By Mike Loveday

The University of Connecticut has extended an offer to a member of the St. John's Catholic Prep football team.

The Vikings 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end, Forrest Mason, received his first official offer from UConn on Thursday, according to head coach Jimmy Ward.

The junior recorded 107 tackles and 19 sacks for the Vikings last season. Mason also plays tight end for the MIAA C conference school.

The Vikings other major prospect, J.R. Ferguson, received an offer from Notre Dame on Friday.

Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

By Sheldon Shealer

J.R. Ferguson's status as a national recruit took another step today as the University of Miami offered the talented defensive lineman from St. John's Catholic Prep.

The Miami offer brings the junior up to 27 offers, the most of any junior in Maryland at this point.

Ferguson recorded 106 tackles and 18 sacks during his sophomore season and followed that up with a 91-tackle, 11.5-sack junior year.

Ferguson was a Small School All-State first-team selection this past season.

	Photo by Mike Loveday
	The Vikings have a strong corps group of athletes that should help them to the C conference title.

By Mike Loveday

Key losses: Korin Pierce (WR/DB), Tyler Rakich (NG).

Key Returnees: J.R. Ferguson (TE/DE). Lamont Wims (RB/DB).

Impact newcomers: Ben Lewis (RB/LB), Dante Johnson.

Most improved: Will Grove (OL/DL) lost 30 pounds over the summer, putting the senior in better shape and moving quicker than ever before. Senior Brennaan Geimer played his first year of football last year and head coach Jimmy Ward said this year Geimer is looking more like a football player.

My take: The Vikings have one of the best athletes in the state in Ferguson and judging by his sophomore year, he should dominate the MIAA C conference. Wims is a lightning quick back that can move laterally almost a fast as he runs straight. Another 1,000 yard rushing season is not difficult to imagine.

Lewis comes to the program from the Middletown youth program and he looks like a star in the making. Lean and fast, the freshman could provide the Vikings with the perfect compliment to Ferguson.

With a schedule that includes Friends school twice, Ward going into his second season and a host of athletes that helped turn around the program last year, I would anticipate the Vikings to win the C conference outright this season.

By Mike Loveday

Oloveday5@yahoo.com

Two rising juniors, St. John Catholic Prep's J.R. Ferguson and Good Counsel's Louis Young, received good news yesterday when both received offers from colleges.

Young received an offer from Boston College around 4 p.m. on Monday, July 28. Boston College assistant coach Ryan Day extended the offer to Young, who now holds three offers. The University of Maryland and Virginia Tech also have offers on the table for Young.

SJCP defensive lineman, J.R. Ferguson, has racked up offers at almost one a week now. Tennessee is the latest school to jump into the mix, as the Volunteers made their offer on Monday, according to SJCP head coach Jimmy Ward.

Ferguson holds seven offers now with Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Clemson.

Young and Ferguson were impact players as sophomores on their respective teams, with Young recording 48 tackles, three interceptions and two sacks and Ferguson totaling 106 tackles and 18 sacks, helping lead the Vikings to a 7-4 record and a share of the MIAA C conference title.

UPDATE: Another Good Counsel athlete received an offer this week. I just got off the phone with defensive line coach Kevin McFadden and he told me that defensive back Mike Wallace received an offer from Stanford this afternoon.

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By Mike Loveday

Oloveday5@yahoo.com

St. John's Catholic Prep stud defensive lineman J.R. Ferguson finished his tour of colleges last week, but he must have left an impression. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Ferguson picked up his latest offer, this one from the University of North Carolina.

SJCP head coach Jimmy Ward confirmed the offer early this morning. This makes six offers for the rising junior, who also holds offers from Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Clemson.

By Mike Loveday

oloveday5@yahoo.com

St. John Catholic Prep's J.R. Ferguson (pictured) just keeps on impressing. As reported on MDVarsity.com Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman is on an unofficial tour of several major colleges and on his first day picked up two more offers.

