By Mike Loveday

The Frederick News Post is reporting that Thomas Johnson's Marquis Woodyard has committed to college.

According to the article, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound safety committed to play football for James Madison University.

Woodyard is the third Patriot to commit to college this year. Teammates Nick Forbes (California) and Jeremy Grove (East Carolina) committed earlier this summer.

As a junior last season, Woodyard won two state Track & Field championships at the Maryland outdoor championships on May 23.

Woodyard won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.19-- the win was his first career state championship. Later in the day, he won his second title with a victory in the 300-meter hurdles. Woodyard was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished third. Woodyard's contribution helped the Patriots to the Class 4A state championship.

ESPNRise encourages comments from its users. Leave a comment below. Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

Thomas Johnson's Marquis Woodyard, a rising senior, was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Maryland Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Woodyard is the first Gatorade Maryland Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Governor Thomas Johnson High School.  

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Woodyard as Maryland's best high school boys track & field athlete.  Woodyard is now a finalist for the  Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior hurdler clocked a time of 14.19 seconds to win the 110-meter hurdles and broke the tape in the 300-meter hurdles in 38.69 at the Class 4A state meet this season, leading the Patriots to the state champoinship as a team.  An Honorable Mention All-Met selection as named by The Washington Post, Woodyard also anchored the third-place 4x400-meter relay quartet that finished in 3:23.78 at the state meet.  His time of 37.63 in the 300-meter hurdles at the Frederick County Track & Field Championships ranked No. 30 in the nation among prep competitors at the time of his selection.

Woodyard has maintained a 3.14 weighted GPA in the classroom. 

By Sheldon Shealer, editor

Thomas Johnson senior Nick Forbes verbally committed to California. The following is a link to the story that appeared in the Frederick News-Post. More

UPDATED: With two more commitments over the weekend, I've updated the verbal commitment list. You can find it HERE.

Thomas Johnson junior linebacker jeremy Grove picked up two more offers this week, bringing his total to three.

Louisville and Navy are the latest to offer Grove, who also was offered by East Carolina University.

By Mike Loveday

Oloveday5@yahoo.com

Thomas Johnson's star athlete D.J. Scott had a busy week last week, culminating in the rising senior finding a new college to call home.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound defensive back made the decision to decommit from Syracuse last week and when a planned trip to Central Michigan arose, it appeared to be the perfect fit.

"I had that thought in my head for a week or two now (to decommit), Scott said.

Scott said he heard changes were going to be made to the Orange coaching staff and no longer felt like Syracuse was the place for him. When he returned from vacation last week his dad told him that he would be heading to Central Michigan with River Hill athletes Malek Redd and Leron Eaddy

"When I heard I was coming out here (Central Michigan) I had to do my homework, Scott said. "I like everything I saw and made the decision to commit.

Central Michigan officially offered Scott on Saturday, July 26 and after calling his father, Scott decided to commit to the Chippewas on Sunday, July 27. Redd and Eaddy were already committed to Central Michigan.

To further add to Central Michigan's weekend was the commitment of Coolidge (D.C.) quarterback Emmanuel Yeager who is friends with Redd, Eaddy and Scott.

"Those are my homeboys, Yeager said. "That was all an added bonus. We were all looking for something different (in a college), but it essentially was the same thing. We were looking for a place that fit what we wanted from a college.

Yeager said he chose Central Michigan over offers from Pittsburgh, Richmond, Ohio, Akron and Eastern Michigan.

Scott played five different positions for Thomas Johnson as a junior: quarterback, tailback, receiver, defensive back and kick returner. He also made an impact on scouts when he ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and a 4.35 shuttle at the Maryland Junior Combine in 2007 and was named to the Frederick News Post First Team.

Make sure to leave your comment below and let us know how we're doing.

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.

Make sure to leave your comment below and let us know how we're doing.

According to the Frederick News Post, former Thomas Johnson stud running back, Terence Kerns, has passed his off the field test and will be joining the West Virginia Mountaineers football program this fall.

The Post reports that Kerns has passed the ACT.

After graduating from TJ, Kerns attended Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) to improve his grades and retake the SAT and ACT and the News Post is reporting that the 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back has succeeded.

Kerns originally signed a National Letter of Intent with West Virginia in April of 2006 and was recruited by then offensive coordinator Bill Stewart, who is now the head coach.

In 2006, Kerns helped lead the Patriots back to the playoffs during his senior season. As the primary ball carrier, Kerns rushed for 1,703 and 26 touchdowns and earned Consensus All-state honors.

When Kerns takes the field in Morgantown this fall, it will likely be the first time many have seen him in pads since the Nov. 6, 2006.

With the playoffs in site and two games remaining in the regular season, Kerns tore his ACL in the game against Linganore, ending his high school football career prematurely.

The Patriots were undefeated until the 14-3 loss to Linganore that season. The finished the season 9-2 after being ousted in the first round of the region playoffs, 39-7 by Sherwood.

Kerns season helped lead Thomas Johnson back to the playoffs for the first time in nine years.