Five things I learned this weekend: Offer Mitchell now
Although it's early, there's no doubt one of the elite receivers in the West next fall will be ESPNU Watch List WR junior standout Steven Mitchell (Mission Hills, Calif./Alemany). SMU, UCLA and Washington have all offered the talented receiver and with more performances like he had last Friday, that number could hit double digits by the time spring recruiting rolls around. Against a very good Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.) team, Mitchell took over the game catching nine balls for 151 yards and two touchdowns.The numbers only tell part of the story. It seemed like every time Mitchell had the ball in his hands, he was a threat to score. He was making two and three guys miss after every catch and is among the most explosive receivers in the region right now.QB Matthews has coming out party
Quarterback Alex Matthews (Lake Oswego, Ore.) had a very strong spring and was one of the top signal callers at several summer camps. Still after not starting as a junior, it remained to be seen how the quarterback would fare as a starter. In what is easily the biggest rivalry in the state and on a game that was televised by ESPNU, the Lakers blew out Protland (Ore.) Jesuit 49-21 and Matthews was clearly the best player on the field. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 335 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for another score and should now be on the radar for every school still looking for a quarterback.Right now, Matthews is still waiting for his first offer and many schools are waiting on senior film. They're going to like watching this one. "They keyed on our running game and that opened up the passing game," Matthews said. "It was a huge win and playing on national television made it that much more exciting. Hopefully this game helps in terms of picking up some more recruiting attention from colleges. Right now, I'm just excited that we won."Boise State can evaluate talent
Boise State has made a living out of finding those diamond-in-the-rough type prospects that other schools overlooked. In a game filled with standout players, Broncos athlete commit Chaz Anderson (Los Angeles/Loyola) was the star of the night in helping the Cubs to an impressive 28-14 win over previously undefeated Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. Anderson made plays on both sides of the ball and led a Cubs secondary that was able to limit one of the most prolific passing offenses in the state to just 121 passing yards. At receiver, he caught a pair of touchdown passes. San Diego State was the only other offer for Anderson, but he showed he should be mentioned among the top players in the state."Boise State is where I always wanted to go," Anderson said. "They were my first offer and where I felt the most love. Right now, I'm just really excited about this win and I think we showed everyone that Loyola is a team that can play with anyone."Goforth is an elite cornerback