Columnist Steve Guiremand: LV football on upswing at prep level

Steve Guiremand is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-2324. Regular columnist Dean Juipe is on vacation.

Bruce Springsteen wasn't the only person singing "Viva, Las Vegas" here last weekend.

Tom Lemming, the nation's No. 1 prep football talent scout who writes a recruiting column for ESPN.com and is instrumental in picking the USA Today All-American team, spent a day in Las Vegas meeting with and evaluating the top local prospects from the class of 2001 and came away very impressed.

"It was definitely worth the trip," the Schaumburg, Ill.-based Lemming said. "It looks like this group could be even better than last year's."

That's saying a lot considering Tennessee-bound Lynn McGruder of Cheyenne High School was a second team all-USA Today pick while players such as the late Mario Hagan (Cal) and center John Ream (UCLA) of Chaparral, linebacker Jonathan Pollard (Oregon State) of Las Vegas High and UNLV signees Jamaal Brimmer (Durango) and Adam Seward (Bonanza) were among the almost dozen players in the area who garnered Division I scholarships.

But McGruder was the only player to make Lemming's national Top 100 prospects last year. This year at least two prospects -- defensive back James Sims of Valley and RB/OLB Steven Jackson of Eldorado -- will crack the top 100.

"I'd put Sims and Jackson among the top 15 players on the West Coast," Lemming said.

The 6-2, 185-pound Sims has already made a name for himself in track, ranking in the top three nationally with a 50-foot, 4-inch triple jump. He also has been timed at 4.48 in the 40, owns a 3.9 GPA and is student body president.

Sims has already heard from schools such as USC, UCLA, Cal and Nebraska. But he made it clear to Lemming that Notre Dame is his favorite. Expect the Fighting Irish, who have already contacted Sims for track, to make a big push once Sims pops up on Lemming's Top 100 chart.

The 6-1, 210-pound Jackson already has schools such as Tennessee, Nebraska and Arizona State in pursuit.

"He's a big back with explosive speed," Lemming said.

The Bishop Gorman duo of Dyante Perkins and Jason Rogers also will be rated highly by Lemming.

"I got to see four of the top five players in Southern Nevada," Lemming said. "The only one I missed was (Cimarron's) Anthony Bass."

Bass and teammate Kyler Ruston along with Silverado lineman V.R. Bohman, Cheyenne linebacker Kevin Thomas and Clark defensive lineman Major Vina were issued invitations through their head coaches to also meet with Lemming. But surprisingly, they were no-shows.

Remember that the next time you hear one of those coaches moaning that Southern Nevada prospects get overlooked. Here was a chance for their players and team to get publicity on a web site that averages 1.2 million hits per day, and they dropped the ball.

Don't include Valley coach Greg Sellers in that group, however. Sellers not only made sure his three top prospects, including fast-rising offensive tackle Alejandro Alvarez (6-7, 360), were on hand to meet Lemming, he also brought a CD-ROM with highlights for him to view on a laptop computer.

"It was the least I could do," Sellers said. "It's good for the kids of Southern Nevada to finally get some national recognition."

And that, as it turned out, was more than enough to leave Lemming singing the praises of Las Vegas prep football again.

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