same thing. It was just the perfect situation for me.''
The combination of family and
football at ECU appealed to Massey because it reminded him of home.
He grew up in a family that held
football in high esteem. His uncle, Norris Brown, was a tight end for
Georgia and a teammate of the great Herschel Walker during the Bulldogs'
run to the 1980 national championship. Brown went on to play one season
for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
Massey's father, Andre Mills, played
for state championship teams at Laurens (SC) High School back in the
1980s. Mills never got to see his son play on the high school level,
however, due to a tragic car accident that claimed his life during the
summer between Massey's eighth- and ninth-grade years.
"He always took pride in my
accomplishments and wanted me to follow in his footsteps with
football,'' Massey said. "When he passed away, I put my mind on football
and went for it because I knew that would make him happy.''
Massey arrived at Mauldin without
fanfare and played for the "C'' or freshman team before suddenly being
thrust into a role as the varsity starter the following spring when the
scheduled starter was injured during off-season practices.
"We put Dre in that spring ... [We]
were like, 'Holy crap! This kid can play,''' Taylor said. "He ended up
being our quarterback as a sophomore and it was a process with him. We
play in a difficult region. Throwing a sophomore kid in there with only
C-team experience and none on the JV at all, well, there's a steep
learning curve.
"But midway through the season he
started getting it, and just took off from there. He had an outstanding
junior year, and this season was just off the charts.''
Massey finished the 2013 season as
one of the most decorated players in South Carolina. He was selected the
region player of the year and back of the year for the Big 16 team
chosen by the South Carolina Football Coaches Association. The High
School Sports Report named him player of the year for the entire state
and he was selected for the annual North-South All-Star game during
which he earned most valuable player honors after passing for 78 yard
and a touchdown, rushing for 72 yards and a score and returning a
kickoff 77 yards.
In addition to those statistics,
Massey also caught a 13-yard pass in the North-South game.
He hopes to do more of the latter at
ECU, where he's expected to play an inside receiver position.
"I didn't talk to them (ECU coaches)
much about playing quarterback,'' Massey said. "They said they might use
me in a 'Wildcat' situation and let me throw the ball a couple of times
(on receiver pass), things like that. But what they really want me to do
is play receiver and I'm excited about that.
"What I bring to the table is just
explosiveness, speed and playmaking ability. They (ECU coaches) are
loving the idea of putting me on the field and let me make things
happen. They're also going to have me on kick returns and punt returns.
I just want to make something happen for them.''
Speed is one of Massey's many assets.
He's been timed at 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash out of uniform, but
according to Taylor his speed doesn't diminish significantly after he
puts on the pads.
"A great example of his speed
happened against Byrnes this year,'' Taylor said. "It was near the end
of the first half and we were on their 25-yard line going in. We called
time out and told him to get the ball in the end zone. We told all our
players if it gets intercepted, they're going to try to run it back
because they have nothing to lose.
"Well, Dre throws the ball into the
end zone, it's intercepted and they do run it out. The guy takes off up
the Byrnes sideline and Dre ends up knocking him out of bounds at the
opposite 25-yard line to save a touchdown. He knocked him about four
yards into the bench.
"Now, we didn't realize until we
watched the game film that when that kid headed up the sideline, Dre was
20 yards away,'' he said. "Dre caught up to him and was able to get in
front of him and square up to knock him out of bounds. Later, the Byrnes
coach told me the kid who intercepted the pass was the fastest person on
their team.''
Massey is one of two wide receiver
prospects who committed to the Pirates after making official visits to
Greenville last week, joining Markell Boston from East Coweta High
School in Newnan, GA. More on Boston's commitment coming up.
E-mail Sammy Batten
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01/22/2014 03:12 AM |
