7-on-7: Best college football players from Baltimore

Name: Michael Campanaro

College: Wake Forest

Position: Wide receiver

Year: Senior

High school: River Hill

Hometown: Clarksville

2012 stats: 79 catches for 763 yards and six touchdowns, 16 carries for 82 yards and one touchdown. Second-team All-ACC selection.

A broken hand sidelined Campanaro for two games in 2012, but the former Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection had already done plenty of damage for the Demon Deacons. In his redshirt junior season, Campanaro developed into one of the most dangerous offensive players in the ACC. He enters this year as a preseason All-ACC selection at wide receiver.

“It’s definitely great to see,” Campanaro told The Sun. “It’s just very honoring being listed ahead of a lot of big-time names and next to a guy like [Clemson’s] Sammy Watkins. It’s awesome to be recognized that way, and recognition for Wake Forest in anything is positive. Anything that directly shines some light on Wake Forest, that’s always good. Preseason awards don’t mean anything unless you go out there and earn them. I’m just looking for us to go out there and earn recognition.”

Wake Forest hasn’t had a winning season since Campanaro has been in Winston-Salem, but he’s hoping that changes this fall. Campanaro says he’s 100 percent healthy and prepared for his final year of college.

“Coming to a school like Wake Forest, the first two years I was here and didn’t play too much. I was redshirted and dealt with a few injuries but continued to work hard,” Campanaro said. “I believed in my abilities for playing in the field and always had confidence with Coach [Jim] Grobe and this coaching staff. I’ve always been in great hands with those guys. Just kept working hard and now I’m looking forward to my senior season.”

Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Name: Darius Jennings

College: Virginia

Position: Wide receiver

Year: Junior

High school: Gilman

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 48 catches for 568 yards and five touchdowns.

Jennings, the most decorated high school player on this list, hasn’t yet earned any notable college awards. But the general feeling around the Virginia football program is that it’s just a matter of time.

The former Gilman star and consensus four-star prospect has been a factor for the Cavaliers since Day 1, even as he moved to a new position.

“It’s been a slow process, just making the transition from QB to receiver,” Jennings told The Sun. “Just last spring and this summer, I’m really starting to realize [what I need to do to] model myself into a complete receiver. I’m just kind of playing out there and making plays. When I’m out there now, I’m ready to dominate.”

Dominate is all Jennings did in high school, earning Baltimore Sun All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year honors as a senior. The ACC is certainly a different beast than the MIAA, but as an upperclassman now, Jennings feels better equipped than ever to meet some of those pre-college expectations.

“I’m still kind of in awe of it because it felt like my Gilman days were just yesterday,” Jennings said. “Now I’m going into my third year – time’s just flying.”

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Name: Tavon Rooks

College: Kansas State

Position: Offensive lineman

Year: Senior

High school: Woodlawn

Hometown: Randallstown

2012 stats: Playing in 13 games, starting 10. Earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press.

Rooks might be considered a late bloomer, given that he never made a Baltimore Sun All-Metro team or was highlighted in a football preview issue. But after starring two years at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, Rooks got his chance to perform at the highest level of college football last year with Kansas State. The No. 23-ranked junior college player in 2011 according to Rivals.com, Rooks started for the Wildcats in 10 out of 13 games last season and is expected to man the right tackle spot again as a senior.

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Name: E.J. Scott

College: Virginia

Position: Wide receiver

Year: Junior

High school: Good Counsel

Hometown: Ellicott City

2012 stats: 29 catches for 390 yards and three touchdowns

D.C. high school football fans will be more familiar with Scott, a former Good Counsel star. But the Ellicott City native and Virginia wide receiver has always considered himself to be a “Baltimore-area guy.”

“I say I’m family with a lot of guys in the Baltimore area. We still keep in touch,” said Scott, one of five former Falcons stars on the Cavaliers’ roster. “All my family is from the Baltimore area. Growing up with guys from even like little league, it was all Howard County and the Baltimore area.”

Fellow Cavaliers receiver – and 7-on-7 selection – Darius Jennings was one of those Baltimore guys Scott grew up playing against, including when Scott’s Falcons met Jennings’ Gilman Greyhounds in the fall of 2009. Both players this season should play integral roles for the Cavaliers.

“I’m playing inside at the X position right now,” Scott said. “It’s a good fit. Usually the smaller guys play on the inside. Quick guys as well. Outside is usually big guys to stretch the field. We have a lot of different guys in our group. Inside is a good fit.

“As a team, we’re just trying to build from last year. We’ve got a lot of great guys returning. We’ve got depth at a lot of positions. We’re excited to make a statement this year.”

Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Name: Kiero Small

College: Arkansas

Position: Fullback

Year: Senior

High school: Cardinal Gibbons

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: Took medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending foot injury. … As a junior, rushed for one yard and one touchdown.

