Pat Sheil did not play on offense for the Centreville football team last season. Still, just after the season ended, the University of Virginia offered him a Thanksgiving present of sorts: a scholarship to play offensive tackle in college.
That a program with Virginia's stature offered a scholarship so soon was a surprise to Sheil. But when did the recruiting process truly get crazy?
"That would probably be around the time Oklahoma and Miami offered," Sheil said.
Yep, that Oklahoma. That Miami. And just about everyone else at the top of the college football landscape.
Only Georgia stood out -- the Bulldogs were the only school that wanted Sheil to play on the defensive line, where he made 55 tackles last season and earned Virginia AAA Concorde District first-team honors.
When you're 6 feet 6, weigh 275 pounds and are athletic enough to get up and down the court in a basketball, college coaches figure they can teach you how to play football.
It's the changing nature of college football recruiting and nowhere is it more evident than on the offensive line, where size and agility often are enough for coaches to offer scholarships.
"If you're big and you have good feet, then it's a done deal," Centreville Coach Mike Skinner said, noting that some college recruiters came to watch Sheil play basketball for the Wildcats as a way of evaluating Sheil's potential on the football field.
"They're not too concerned about what we're doing with them. They're just concerned how big they are and how mobile they are. I think the skill guys, they want a quarterback who has a good release point [and other such qualities]. With linemen, they just want big and athletic."
After Sheil did well in drills at a combine in April in Charlottesville, the handwritten letters flooded in daily, Skinner said, still shaking his head in amazement. Juniors Beau Warren and Colin Miller are the Wildcats' top two linemen this season, according to other Fairfax County coaches. Sheil had only played defense before this season, but his work ethic and size had colleges lining up, Skinner said.
"The term they use is 'upside.' That means their best is yet to come," said Eleanor Roosevelt Coach Rick Houchens, using a term often reserved for raw high school basketball players who skip college and head directly for the NBA.
Houchens went through a similar process last season when 6-9, 300-pound Jared Gaither came out for the football team for the first time. Gaither played tight end and defensive tackle, but was highly recruited as an offensive tackle, accepting a scholarship from Maryland. He now attends Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., and plans to play for the Terrapins next season.
Sheil also plans to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, accepting a scholarship from the league's newest member, Boston College. He said he continues to improve -- Skinner called Sheil's performance in a 30-21 loss to Westfield last week his best ever -- but knows there is a long way to go.
"Right now, I'm probably in the bottom half of where I probably could be," Sheil said. "It's actually pretty motivating. These [colleges] see something special in a lot of high school players. I'm really happy they see it in me. Obviously they all feel strong about it because they all offered. It is pretty weird, because I didn't think I'd end up being" highly recruited.
