All showed flashes of brilliance during their high school careers, making you marvel at what could be on the horizon for them.
Saginaw's LaMarr Woodley and Detroit Pershing's Larry Foote will start at linebacker for the Steelers, and Southfield's Gabe Watson will start on the defensive line for the Cardinals.
The state also will be represented by two others who won't play -- Hudsonville defensive lineman Kyle Clement is on Pittsburgh's injured reserve, and Utica Eisenhower receiver Lance Long is on Arizona's practice squad.
Saginaw coach Don Durrett was taken aback when Woodley introduced himself as a freshman.
"He walked on the field and I asked: 'What position would you like to play, son?' " Durrett said. "He said: 'Coach, I don't want to run the ball. The only things I want to do is hit and block.'
"That's the funniest thing I ever heard in my life. Everybody else wants to be the superstar. He didn't get into that kind of stuff."
Woodley wasn't kidding about the blocking part. In the 1999 Division 2 state championship game, the freshman tackle pulled on a third-and-6 play and flattened a Birmingham Brother Rice defender, helping spring Terry Jackson for a decisive 17-yard touchdown run in Saginaw's 14-7 victory.
"He pulled around the end and pancaked the guy on the side," Durrett said. "After he hit that kid, he got so much confidence. He came into his own as an outside backer after that, and in his sophomore year he really turned into something."
Woodley turned into an All-America at the University of Michigan and is a starting linebacker in his second year with the Steelers.
But if the Steelers were not playing today, I know where Woodley would have been Thursday night: in Saginaw for the Saginaw-Saginaw Arthur Hill basketball game, just as he was a year ago. As a senior, the 6-foot-2 Woodley was one of the state's best power forwards, averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds.
"He loves Saginaw, and he loves being around those kids," said Durrett, now an assistant principal at Saginaw. "He's comfortable with everybody. He comes up to the school and speaks to the classes."
A true Southfield Bluejay
Southfield coach David Reese first coached Gabe Watson in his sophomore year and laughed when I reminded him about our first conversation, a couple days before I attended his first practice.
"I told you I had a phenomenal kid," Reese recalled. "You told me: 'I'll be the judge of it.' After the first practice you told me he was bona fide."
"The first day I saw him I knew he was special," said Reese, now an assistant principal at Farmington. "Number one, he was a (physical) specimen, that was the first piece. The second part was he was a humble kid, with a great spirit. A kid like him, he was so likeable, he was going to go far. He had the athletic ability plus the personality."
Reese moved Watson from running back to lineman and encouraged him to hit the books, because Watson began his sophomore season academically ineligible.
"He was a 1.9 bagging groceries at Kroger's," said Reese. "He got eligible for Week 6 and ended up going 3.5 for the rest of his years."
Watson's athletic ability came shining through in his senior year, when he nearly chased down a defensive back who had recovered a Southfield fumble. Former Michigan offensive line coach Terry Malone was at the game, and after seeing Watson race down the field he told me: "I'll never get to coach him," noting that Watson's speed would make him a defensive lineman in college.
Watson also was a member of the Southfield wrestling team. He was too heavy to compete in meets, but he attended every practice to improve his agility and he attended every meet to cheer on his teammates.
"That's the type of kid he was," said Reese. "He's a true Bluejay. Literally, he lived in that building, either playing around with Coach (Ben) Kelso on the basketball court or with the wrestling team. He was everybody's favorite kid."
Sizable progress at Pershing
Larry Foote spent his freshman year at Pershing playing Police Athletic League football for the West Side Cubs. Brian Blackburn, a Pershing assistant coach who was also in charge of the weight room, was impressed with Foote's ability.
"I watched him play PAL football and he was phenomenal, but he was pretty undersized," said Blackburn. "He came to Pershing and started lifting weights."
It was Foote's dedication in the weight room that allowed him to blossom into a college-caliber athlete.
"He had the skills, but he needed to get bigger, and he got bigger and bigger," said Blackburn. "He worked harder than most kids I've seen. He was always in the weight room."
As Foote gained size and strength, he began to dominate on the football field.
"He started at strong safety in 10th grade, and between 10th and 11th grade he had a growth spurt and he moved to linebacker," Blackburn said. "He wanted to play linebacker off the bat, but he wasn't big enough. By 11th grade he was ready to go."
Foote became a force on defense as a senior in 1997, receiving offers from schools like Nebraska and UCLA before signing with U-M. A performance against Detroit Cass Tech particularly stands out.
"Larry made every tackle for five series in a row," Blackburn said. "First, second, third down, he made every tackle -- boom, boom, boom. Practically every one of them was a tackle for a loss."
Over the years Blackburn saw Foote evolve into more than just a terrific football player. He became a young man who wanted to make a difference in young people's lives.
"He was always a real respectful kid," Blackburn said. "He goes out and works with a lot of underprivileged kids in Pittsburgh. He wants to do that in Detroit."
BY MICK McCABE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • February 1, 2009
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