At 24, Small is the elder statesman on this list. He worked in his father’s T-shirt store near Lexington Market before eventually ending up at a California JUCO four years ago. As a junior in 2011, Small proved himself to be an immensely effective blocker and an invaluable part of Arkansas’ offense. Now in his third and final year at Arkansas, Small is one of the Razorbacks’ captains.

“We’re just going to focus on doing what we’re coached,” Small told Hawgs247. “We’re coached to play a certain style of football and that’s what we’re going to do. In the room, we hold each other accountable. We have high expectations. As a team I think we’re going to do good just by taking it day-by-day.”

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Name: Donovan Smith

College: Penn State

Position: Offensive tackle

Year: Sophomore

High school: Owings Mills

Hometown: Owings Mills

2012 stats: Played in 10 games, making nine starts. Selected to ESPN.com Big Ten All-Freshman team.

Smith, a consensus four-star prospect, went from a struggling Baltimore County high school program in Owings Mills to one of college football’s greatest all-time powers in Penn State. Smith redshirted his freshman year before starting last fall, but the transition was still relatively pronounced.

“It was a big transition in terms of size, speed, strength, guys I was going against vs. high school and now,” Smith told The Sun. “Just the mental aspect of it all [as well]. They put a lot on your plate and you’ve got to be able to make it stick somehow, some way. In high school, you think you know a lot about football, but you don’t until you get to the college level. You start hearing terminology and things like that from people who have been doing it longer than you’ve been alive. It was pretty doable, I guess, but definitely a shock the first couple of days or weeks.”

Smith, who is scheduled to start at left tackle this fall, was targeted by many other college coaches when the NCAA ruled last summer that any Nittany Lion could transfer without penalty. Deciding to stay in State College ultimately came down to one major thing.

“Just me being loyal to the program. That’s what it was when I signed my letter of intent, me showing my loyalty to the university and the football program,” Smith said. “It really wasn’t hard for me to decide to stay, plus it’s big-time football up here in the Big Ten. My situation was great in terms of starting and being able to play. You don’t want to pass that up, man. Coach [Bill] O’Brien, coming from where he came from – The League – he knows what it takes to get there.”

Photo credit: Patuxent / Kitty R Charlton

Name: Dave Stinebaugh

College: Maryland

Position: Tight end

Year: Senior

High school: Perry Hall

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: Three solo tackles on special teams, one blocked punt

Stinebaugh hasn’t done much offensively to date, but he’s by far the most experienced tight end on a Maryland team looking for playmakers beyond preseason All-ACC selection Stefon Diggs. Injuries have limited Stinebaugh’s effectiveness in the past, but Terps coaches are hopeful that he stays healthy and lives up to his potential during his last season in College Park.

“Knock on wood — I told him he’s not allowed to get hurt,” Terps tight ends coach John Dunn told The Sun. “He hasn’t caught in a ball in a game since 2010. He’s hungry, he’s got a lot to prove and he’s ready to do it.”

Photo credit: Gene Sweeney Jr. / Baltimore Sun

Name: Adrian Amos

College: Penn State

Position: Safety

Year: Junior

High school: Calvert Hall

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 44 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 0.5 sacks, three pass breakups. All-Big Ten honorable mention.

Amos started his first two years in State College at cornerback, but has switched to safety – the position he played in high school – heading into his junior year. He’ll be joined regularly in the Nittany Lions’ secondary by two other Calvert Hall alums in Trevor Williams (a starting cornerback) and Da’Quan Davis (the third corner).

“My senior year in high school at Calvert Hall, that was one of the best teams I’ve ever seen play in Maryland,” Amos said of the 2010 MIAA A Conference champions. “We’ve got a lot of players in secondary. Our whole secondary is here, basically, [and] in Toledo and a couple other places. Maryland football in that class was pretty good. We’re just happy that we [got] a chance to play at the next level.”

Amos emerged as a leader for Penn State last summer when the NCAA handed down sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Though the Nittany Lions are banned from postseason play, Amos says this team has plenty to play for.

“We have enough talent to compete with anybody. We have enough players to compete with anybody,” Amos said. “[It all depends on] how we play and how we execute each game, game in and game out.”

Name: Shaquil Barrett

College: Colorado State

Position: Linebacker

Year: Senior

High school: Boys Town (Neb.)

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 67 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks. All-Mountain West honorable mention.

Barrett, who transferred to Boys Town High in Nebraska after two years at City, has emerged as a defensive stalwart and team leader for the Rams. Barrett, who started his college career at Division II Nebraska-Omaha, spoke to Lindy’s Sports this summer about his knack for finding the end zone while playing on the defensive side of the ball.

