The Growth of Arizona High School Football.
Most of America has never viewed the state of Arizona as a hot bed for football talent. When big time football is the subject, the states that instantly come to most minds are Texas and California; however, Arizona is slowly making its way up to the top of high school football standards, and has found a way to become more competitive with the other relevant football states.
Just 10 years ago, multiple colleges didn’t even have a coach that recruited in the Arizona area. Sure, Arizona State and University of Arizona would scout around, but no one out of state ever gave the potential candidates a chance. In just this short amount of time Arizona has become a hopeful prospect state.
Harold Slemmer, the Head Director of Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), said that he noticed a definite increase in the number of scholarships received by Arizona football players.
“We don’t keep statistics on scholarships at the AIA but there is no question that there has been a big increase in the past 10, 20 years. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of Division I athletes that have come from Arizona,” Slemmer said.
According to Scout.com, last year’s national signing day recognized 66 high school football players from Arizona that were snatched up by well-known Division I programs.
Desert Ridge running back Alec Hathcock, who watched his brother play before him, said that he’s definitely seen a change in the number of colleges coming through his school. Alec’s father Jeremy Hathcock is the head coach at Desert Ridge.
“Of course, when you start getting better people are going to start coming out and watching, and looking and taking notice,“ Alec Hathcock said.
Coach Hathcock played at Blue Ridge High School during the late eighties, and won three state titles during his time there. He said that he has noticed more kids leaving for out of state schools rather than choosing to stay in Arizona.
“Back when I played, there were only about 3 million people in the state,” Hathcock said, “The only schools that would recruit out here were just Arizona State and the University of Arizona.”
“Local kids don’t like staying around. They see ASU play and the stands aren’t full but when you watch Michigan play at ‘The Big House’ they have 100,000 people in the stands for their games, “ Hathcock said.
In the year 2013, 30 NFL players had their high school careers staged in Arizona high school programs, and Super Bowl 47 featured several players from the Valley. Terrell Suggs, an outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, played for Hamilton High School. The 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams played for Chaparral High School, and former 49ers long snapper Brian Jennings played for Red Mountain High School.
This past season, four teams from Westview High School, Hamilton High School, Desert Vista High School, and Desert Ridge High School, were invited to California to participate in the Under Armour’s Brothers in Arms Classic. Arizona, as a state, went 2-2 in the competitions against teams like Serra (Gardena, CA), which was a top 10 team in the national rankings at the time.
“I’ve seen the increase of quality of football played, and that’s due to the quality of coaches that have come in. Give them credit for giving the players the best possible chance they can to win,” Slemmer said.
Last year, Mountain Pointe High School based in Ahwatukee, traveled to Las Vegas to play perennial national powerhouse Bishop Gorman in the annual Sollenberger Classic, and defeated them 28-21 in what turned out to be a matchup of eventual state champions in their respective states.
“The Mountain Pointe game last year was a huge statement to how far we’ve come as a state.” Slemmer said.
Arizona has had teams that have gone to different states for games for a long time. Coach PJ Green, a Desert Ridge assistant coach with more than 20 years coaching experience, said that one of the reasons why they send players to different states is simply to give them the experience of traveling.
“Arizona has a chance to get even better. They have been getting better facilities and have the opportunities to train all the time. They don’t have to deal with removing snow,” Slemmer said.
Jackson Manchego 