The University's of South Carolina and Clemson are the fourth and fifth schools to make the rising junior an offer according to head coach Jimmy Ward.

Ferguson, who recorded 106 tackles and 18 sacks as a sophomore, already held offers from Illinois, Maryland and Oklahoma. The Sooners offer came in earlier this week.

Ferguson left Tuesday for unofficial visits to the following schools: Wake Forest, UNC, N.C. State, South Carolina, and Clemson and will end his week at the University of Georgia where he will participate in the team's one-day camp on Friday, July 18.

Ferguson will be a member of the Dream Team second team when the football preview magazine is released later this month. Click here to read more about the magazine.

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The offers keep piling up for St. John's Catholic Prep rising junior J.R. Ferguson who just received an offer from Oklahoma, according to head coach Jimmy Ward.

The 6-foot-4, 270 pound defensive lineman already held two offers, from Maryland and Illinois, which he received in the final weeks of June.

More offers could be in the near future for Ferguson, who is leaving at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15 for a series of unofficial visits to many of the nation's high profile colleges.

The rising junior will make visits to the following schools in this order: Wake Forest, UNC, N.C. State, South Carolina, and Clemson and will end his whirlwind week at the University of Georgia where he will participate in the team's one-day camp on Friday, July 18

Ferguson first attracted national attention when he attended the Illinois one-day camp and walked away with his first official offer. Maryland made their offer days later.

Ferguson had a stellar sophomore season with 106 tackles and 18 sacks, helping lead the Vikings to a 7-4 record and a share of the MIAA C conference title.

Ferguson will be a member of the Dream Team second team when the football preview magazine is released later this month.

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By Mike Loveday

With the start of practice almost a month away it seems like a good time to take a look at some of the rising juniors that could become impact players on their teams this year.

After watching countless hours of film along with attending underclassmen camps and combines along with the NFL player development camps I had the opportunity to witness some of the states best talent up close.

I will take a look at some of these athletes over the next week in a series of blogs.

In no particular order, these are just some of the players I expect to play big roles on their teams as juniors.

Nick Forbes, Thomas Johnson: Big, strong and fast Forbes matured as the season wore on and already has several verbal offers.

Deron Ames, Snow Hill: (pictured above) Ames does not get a lot of ink west of the Eastern Shore, but the rising junior only needs 1,200 yards to surpass the 4,000 yard mark. With two years ahead of him, Ames could make a run at the state rushing mark once Tavon Austin is done with it.

Matt Robinson, Atholton: Robinson could be the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the state for 2010. A two-time Bullseye Super 100 selection, Robinson has the perfect size and shows terrific hands.

Andrew Veith, Clarksburg: The receiver ran a 4.69 40-yard dash at the Schumann's Underclassmen and was impressive during the MDVarsity.com Passing Jamboree.

Don Hursey, Bishop McNamara: Hursey made a name for himself at the Nike Maryland Combine. The 5-10, 185-pound safety ran a 4.54 40 and posted a SPARQ rating of 91.71. He continued to impress scouts at the Nike Penn State camp.

Hassan Dixon, Good Counsel: Of the rising juniors on the Falcons, Dixon may not be the best known, but that could change this season. With a 4.53 40 along with 17 bench reps at 155 pounds, Dixon could see time as Caleb Porzel's backup, causing havoc for tired defenses.

Khalek Shepherd, Gwynn Park: (pictured right) The Yellow Jackets are loaded this season and head coach Danny Hayes said Shepherd is the hardest working athlete he's every had at Gwynn Park. With a 4.69 40 and Nygee Carmichael ahead of him, Shepherd should see time at running back on third downs and late in the game.

Ego (J.R.) Ferguson, St. John's Catholic Prep: Ferguson only appears to have come from nowhere. As a sophomore, Ferguson recorded 106 tackles and 18 sacks and made the biggest noise in the offseason. Ferguson matched up against one of the best offensive lineman in the Midwest at an Illinois camp and dominated so much that the Illini made him an offer. Maryland soon followed suit.

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