VarsityXtra

I covered Arizona State football practice last week and watched as former Scottsdale Saguaro safety Max Tabach battled for snaps with the first team defense.

Seeing Tabach again harkened me back to his title-winning Sabercat team in 2006. Although every player on the team was at a different developmental stage, Saguaro sure was stacked with talent that year.

Tabach (ASU), Shane Anderson (Nevada) and Alex Ruben (Boise State) were the heart of the defense, seniors who went on to play Division I football.

Tim Ruben was just getting his feet wet at quarterback, and would go on to lead the Sabercats to a second straight title last year and become the Tribune’s Player of the Year. He’s walking on to Boise State with brother Alex.

The defense included junior linemen Chris Merrill (UA) and Derek Bisgard (Army) and the offensive line had a junior named Joe Kellogg who showed vast improvement as a senior and earned a scholarship to Boise State.

A trio of sophomores from that team are back this year to attempt a three-peat. Corey Adams (considering Ohio State, USC and ASU), Paul Porras (Rice) and Beau Burton (on the fringe of getting Division I offers) all made big contributions in the title game.

Add it up, and that’s 10 potentially Division I bound players who made a big difference for Saguaro on the field that day. That doesn’t even count players like Max Smith, Kody Koebensky and Justin Jungblut, then-sophomores who have been given Division I offers heading into their senior year.

Impressive, to say the least.

Scottsdale Saguaro senior Paul Porras has committed to play football next season at Rice. Porras will play safety in college, the position he played last year for the Sabercats. He played cornerback as a sophomore and will this year as well but admits he is too slow to play the position in college. Porras also plays wide receiver and returns kicks for Saguaro.

“Realistically, (safety) is the best position for me,” Porras said.

Porras said he went to seven different football camps this summer, but Rice stood out.

“I just fell in love with the place,” he said.

He plans on studying medicine, and a choosing college known for its academics was key.The Owls already had 14 verbal commitments, so Porras decided to make the pledge before spots ran out. He said the team lost three safeties from last season, so he may get an opportunity to play early.

For Saguaro this year, Porras will play offense and defense, return kicks and be the holder for extra points. Porras said coach John Sanders also wanted him on the punt defense unit, but that idea was vetoed.

“I’d be dead in the first five minutes,” Porras said.

Teammate Justin Jungblut has committed to play football next year at Boise State. Jungblut is a defensive end. The Sabercats have three Division I commitments now. Offensive lineman Kody Koebensky committed to Arizona State earlier this year.

USA Today has a fun interactive graphic which can be used to trace the roots of NFL players from the past 20 years.  It can be browsed in several different ways, including the names and total number of players from Arizona high schools.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/draft-history-graphic.htm

Where have you gone, Darnell Autry?

ESPN came out with its latest top-150 rankings for the football class of 2009, with three area players making the list.

Not surprisingly, Phoenix Desert Vista defensive lineman Devon Kennard was the highest rated player in Arizona, ranking fourth in the country by the service. Kennard is the highest rated non-quarterback in the country and the highest player yet to commit to a college. His top-5 choices are USC, ASU, Cal, Texas and UCLA.

Scottsdale Saguaro defensive lineman Corey Adams is rated the 51st best prospect nationally and Scottsdale Chaparral defensive end Craig Roh is ranked 86th.

While it is early in the recruiting process, Arizona State is yet to get a verbal commitment from a recruit in the ESPNU 150.