By
Sammy Batten
©2012 Bonesville.net
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Chuck Reedy seems to be
describing the son every father would want when talking about Mike
Myers.
"He's just a great kid,''
Reedy says. "He's a good student. He comes to practice every day until
about 6 o'clock a lot of nights and then goes off to work at a fast food
restaurant. He does that on weekends, too, to help his mom.
"He is a very mature kid
... more mature than most 17-year-olds.''
Myers has combined those
character traits with outstanding athletic ability to become a football
standout for Reedy at South Carolina powerhouse Goose Creek High School.
He's been part of the Goose Creek varsity since his freshman season and
last year, while playing defensive tackle, helped the Gators claim the
state 4A Division II championship.
East Carolina special
teams and running backs coach Kirk Doll also took a liking to Myers
during a recruiting stop in Goose Creek last spring, resulting in a
scholarship offer from the Pirates. Myers accepted in early September
over offers from Charlotte, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, North
Carolina and Southern Miss.
Plenty of other schools
would have been interested if the 6-foot-1 1/2, 285-pound Myers was an
inch or two taller, according to Reedy.
"If he was 6-2 or 6-3 he'd
be recruited by everyone in the country,'' Reedy said. "He is an
exceptionally good player. He's probably as strong as any kid I've ever
had. He benches around 400 pounds, he runs in the 5.0 or 4.9 range (in
the 40-yard dash) and plays with great effort.
"East Carolina has gotten
themselves a jewel. They stole one in him.''
Playing his first season
on the defensive line, Myers collected 77 tackles and made five sacks in
Goose Creek's run to the state title in 2011. He contributed several
tackles behind the line of scrimmage as the Gators down Greenwood,
37-21, for the state championship.
Goose Creek is again a
contender for state honors this season with a 9-0 record. Myers had 34
tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in those games and is expected
to be selected for South Carolina's annual North-South All-Star game
later this year.
Myers was in the seventh
grade at a local middle school when he first caught Reedy's attention.
Reedy has seen plenty of potential college players in previous jobs as
an assistant coach at Clemson and as head coach at Baylor from 1993-96.
ECU head coach Ruffin McNeil was a graduate assistant coach at Clemson
during Reedy's tenure at the Atlantic Coast Conference school.
"We have three middle
schools that feed into the high school here, so every year I go over to
talk to the rising seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders about our program
and what they need to be doing,'' Reedy said. "Even in the seventh
grade, Mike was a big kid. I immediately thought defensive lineman
because of his size. But he was playing fullback at the time, and he
said that's where he wanted to play for us.''
Two years later, Myers did
become a varsity co-starter at fullback, rushing for "about 500 or 600
yards'' and scoring 10 touchdowns, according to Reedy. He alternated at
fullback again a sophomore with similar results before coming to a
career-changing decision.
Faced with the prospect of
yet another season rotating with an older player at fullback, Myers
decided to try something new with some gentle prodding from Reedy.
"Mike had gotten to about
250 pounds,'' Reedy said. "I called him in and said, 'You can stay at
fullback if you want to. Obviously, you'll be alternating there. But
you're an awfully good football player. You can move to another position
where you can be a starter. It's your choice.'
"He said, 'Coach, I used
to play defensive line. I'd like to try that.' That's exactly what I
wanted him to say, but I wanted it to be his choice.
"We moved him to defensive
tackle and he immediately took to it.''
Reedy said Myers makes a
lot of plays in the backfield because of his strength and quickness, and
he's not talking just about tackles.
"This was quite an
accomplishment,'' Reedy said. "He had two interceptions in a game as a
defensive lineman, and he ran one of them in for a touchdown. He was
rushing the passer, but somebody else got there first and the ball pops
out. He caught it and ran it in.''
Myers plays tackle in
Goose Creek's four-man front, but has been recruited as a nose tackle
for ECU's 3-4 alignment. The only other recruit for 2013 so far who may
play defensive line is
Kirk Donaldson from Vance High
in Charlotte. Donaldson has been recruited as an end or outside
linebacker.
Goose Creek has one of the
most talented teams in the entire Southeast United States this season
when it comes to college prospects. Myers is one of three senior Gators
who have already committed to major college programs along with
linebacker Gerald Turner (South Carolina) and wide receiver Tramel Terry
(Georgia). Two others, defensive ends Jalen Stevens and DeShawn Evans,
are also being pursued by Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Behind that group are also
two juniors who already have major-college scholarship offers in running
back Caleb Kinlaw and tight end Kalan Ritchie.
The Pirates also offered
Terry a scholarship, but aren't yet involved with any other Goose Creek
players. But Reedy wouldn't mind if they did because of the high regard
in which he holds ECU's McNeill.
"I've known Ruffin for 25
years,'' Reedy said. "Even though I'm not in constant contact with him,
I'm very proud of what he's accomplished. I'm really happy to have
someone go up there to play for him.''