“My first touchdown was during my sophomore year against Utah State,” he recalled. “They ran to the right side and our linebacker made the play. I saw the ball on the ground and ran it in from 15-20 yards out. I thought he was down, but I didn’t hear a whistle. They reviewed the play and when I heard the announcer say, ‘the play on the field stands,’ I was happy then, and we won the game in overtime.”

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Name: Blake Countess

College: Michigan

Position: Cornerback

Year: Sophomore

High school: Good Counsel

Hometown: Owings Mills

2012 stats: Suffered season-ending knee injury in Wolverines’ season opener vs. Alabama.

The Wolverines’ defense took a major hit in Week 1 of the 2012 season when Countess, a true freshman starter the year before, tore his ACL against the Crimson Tide. Now the Owings Mills native is healthy and ready to resume his role as Michigan’s No. 1 cornerback.

“I felt 100 percent during spring ball,” Countess told the Detroit Free Press. “They wanted to be a little more careful with me, so I wasn’t doing any contact during spring ball. But I worked at it all summer, and I feel good. I would say sometime during spring ball and shortly after spring ball. I’m feeling good, and I don’t think about it.”

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Name: Kyle Fuller

College: Virginia Tech

Position: Cornerback

Year: Senior

High school: Mount St. Joseph

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 52 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, five pass breakups. All-ACC honorable mention.

Kyle, the third Fuller brother, will be joined in the Hokies secondary this season by the fourth and final Fuller brother, Kendall. Kyle appears to have a great shot at following older brothers Vincent Fuller (a former Tennessee Titan) and Corey Fuller (a Detroit Lions rookie) to the NFL after his senior season. But before that, he’ll mentor Kendall – a five-star recruit – as he mans the other starting cornerback spot.

“He’s helped me a lot just learning the defense since my season ended,” Kendall said of Kyle to the Associated Press. “That was a big help knowing the defense a little bit already and now getting into the more difficult things. Learning the simple things first was a big help.”

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Name: Derrell Johnson

College: East Carolina

Position: Linebacker

Year: Senior

High school: Cardinal Gibbons

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 62 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two fumble recoveries, eight QB hurries. All-Conference USA second team.

Johnson’s switch from defensive end to outside linebacker as a junior resulted in a major statistical jump in production. But the former Gibbons star – whose younger brother, Durand Johnson (Lake Clifton), plays basketball at Pittsburgh – has different goals in mind for his last year at East Carolina.

“To be honest, my stats last year, in a way I almost underachieved in my mind because of the pressure I put on myself,” Johnson told The Daily Reflector (N.C.). “I’m trying to improve on that this year and those personal accolades are all fine and dandy but this is my fourth year here, so for me it’s all about winning a (Conference USA) championship at this point.”

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Name: Kevin Johnson

College: Wake Forest

Position: Cornerback

Year: Junior

High school: River Hill

Hometown: Clarksville

2012 stats: 58 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, 0.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, one QB hurry. All-ACC honorable mention.

Johnson had an impressive debut as a true freshman in 2010, contributing 31 tackles in 11 games (five starts). He was poised for a big follow-up campaign until he was ruled academically ineligible in 2011. But Johnson got his books in order that season, redshirted, played on the scout team and positioned himself for a big 2012. In starting all 12 games for the Demon Deacons last year, Johnson led the ACC in passes defended with 18 – the second-best single-season total in Wake Forest history. He’ll need to have another big year for Wake to record its first winning season since 2008.

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Name: Horace Miller

College: UTEP

Position: Linebacker

Year: Senior

High school: Dunbar

Hometown: Baltimore

2012 stats: 31 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, six QB hurries. All-Conference USA honorable mention.

Miller, who started his career at Louisville, will be one of two linebackers in UTEP’s 4-2-5 defense this fall. Miners coach Sean Kugler told the Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News that the former Dunbar star is his defense’s wild card.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the defense, running around faster, more confident,” Miller told the newspaper. “You’ll see me in a two-point stance and in a four-point stance. To be in that position, you have to be an athlete, be loose, be versatile. I have to show a lot of versatility.”

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Name: Matt Robinson

College: Maryland

Position: Linebacker

Year: Junior

High school: Atholton

Hometown: Columbia

2012 stats: 26 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble in five games.

Robinson is the super sub on this seven-man defensive squad. There’s a little uncertainty about his game heading into 2013, simply because he missed significant portions of the past two seasons with injuries, and he’s switching this year from safety to outside linebacker. But Maryland coaches rave about the ex-Atholton star’s ability, and the former two-star prospect was able to beat out Alex Twine for a starting spot.

“I think he’s comfortable – you know he’s a smart player,” Maryland defensive coordinator Brian Stewart told reporters this week. “We haven’t played a game yet, in practice he’s been playing well, but I’d like to see him live. He’s tough; he’s more physical than you’d like to think. He loves the game of football and he’s smart.”

Photo credit: Karl Merton Ferron / The Baltimore Sun