Pitt Live
3/15
High School Notebook: Valley junior's stock rises after combine
By
Bill Beckner Jr.
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Apparently, Ole Miss doesn't want to miss out on Toney Clemons. According to Scout.com, the Valley junior wide receiver/defensive back has been offered his second scholarship offer, this time by Mississippi.
Pitt already has offered Clemons (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), who recently turned some heads at the Scout.com All-American Combine at Pitt last week.
Clemons won Most Valuable Player honors in a field of more than 200 athletes from six states and the District of Columbia.
"Clemons was the best of the bunch; when a defensive back gives you a cushion, the good ones you can always tell will eat that up, and he does," said Gateway football coach Terry Smith, who worked with wide receivers at the combine. "He is just a great athlete, he's not a polished receiver, but his natural ability is off the charts."
Other schools interested in Clemons include Penn State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia Tech. At the combine, he had a 34 1/2inch vertical jump, and 9-foot, 5-inch standing broad-jump. The jumps aren't the most important part of the workouts, but those numbers are impressive.
Clemons, who's posted a 4.4-second time in the 40-yard dash, had 43 receptions for 666 yards and nine touchdowns last season, as the Vikings made the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. He also had four punt-return touchdowns.
Clemons will showcase his athleticism this track season as well. He is the returning WPIAL champion in the long jump.
Other local football players attending the combine were Valley's Madison Harvey (WR), Tariq Wright (S) and Ashton Saunders (CB), Colin McKelvey of Kittanning (QB), Matt Ostrowski of Highlands (OL-DL) and John McCauley of Springdale (LB).