On the surface, Northwestern tackle commit Payne He’bert may not seem like a very strong prospect, at least to outsiders. He is ranked as a two-star by Rivals and had just three other offers, from Fresno State, Kansas State and Texas State.
On signing day, people will look at only one other Power Five offer and think, “meh.” But that offer list doesn’t tell the whole story. The reality is that schools are still coming after the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder from Pearland (Texas) Dawson.
During this spring evaluation period, coaches from LSU, Stanford and Texas have been in to Dawson High School to check on He’bert. That’s a pretty impressive trio and an indicator of the level of interest still out there in the tackle with the good feet and the colossal 82-inch wing span that will give him an edge at the next level.
Those three schools won’t show up on He’bert’s offer list to give it some panache, however. Why? Because He’bert has made it clear that he has no interest in any other programs.
“I told them I was committed,” he said simply.
That will likely be the case with several of NU’s 2018 pledges. They committed early, before other schools got involved, and then stayed committed, making it clear to other schools that they aren’t interested.
In He'bert's case, he committed in January, surprising even offensive coordinator Mick McCall, who was at Dawson to visit coach Eric Wells about him. Four months later, He’bert is still “100-percent” sure that Northwestern is the place for him. So coaches from other schools may visit Dawson or call him from time-to-time to gauge his interest. A couple could even offer.
But that’s as far as things will go.
On signing day, people will look at only one other Power Five offer and think, “meh.” But that offer list doesn’t tell the whole story. The reality is that schools are still coming after the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder from Pearland (Texas) Dawson.
During this spring evaluation period, coaches from LSU, Stanford and Texas have been in to Dawson High School to check on He’bert. That’s a pretty impressive trio and an indicator of the level of interest still out there in the tackle with the good feet and the colossal 82-inch wing span that will give him an edge at the next level.
Those three schools won’t show up on He’bert’s offer list to give it some panache, however. Why? Because He’bert has made it clear that he has no interest in any other programs.
“I told them I was committed,” he said simply.
That will likely be the case with several of NU’s 2018 pledges. They committed early, before other schools got involved, and then stayed committed, making it clear to other schools that they aren’t interested.
In He'bert's case, he committed in January, surprising even offensive coordinator Mick McCall, who was at Dawson to visit coach Eric Wells about him. Four months later, He’bert is still “100-percent” sure that Northwestern is the place for him. So coaches from other schools may visit Dawson or call him from time-to-time to gauge his interest. A couple could even offer.
But that’s as far as things will go.
