Vernon Hills' dynamic duo
Receivers Daniels, Spencer are among top players in area
May 2, 2010
BY TAYLOR BELL
This is the May evaluation period, and Vernon Hills football coach Tony Monken feels as though he has the winning ticket in the lottery. Maybe two winning tickets.
It is a time for college coaches to have eye-to-eye visits with high school prospects, and Monken is as popular as chocolate ice cream.
''We try to limit how much time the kids miss class,'' Monken said, ''but when [Ohio State coach] Jim Tressel comes in, we won't worry about a kid missing five minutes of his English class. We have a good game plan. We're ready. We will do the best we can, but it will get a little crazy.''
That's because Monken has, by most accounts, two of the top seven football players in the Class of 2011 in the Chicago area. DaVaris Daniels and Evan Spencer are being courted and recruited by some of the leading college programs in the country.
They aren't the only local products who rate on college priority lists. Curie defensive lineman James Adeyanju, Glenbard West offensive lineman Jordan Walsh, Naperville North linebacker Nick Lifka and Benet offensive lineman Patrick Flavin are blue-chippers, too.
Three players already have accepted scholarship offers: center Brian Bobek of Fremd to Ohio State and defensive backs Jarrell Williams of Richards and Sean Cotton of Walther Lutheran to Northwestern.
But Daniels rates at the top of the list, according to recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, and Spencer is only a step or two behind. In fact, if Daniels wasn't a borderline student, he would have many more than 13 scholarship offers.
''I put myself in the hole with my grades as a freshman,'' Daniels said. ''I came in from middle school and didn't know much. I got thrown into the varsity in football and basketball and didn't know how to manage my study time. Now I know the importance of academics. I always knew it, but I never dedicated myself to do it. It disappoints me a lot that I could have more offers if my grades were better.''
Daniels, a 6-3, 180-pound wide receiver, has offers from Notre Dame, Illinois, Michigan, Miami, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Oklahoma, Louisville, Memphis, Arkansas and Cincinnati.
But he admitted Notre Dame ''has everything I'm looking for. As of now, Notre Dame is my favorite. They are committed to the spread offense. And they have a comfortable family atmosphere. But I'm still open to other schools. I want to make some more visits.''
Spencer, a 6-1, 190-pound wide receiver, insisted he is more open-minded at this time, even though his father, Tim, the Bears' running backs coach, was a football star and coach at Ohio State. He has offers from Ohio State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Arkansas, Memphis and Cincinnati.
''When I was little, Ohio State was my dream school,'' Spencer said after returning from a visit last weekend to Columbus, Ohio. ''I lived in Columbus for 10 years. Once I got to Chicago, we were still big Ohio State fans. But now I'm neutral. My dad advised me to keep an open mind, not to let where he has been or where my mother [also an Ohio State graduate] has been make the decision for me.''
Spencer has 4.43-second speed in the 40-yard dash and scored a 25 on the ACT. He said he won't choose a school that throws all the time or runs all the time. He is looking for a good mix among coaches, players and academics.
''Where all are focused on the same goal,'' he said.
Daniels and Spencer say they are ''best of friends.'' They live five houses from each other. They come from good bloodlines. Daniels' father, Phillip, is a defensive end for the Washington Redskins. They have several offers from the same schools and claim the odds are 50/50 they will go to college together.
''I will find a place that is right for me, and he will find a place that is right for him,'' Spencer said. ''Both being wide receivers wouldn't be a hangup. If it's the same school, it would be fine with us. If it isn't ... we'll always be friends.''
Both would like to make a college decision before the regular-season opener.
They can think of only one thing that separates them.
''Evan is a good golfer, but golf isn't my cup of tea,'' Daniels said. ''I'm a terrible golfer, worse than Charles Barkley. I can't even hit the ball off the tee.''
''I have tried to teach him, but it's hopeless,'' Spencer said.
Football, not golf, is Daniels' game. He is supremely athletic, with 4.4-second speed for 40 yards, a vertical leap of 41½ inches and a bench press of 280 pounds. As a junior, he played wide receiver, quarterback, running back and free safety and also returned punts and kickoffs. As a senior, he might play linebacker.
''I don't think people have seen anything yet,'' Monken said. ''I've coached for 25 years, and I've never seen anything like it. He is so creative that even he doesn't know what he does. He is so natural and instinctive.''
Daniels just hopes he'll be healthy as a senior. Last season, he was slowed by two hamstring injuries.
''I never healed up,'' he said. ''There was never a single game where I was 100 percent. I couldn't break away from anyone. It is hard to watch my film, knowing what I can do and knowing I couldn't do it. I have something to prove this season.''
