South Pointe defensive backs picking up scholarship offers

When it rains, it pours, as the saying goes. And while it may not be pouring scholarship offers yet for South Pointe junior Nick McCloud, it’s certainly starting to drizzle.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound defensive back picked up his first FBS offer Monday morning from Kansas State, before a second one – from Miami (OH) – rolled in before the school day finished.

“Probably the best Monday so far,” a grinning McCloud said.

McCloud’s teammate and defensive backfield partner Chris Smith also picked up an offer late last week. Campbell, coached by former Carolina Panther Mike Minter, is the first to extend a scholarship offer to the 6-foot, 170-pounder.

That puts South Pointe coach Strait Herron in the interesting position of having two guys, the same age, being recruited for possibly the same positions.

“I’ve got colleges that will call me and say, ‘which one should we take?’” said Herron. “I just say, ‘y’all are the experts, you’ve got the video, you tell me.’”

If schools want a big guy in the secondary, as is the rage right now in the upper levels of football, they would lean toward McCloud. Accordingly, Kansas State offered the South Pointe jack-of-all-trades the idea of playing him at safety.

McCloud caught 33 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns last season, while also making 11 tackles and an interception on defense. McCloud went to Auburn’s elite football camp last summer and has taken unofficial visits to South Carolina, a school from which he’d love to get an offer.

A lengthy list of schools are interested in the junior, who played basketball for South Pointe this winter, and with the help of his parents, he’s doing his due diligence. They’re driving to Chicago this Thursday for a weekend football camp, but plan to stop at Louisville, Tennessee and Kentucky on the way, Northwestern while in the Windy City, and hopefully hit the campuses of Michigan and Michigan State for unofficial visits as well.

Before Monday, McCloud already had offers from James Madison and Appalachian State, the first to do so last year. It wouldn’t be a surprise for his offers trickle to turn into a torrent.

“Soon as they get an offer, usually other people come right in behind,” said Herron. “I was expecting it. Chris has gotten his first, so we’re hoping for some more, and I’m sure they will.”

If a college wanted a slightly smaller, but speedier play-maker in the secondary – and on special teams – they’d probably go for Smith.

He made first team All-Area this past season following a season of 70 tackles, five interceptions, and 10 passes defended. Smith was named All-State by USA Today, and was very dangerous with the ball in his hands on offense and special teams. He averaged 23 yards on 15 kick returns and caught seven passes for a 22-yard average – most of which were short screens – scoring a pair of touchdowns. Smith, whose father Pat Burris played college football at Arkansas, took a screen pass 88 yards for a touchdown in the Stallions’ 3A Upper State championship win over A.C. Flora.

Smith is hearing from a ton of schools as well. Ask him which ones and his face scrunches up as he tries to rattle off the list. He said he has unofficial visits set up over the next month with Furman, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina and also plans to hit the camp circuit this summer. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Stanford and South Carolina are some of the schools with whom Smith is conversing regularly, but he was just as thrilled to get his first official offer, from FCS school Campbell.

“It was exciting,” he said Monday. “To be able to go to college for free, just from an education standpoint, it felt good.”

Smith and McCloud’s games may differ, but they’re both are aces in school. Smith has a 3.7 grade point average and McCloud, who talked with coaches from Harvard recently, sports a 4.4.

“The No. 1 thing that tell all these kids and the young guys over at the middle school is it starts with grades,” said Herron. “You’ve got the grades and a college knows that if they offer you and you accept, that you’re in? They like you. And those two guys? They’re gonna get in.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "South Pointe defensive backs picking up scholarship offers."