S.J. football notes: Streater finally gets his scholarship offers
Nazir Streater was nervous. "I was getting stressed," Streater said. "It's January and signing day [Feb. 1] is getting close."
Nazir Streater was nervous.
"I was getting stressed," Streater said. "It's January and signing day [Feb. 1] is getting close."
Streater isn't nervous anymore. He knows he will attend college on a football scholarship although he has yet to make a decision.
Streater, a two-time All-South Jersey selection at Camden Catholic, received his first scholarship offer Tuesday from Clarion University, an NCAA Division 2 program that competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with teams such as West Chester and Shippensburg.
Hours later, Streater earned his second offer, from LIU-Post, a Division 2 program that competes in the Northeast-10 Conference.
"It's a relief," Streater said. "It was getting late, and all these other guys were catching offers."
Streater also is being recruited by Pace and Rhode Island although those schools have not yet extended offers.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Streater led Camden Catholic to 9-1 records in both his junior and senior seasons, including a combined 18-0 mark against traditional South Jersey teams.
As a senior, Streater ran for 1,056 yards and 17 touchdowns and also caught 20 passes for 247 yards and a score.
A top defensive back, Streater made 48 tackles and two interceptions.
"He was the ultimate security blanket," Camden Catholic coach Nick Strom said. "As offensive coaches, as defensive coaches, you never know how things are going to go. But just knowing he was out there, you had a sense that we were going to be successful."
Haddon Heights tabs Bryan
Rob Bryan was hired as the Garnets' head coach on Wednesday night.
Bryan was Haddon Heights' defensive coordinator last season under Chris Lina. Bryan also has been an assistant coach at Haddon Township (2013-15) and Gateway (2010-12).
Bryan, a 2006 Gloucester graduate who played for the Lions under Leon Harris, is Haddon Heights' third coach in the last three years. Ralph Schiavo resigned after the 2015 season, and Lina held the job for just one season, stepping away because of the demands of his position as the district's technology coordinator.
In addition, Reggie Lawrence was hired as Haddon Heights' coach in March of 2016 but resigned before the season.
Bell to Maryland
Two-time All-South Jersey defensive back Markquese Bell announced Sunday that he was committing to the University of Maryland.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Bell made his decision public during the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando.
"Everybody there is happy to see me every time I come up and the opportunity to play early," Bell said during a live shot on ESPN during the all-star game.
Bell plans to graduate from Bridgeton this month and enroll at Maryland in time for spring practice.
A top track athlete with a personal best of 7 feet in the high jump, Bell had offers from more than 30 programs, including Michigan, Ohio State and Clemson. Rivals.com rates Bell as a five-star recruit.
Another Mitchell to Rutgers
Former Cedar Creek star Damon Mitchell has announced that he will transfer to Rutgers and play immediately for the Scarlet Knights as a graduate student.
Mitchell, an all-South Jersey selection as a quarterback after leading Cedar Creek to the South Jersey Group 2 title game in 2012, will graduate from Arkansas with a degree in journalism with a focus on sports broadcasting. He played four years at a variety of positions for the Razorbacks.
Mitchell will join his brother, Ahmir Mitchell, at Rutgers. Ahmir Mitchell, also a former Cedar Creek standout, was a Michigan recruit in the class of 2016 but left the Wolverines and enrolled at Rutgers last summer.
Two other Cedar Creek players are bound for Rutgers in seniors Bo Melton and Owen Bowles, a pair of all-South Jersey selections at wide receiver and offensive line, respectively.
This and that
Timber Creek wide receiver Ezrah Archie, who recently de-committed from Penn, has picked up scholarship offers from Lafayette and Lehigh. . . . Cherry Hill West defensive back Harrison Hand and Cherokee two-way back John Lovett both have plans to visit Baylor later this month. . . . Pennsville two-way end Rob Saulin announced Friday on Twitter that he was de-committing from Temple. Saulin referenced Rutgers, Connecticut and Navy as possible destinations. . . . Timber Creek wide receiver J.P. Roane has picked up an offer from Stony Brook. . . . Camden two-way lineman Kurtis Huff and defensive back Deron Wharton both picked up offers from Clarion. Huff also picked up an offer from Tennessee Tech.
@PhilAnastasia