Inside Recruiting: Players tell their stories

B eing recruited to play college sports can be a fantastic, nerve-wracking, eye-opening, stressful time, and athletes in all sports in both southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey traditionally attract major-college recruiters.

Here are some of their stories from both sides of the Delaware River:

Perkiomen Valley's Justin Jaworski made a quick and surprise return from a partially torn medial collateral ligament to play in last week's Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division showdown against Spring-Ford.

Jaworski's six receptions for 101 yards aided the Vikings' 28-16 triumph over the Rams at Coach McNelly Stadium.

He sat out only two games after being injured in a Sept. 16 nonleague win over Haverford School.

The multipurpose standout had 43 catches for an area-high 878 yards and nine touchdowns entering Friday night's game against Norristown. He doubles as a defensive back.

"I can't say enough about Justin," Perkiomen Valley first-year coach Rob Heist said. "He's the complete package. He's a natural pass catcher, runs great routes, and he's deceptively fast."

The 6-foot, 170-pounder senior, who also plays basketball, has drawn recruiting interest in football from Bryant, Lehigh, and Villanova.

On the hardwood, where he averaged 19.7 points last season, Jaworski picked up scholarship offers over the summer from Kutztown, Millersville, and West Chester.

- Rick O'Brien

Holy Spirit senior running back Reggie Jean-Charles entered Friday night's game against St. Augustine as South Jersey's leader in rushing yards with 860 and touchdowns with 11.

But it was another number that was notable to Holy Spirit coach A.J. Russo: 0.

That's how many scholarship offers Jean-Charles has received despite his impressive play through the first half of the regular season.

"I think it's going to happen for him," Russo said. "This is a kid who is big (6-0, 215), can run a 4.5-second 40 [yard dash], can bench 300 [pounds], squad 500, dead-lift 500."

Jean-Charles also is a top student with a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.

Russo believes Jean-Charles has been overlooked by NCAA Division I programs because he missed his sophomore year with an ankle injury and was under the radar as a junior.

"It was his first year playing varsity, and he was adjusting to a new offense, like the rest of us," Russo said. "I think he could dominant at a Division 3 school, like a Rowan. But I expect him to get some offers if he keeps playing the way he's playing."

- Phil Anastasia

Perkiomen Valley tackle Chris Jimenez committed to Temple for football July 30 and has not had second thoughts.

Temple coaches visited Jimenez at school in the beginning of May and invited him to their recruitment camp, which was held at the end of May.

Jimenez performed well at the camp, and head coach Matt Rhule and his staff stayed aggressive in their pursuit of him.

"They kept coming back, and that is something that really stood out," Jimenez said of the Owls. "Seeing that attention is something that I was like, 'Man, this is awesome.' "

Villanova and Delaware were the other two schools Jimenez was seriously pursuing, but he decided to stick with Temple.

- Patrick Paul

Because of the overall experience on the Council Rock North football team, Pat Bartlett is a regular contributor on both sides of the ball.

"We rarely take him out of the game," Indians first-year coach Matt McHugh said. "He's doing a great job with it."

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Bartlett is a two-way senior tackle for Council Rock North, which was 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Suburban One League National Conference entering Friday night's game against Abington.

Bartlett has scholarship offers from Florida Atlantic, Illinois and Monmouth. He participated in offseason camps at Maryland, Temple, and West Virginia.

"His way of finishing blocks is something you don't often see at this level," McHugh said. "He gets off the ball well and drives people to the ground."

Bartlett, who is projected to be an offensive guard at the next level, is one of Council Rock North's four captains. He has bench-pressed 325 pounds and squatted nearly 400.

"He mostly leads by example. But when he needs to, he'll say something to get his teammates fired up," McHugh said.

- Rick O'Brien

Timber Creek senior offensive lineman Matt Ringstaff picked up his first offer this week, from West Virginia State.

Timber Creek coach Rob Hinson said Ringstaff has been "lights out" as a center for the Chargers, who were 3-0 and No. 2 in The Inquirer's Top 25 entering Friday night's game at Eastern.

"He's going to get more," Hinson said of Ringstaff.

West Virginia State is an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Mountain East Conference with programs such as Fairmont Stste, Charleston and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Hinson said the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Ringstaff will soon generate offers from NCAA Division I progrsms at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

"He played tackle earlier in his career, and some of the D-1s probably thought he was too short as a tackle," Hinson said. "But since he's moved to center, he's doing great. He makes all the calls. He's our long-snapper [for punts], short-snapper [for field goals and extra points].

"He's doing a great job."

- Phil Anastasia

Growing up in an Irish Catholic family, Emily McNesby's family loved Notre Dame.

"Notre Dame is just Notre Dame," the Springside Chestnut Hill junior said. "It's a national institution."

A national institution that wanted her to continue her soccer career in South Bend.

After eliminating Maryland and West Virginia from her list of prospective schools, McNesby was down to just two - Tennessee and Notre Dame. Unsure of what to do, she asked for advice. It seemed like every person the forward asked told her to go with Notre Dame.

McNesby loved Notre Dame, but she just couldn't do it. She wanted to be a Volunteer.

"Everyone said, 'You're crazy that you aren't picking Notre Dame,' " McNesby said. "They were saying that they would have gone there in a heartbeat."

Despite all of the people in the Irish's corner, McNesby said, "I knew what I wanted."

"I didn't pick the school for the name, for people to say, 'Wow,' " she said of Tennessee. "I picked it because I wanted to go there."

- Kate Harman

Rancocas Valley senior volleyball player Lauryn Bayley has been a centerpiece for her team, and though she would most likely have the opportunity to play at the next level she is leaning more toward the school she wants to attend based on other things.

"Penn State is my dream school, so I am looking more toward the academics of it," Bayley said. "I really want to focus on my major."

Bayley wants a double major in education and psychology and, since she loves the game, hopes to play volleyball on the school's club team.

- Patrick Paul

Germantown Academy senior catcher Jake Dianno is to continue his baseball career at Middlebury College. . . . Imhotep Charter junior safety Isheem Young added an offer from West Virginia this week.