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Pirates tap Texas for scholarly lineman
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DALTON MONTGOMERY |
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By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
In the football-crazed town of
Corinth, Texas, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area,
they're known for producing college quarterbacks.
In fact, the last three signal
callers at one of Corinth's local high schools, Lake Dallas, have gone
on to earn college scholarships. They include former Missouri starter
James Franklin, Chase Baine (ex-of North Texas) and current Dartmouth
starter Dalyn Williams. Even Lake Dallas's current starting quarterback,
junior Dagen Haehn, is starting to draw college attention.
But while quarterbacks may lead the
prospect lists at Lake Dallas, head coach Michael Young believes East
Carolina may have found another gem on the Falcons roster.
The Pirates capped 2014 by securing a
verbal commitment from Lake Dallas senior offensive offensive tackle
Dalton Montgomery on December 30 to increase their
recruiting Class of 2015 to 14
players. Montgomery, a 6-foot-6, 255-pounder, was recommended to the ECU
coaching staff by Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh,
according to Young.
Bedenbaugh is familiar with many on
the ECU coaching staff, especially offensive line coach Brandon Jones.
Jones was the starting center at Texas Tech in 2005 and 2006 when
Bedenbaugh served as offensive line coach for the Red Raiders under Mike
Leach.
“Their (Oklahoma) offensive line
coach has been around here quite a bit eyeballing a sophomore kid we
have,'' Young said. “But he's (Bedenbaugh) always liked Dalton. Because
he coached at Texas Tech, he's good friends with the staff at East
Carolina. He mentioned to them what a good player Dalton is and told
them they may want to take a look.
“They (ECU) came down to see a game
in person and made the offer to him.''
Montgomery, who is ranked No. 1 in
his high school graduating class, was being recruited by strong academic
schools like Dartmouth and Davidson for football. Rice was also showing
interest, but ECU was the first to extend a scholarship offer.
Even though he's yet to visit the ECU
campus in Greenville, Montgomery's familiarity with the football program
prompted him to go ahead and commit.
“East Carolina is a name our kids
recognize,'' Young said. “They've been successful, they were nationally
ranked at times this year and it helps that we see them play on ESPN all
the time. They have coaches who are familiar with our area, and our kids
really like the Texas Tech offense, where a lot of their (ECU) coaches
came from.
“Dalton really liked their school.
One big thing is he's No. 1 in his class, so he was going to go to
college for free where ever he wanted to go. But he liked their school
and I think he was kind of interested in going to play on the East
Coast. He's not afraid to get away from home.''
Young said Montgomery will make an
official visit to Greenville sometime later this month.
Montgomery grew up in the Corinth
community where his mother is a teacher. He joined the Lake Dallas
varsity on a part-time basis as a sophomore and has been a starter the
last two seasons. Montgomery earned second-team All-District 6 5-A
honors as a junior, then was named first-team all-district and honorable
mention all-state 4-A by the Associated Press Sports Editors as a
senior.
“He's always been a real tall kid,''
Young said. “He was just kind of lanky and has sort of filled into his
body. We thought he had the potential to be a really good player though
because he was also athletic. He's really gained a lot of weight and a
lot of muscle the last couple of years. I think that's why he's been
under the (recruiting) radar a little bit. But those are the kind of
kids who seem to work out best – kids who grow into their bodies later,
have quick feet and are athletic tend to be be really successful.''
Another asset that differentiates
Montgomery is his attitude, Young said.
“I think one thing that sets him
apart from a lot of these big offensive linemen is that he's really
competitive and has a mean, nasty streak,'' Young said. “A lot of time
the big, young offensive lineman isn't as mean as you'd like them to be.
“But Dalton is different. He has a
little edge about him and he really plays hard. That's going to help him
when he gets to college.''
Although Lake Dallas is known more
for producing quarterbacks, it has also developed some impressive
blockers, too. A case in point is Daryl Williams, who has been a
starting tackle at Oklahoma the last three seasons. The 6-6, 329-pounder
was an All-Big 12 Conference selection this season and is being
projected as an NFL draft pick.
Young said Montgomery's development
has been like that of Williams in many ways.
“He's (Montgomery) similar to him
(Williams) in that both were undersized as freshmen and sophomores, then
put on weight later,'' Young said. “I don't know if Dalton is quite as
athletic as Daryl, but they have similar frames and mentality in regards
to the way they work.''
Lake Dallas also runs an offensive
system similar to ECU's “Air Raid'' attack, so Young believes Montgomery
will adjust quickly to the college game.
“He's excited for the opportunity,''
Young said. “This is a football town and we've been successful. East
Carolina is also a football town and they've been successful. He enjoys
being part of big games and that football environment.''
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01/11/2015 02:24 PM |
