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Tall Order
By: John Kampf,
[email protected]
08/22/2006
http://www.news-herald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1698&dept_id=21848&newsid=17092898
Harvey senior lineman's return to field after two years away is attracting attention of numerous Division I programs
Jeff Spikes hasn't been on a plane in a while, but he knows what's going to happen when he does.
"I've got a screw in each foot and two in my knee," the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Harvey lineman said. "If I go through an airport, I'm going to beep."
Metal detectors aren't on the mind of the mammoth Red Raiders senior.
But if he has the senior year everyone thinks - and hopes - he'll have, then metal detectors will most certainly come into play.
He'll have to pass through them in the airport on his way to official college visits.
Spikes hasn't played football since the seventh game of his freshman year when he sustained a broken leg. One leg surgery and two years of pesky stress fractures in his feet later, Spikes' lower body is back in working condition.
And college coaches are noticing.
"For sure," said first-year Harvey coach Devlin Culliver. "If he produces those first three games, there's a list of schools that will offer (a full-ride scholarship). Right now, we have 10-12 schools that are really interested but are going to wait for the first tapes to come through. Most want one game film. Ohio State will probably want three.
"The only thing holding up the whole show is the tape."
The window of opportunity for a Division I football scholarship is a small one for Spikes, Culliver said, but he is confident the huge two-way starter can sneak through it.
He might just break through it, despite not playing football for more than two years.
Culliver said he didn't really know what to expect from Spikes when he convinced the basketball and track standout to give football another try. When Spikes had his cast removed April 5 from surgeries on each foot, it left only two weeks to get ready for a scouting combine hosted by the Browns.
"He wasn't able to do anything up until then," Culliver said. "I was like, 'Don't fall down and don't look clumsy.' By the time he went over the first bag, I looked up and there were 40 coaches wanting to talk to him."
Which floored Spikes. It wasn't something he expected.
After all, the only game film available is from his freshman year, and what college coach bases a player's ability solely on film from nearly three years ago?
Ohio University and Miami (Ohio) were the first two schools to come knocking. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt made the trip to Painesville not long after, and schools such as Bowling Green, Akron and North Carolina also took notice.
Culliver said the list is going to grow exponentially when game film becomes available.
"If Jeff would have played four years, he'd probably end up being a high school All-American," Culliver said. "He has the natural ability to play the position. He's a prototypical college tackle that big schools look for - the big, athletic, tight-end type of body. He understands the window is not real big to get this Division I scholarship, but barring an injury, I think he'll play Division I somewhere."
Those words chime like music to Spikes.
Just getting that freshman year homecoming game against Lakeside out of his mind has been hard enough.
His hands on his hips, Spikes recounted the plays one by one.
"I got a sack on the first play of the second half," he said. "The second play, I got the tackle. Then on the third, I got chop-blocked. Someone just fell on my leg."
It was the beginning of a frustrating few years. He had that broken leg surgically repaired. One year later, he broke his foot during track season. Then, as a junior, he had pins implanted in both feet when a cut in basketball sent pain shooting through his foot.
It ate him up, he said, sitting on the sidelines and watching basketball games. Or sitting in the stands watching football games.
All that pain is going away day by day now, even through the grueling hot two-a-days.
"All I think about is where I came from and where I want to be," Spikes said. "(The college recruiting) is a mind-blowing thing. Coaches want me to play. That's like free money. But the main thing is I'm here for my teammates, just like they were there for me through all my injuries."
The first day of contact at Harvey was a huge hurdle for Spikes. He said the first time he got stood up by a teammate, it brought back memories of the night he injured his leg as a freshman. Now that that hurdle is out of the way, he can move on.
"It's coming back to me," Spikes said, nodding his head in affirmation. "I feel like a newborn in this sport again. It's all about repetition now."
Repetitions of playing.
Not of watching.
Spikes watched the Harvey football games for a few years, but couldn't stand the thought of picking up a football, saying, "I wasn't mentally strong enough to do that. If somebody would have asked me last year at this time, I would have told them I'd never pick up a football again."
It was all basketball and track.
Which begs the question:
With all the hoopla and college football recruiters surrounding him now, is there any chance Jeff Spikes will play basketball or run track at college?
"Yeah," he said with a smile. "Intramurals."
