Arsenal Tech On The Rise

Indianapolis (Ind.) Arsenal Tech is on track for a promising season.

2013 DT William Lee plans to visit Indiana for the Ball State game on Sept. 15.

Currently 2-0 after running through Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wayne and Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence North, the Titans are led by several players currently receiving Division-I interest, or prospects that will soon be on the radar.

247Sports visited with Arsenal Tech on Thursday and talked with head coach Emil Ekiyor.

Getting Looks

-Defensive tackle William Lee is currently committed to Ball State, however he’s drawing personal interest from Louisville, Indiana and Missouri. He plans to visit Louisville on Sunday for the Kentucky game, and Indiana on Sept. 15 for the Ball State game. He attended Ball State’s opener on Thursday.

“He’s hungry to be good,” Ekiyor said. “He’s hungry to be successful. He’s hungry to use football to make life better. He works hard, great student in the classroom, just no problems at all.

“He just goes. He has a motor that runs 24-7. He doesn’t stop. He goes all day. He runs to the ball and makes plays 20-30 yards downfield. He just plays hard. When you see a 6-2, 280-pound guy running 30 yards downfield full speed making tackles on a pass play, and then the next play you see him rush the passer and get a sack, and then the next play block a punt, you know you’re getting a good player. He started playing his freshman year and keeps improving every year. He’s a great kid to coach.”

-Sophomore running back Justin Gilbert has already gained 389 yards and scored seven touchdowns through two games. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Gilbert camped at Illinois and Indiana during the summer and is also hearing from Cincinnati, Louisville, Missouri and Ball State.

“He’s a do everything running back,” Ekiyor said. “He’ll beat you up if he has too as far as finishing every run. He’ll make you miss. He’ll catch the ball out of the backfield. He could be a starting linebacker for us if we wanted him to be. He eats, sleeps and studies football. He wants to be good.

“Right now he’s a 4.5 kid. As he trains, he’ll be a 4.4 kid easily. Watch him on film and he’s pulling away from angles. He’s a 10-2 broad jump. That shows how explosive he is. Strength wise, he’s a strong sophomore. A 275-pound bencher.”

Up-And-Coming Team

-Christian Howard, 6-3, 275, Defensive Tackle, 2014

Currently holds an offer from Western Illinois

Coach Speak: “Christian is just a great athlete. Great rugby player He can do it all. He can play tight end for us. He can play fullback for us. He can play defensive tackle or defensive end. Has good football savvy. Teach him something one time and it stays with him. Plays hard and has a motor that doesn’t stop. Strong kid. Christian is about a 1,200-pound kid when it comes to the big three. He benches about 350, power cleans about 275 and squats about 450. He’s just a really good football player and great teammate.”

-Fred Hopkins, 6-5, 330, Offensive Guard, 2013

Coach Speak: “He doesn’t have any offers yet which amazes me, but he kind of got on the scene late last year in the last four games. He’s a big athletic kid and he’s a mean kid. Strong as well. Fred is benching almost 400 pounds right now, cleaning almost 300 and he squatted 525 at our last squat day. He’s a kid that’s busting his butt in the classroom also to put himself in a position to succeed. He’s done a lot of work to make himself a good player. When Fred came to us he was just a big kid, but he’s put in a lot of work to put himself in a good situation.”

Rajshawn Mosley, 6-4, 230, DE/TE, 2014
Has six sacks through two games to lead the state.

Coach Speak: “He’s going to be on everyone’s radar the next couple weeks. Long arms. Physical kid. Just a natural pass rusher. Some kids, when it comes to rushing the passer, you show him some moves and it’s just natural. Plays hard and good football savvy as well. At defensive end, he gets our entire defense lined up. Just a natural football kid. At tight end he’s making plays. Soft hands.”

DeOndre Williamson, 6-1, 185, S, 2014

Coach Speak: “He’s a game breaker, heck of a kid, heck of a player. DeOndre is a free safety. Covers a lot of ground back there. Is a hitter as well. Comes downhill. Loves contact. He’s also a great returner. We’re trying right now to find him touches on offense, but defense and special teams he just a monster.”

Adonis Williamson, 6-1, 160, CB, 2015

Coach Speak: “Really it’s amazing. I coached at Warren for four years and won state championships there and I haven’t seen a high school kid with the size he has that can naturally cover. He competed through our summer camps, 7-on-7, the whole nine, and I don’t remember one person catching a pass on him. He does a nice job of competing and playing the ball and just has natural cover skills. As a sophomore, it’s amazing well have this kid for two more years. He’s going to do some great things.”

Charles Snyder, 6-4, 270, OG, 2013

Visited Ball State on Thursday

Coach Speak: “He’s a National Honors Society member. Went to one-day camps with Ball State, Louisville and Cincinnati and impressed with his athleticism and length. The think about Charles that makes him special is, we’re a 99 percent African American team and Charles is a kid everyone respects. He’s a captain. He’s probably our toughest kids. He’s a mean, mean kid. People are getting his game tape now and people are like where has he been? He was 230 pounds last year and he played guard. He’s gained weight and his confidence is high. He’s playing at a high level. He’s a kid, someone gets him and they’re getting a steal. He has the ability to get to 300 pounds and be a big guard or center. I think Ball State is going to end up stealing him because they were the first one to notice him on film.”

Deonta Murray, 5-9, 160, ATH, 2014

Coach Speak: “Plays quarterback for us. He’s a great kid. Just grinds it ou. When he speaks, everyone listens and he’s the smallest one. He commands the field real well. He’ll be a receiver or he’ll be a corner somewhere. If you watch him on film, he had some really great runs. He makes people miss. He’s quick on his feet. Explosive. As we go to camps next year, he’ll get a chance to show people what he can do as an athlete.”

Note

-Lee, Snyder, Howard, Murray and Gilbert all visited Ball State on Thursday for the Cardinal’s season-opening win over Eastern Michigan.