• Big Ten area juniors shine at UA combine

  • By Bill Kurelic | January 3, 2011 6:21:41 AM PST
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- On Sunday the Under Armour All-American combine for juniors and sophomores attracted a good group of prospects from Big Ten country.The group was led by a talented contingent of Ohio underclassmen including two of the top 10 junior prospects in the Buckeye State, defensive ends Adolphus Washington (Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft) and LaTroy Lewis (Akron, Ohio/Hoban).The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Washington has a long list of early scholarship offers including Ohio State, Michigan State, Alabama, Florida State, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Texas, Illinois, Cincinnati, Purdue and Kentucky. Washington's early leader is Ohio State.The 6-4, 230-pound Lewis, who showed very good speed and the ability to change directions well, has offers from Ohio State and Cincinnati with more sure to follow.Other Ohioans' that showed plenty of promise on Sunday were defensive end Bryan Cox (Avon, Ohio/Avon) who has an offer from North Carolina, running back William Mahone (Austintown, Ohio/Fitch) who has offers from Cincinnati and Bowling Green, linebacker Jaylen Prater (Wellston, Ohio/Wellston) who has offers from Cincinnati and Toledo, and wide receiver Marcus Davis (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman).Offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) stood out on size alone at 6-6 and 280 pounds. However, Bisnowaty showed more than just measurables. He has good feet and runs pretty well for someone his size. Bisnowaty has offers from Penn State, Pitt and West Virginia, and said he is looking at those three as well as Boston College, Maryland and Cincinnati.Another top junior from the Keystone State who showed his talents on Sunday was wide receiver Nate Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington). Smith has drawn the attention of South Carolina, Nebraska, Oregon, LSU, Rutgers, and closer to home, Penn State.Two talented prospect from the state of Indiana looked good on Sunday, wide receiver Gehrig Dieter (South Bend, Ind./Washington) and running back Coy Brown (Wakarusa, Ind./NorthWood). The 6-2, 200-pound Dieter ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and posted solid numbers at all of the other testing stations. Dieter has an offer from Bowling Green and is drawing interest from Notre Dame, Ohio State and many others. The 6-1, 215-pound Brown, who rushed for 1,204 yards during his junior season, is waiting for his first offer. However, every Big Ten school except Ohio State and Minnesota has been in contact as well as many others including Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and UCLA.

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