'08 MN DL Willie Mobley (Ohio State Verbal)

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Future is Alipate's, but it's Eagles' night

The youngster had several views of the evening sky Thursday. Unfortunately, that was because the Eagles put him on his back too many times. With Willie Mobley, a supersized All-Metro defensive lineman leading the chase, there was simply too much pressure for Alipate to get into a rhythm. He completed eight of 15 passes for 37 yards.

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9/7

From the Minnesota site...totally focused on his team and basically doesn't answer any recruiting questions.

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9/13

By Adam Jardy of the OSU site...talks about what he is doing to make sure he is okay academicly and about his season so far. Also talks about talking recently with one of the OSU coaches.

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Eden Prairie defeats Lakeville North

And the Eagles' defense overwhelmed Lakeville North's offensive line, giving Hartwell little time to throw and stunting the Panthers' attempts to spread the field.

Instead, he spent much of the night on the run from Division I prospect Willie Mobley, who finished with two sacks.

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9/18

From the UCLA site...all about his interst in UCLA...not one other school mentioned (despite the fact he doesn't even have an offer from the Bruins).

Pretty slanted piece...

[osugrad21]

Link

Prep football: Eden Prairie's Willie Mobley is an offense's worst nightmare
Eden Prairie defensive tackle Willie Mobley is an offense's worst nightmare - and one of the most heavily recruited players in the state.
BY RAY RICHARDSON
Pioneer Press
Article Launched: 09/20/2007 12:01:00 AM CDT


The sight of Eden Prairie's Willie Mobley plowing through two offensive linemen to make a tackle in the backfield - for the fifth time in a game - can be demoralizing for an opposing high school football coach.
Whatever was in the game plan had no effect on the Eagles' senior defensive tackle.
Even more troubling is the sight of the 6-foot-3, 268-pound Mobley chasing down a wide receiver from behind on a screen pass.
"Sometimes you get to the point where you wonder if you can do anything about him," Lakeville North coach Mike Zweber said.
Zweber had a close-up view Friday of how Mobley, the top defensive lineman in Minnesota, can influence a game. Five of Mobley's eight tackles were behind the line of scrimmage, giving him nine tackles for losses this season.

Cont...

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From BuckeyePlanet...

Originally Posted by OSUBuckeye4Life

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09/27

Ohio State is recruiting him the hardest. UCLA is high on his list as well. Will not be attending the Minnesota vs Ohio State game due to Homecoming (dance).

If you can read the whole article there is quite a bit more to it. For those worried about UCLA it gives you some information that should make you feel a bit better. Ohio State bound IMO....eventually.

[osugrad21]

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Coach Heacock was in attendance for Willie's game friday and he did record the OSU-Minnesota game. However, he denies all reports of having any favorites right now.

[osugrad21]

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Willie says he will likely visit Ohio State, Wisconsin, Arizona and maybe Tennessee.

[osugrad21]

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Willie says he is leaning heavily to leaving the state and tOSU and Wisconsin will definitely receive visits. He picked up offers from Tennessee and Louisville.

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By Chris J Pool

States that Mobley will be taking his first visit to UW this weekend for the Northern Illinois game.

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10/19

From the OSU site...talks about his team's season and his performance individually (down to 250 lbs.). Talks about where on the DL he likes/see himself playing in college and talks about the rampant rumors on the Internet about his recruitment as well as his interest in OSU and Minnesota.

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10/21

Mobley did not visit Wisconsin this weekend and talks about his upcoming visit to OSU and his communication with other OSU recruits/verbals.

[GoRU]

Prep football: Eden Prairie's Mobley wanted everywhere

Willie Mobley was sitting on a sideline bench after football practice at Eden Prairie on Wednesday, talking about many things, including the pressure he feels from Minnesotans to play for the Gophers.

"I hear it everywhere I go," said the senior defensive lineman, who is now under the bright recruiting spotlight with the decision this week by Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver Michael Floyd to attend Notre Dame.

Even in a silent world, Mobley hears it.

Having taken classes in American Sign Language, Mobley went on a recent class trip to the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault.

"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had," he said.

But you can guess what happened. As Mobley conversed with students and adults in sign language, they told him this: "You should be a Gopher."

That could happen. But nobody knows what the future holds, including the 6-2, 250-pound Mobley, who turned 18 last month. He has not taken any official visits, although that process will begin soon. He will go to Ohio State this weekend and Wisconsin a week later. He will visit the Gophers, but probably not for a while.

"After the season, I think it'll be easier for [coach Tim Brewster]," Mobley said. "I just want him to focus on the season."

Don't we all. That's the kind of kid Mobley is; polite, considerate of others, doesn't say a negative thing about anybody. During our 20-minute chat, he said this about Brewster: "I love him. He's a great guy." A few minutes later he said this about Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz: "I love coach Ferentz. He's a great guy."

It won't be a surprise if Mobley's other official visits are to Iowa and Arizona. But his plans include one other location that has nothing to do with football. Mobley's mother, Roshanak (everybody calls her Roxanne) moved to the United States from Iran when she was a child and graduated from St. Louis Park High School. There are many relatives in Iran, and Mobley plans to go there in the spring.

"I talk to them on the phone," he said. "They look at me on the Internet. But they don't know so much about football, so they say things like, 'Oh, are you going to the NFL?'"

Mobley, who has 26 scholarship offers, is looking at the recruiting process like a research project. He needs some data before reaching a conclusion.

"I just don't have enough information on those schools yet," he said. "They have to have good academics and extra help. I want to go somewhere where I can get help. I don't want to go to college and get straight C's. I want to learn. It's not about the NFL. That's the last thing on my mind. It's nothing like, 'Oh, I'm going straight to the NFL,' like a lot of these kids think."

Mobley, who is interested in studying kinesiology, has learned a few things during the recruiting process. For one, he doesn't trust anything that's posted on recruiting websites. He'll occasionally peruse them to see if friends have committed. Then he'll see his own name.

"It's like, 'Oh, shoot. Am I ready to look at this?' I look at it and they misquote me."

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant said Mobley is probably just too nice for the back-alley, rumor-mongering world of Internet recruiting sites.

"[The website] Rivals from Wisconsin calls him and asks, 'What do you think about Wisconsin?' And he says, 'I think it's great.' So they go with, 'He's going to commit to Wisconsin,' " Grant said.

"And then they call him from Rivals in Ohio and he says, 'I love Ohio State.' And he's sincere. He likes all these guys. So in Ohio they report that he's going to commit to Ohio State. He isn't close to committing."

Mobley's focus is on Eden Prairie and helping the Eagle Empire win a second consecutive Class 5A state title. The quest continues Saturday in the section semifinals against Hopkins.

"You just focus on things you're doing right now instead of the future," he said. "Everything will work out."

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Scout.com: The Whole Package

By Allen Wallace
National Recruiting Editor
Posted Oct 29, 2007

"I love their history and I've developed a great relationship with them so I'm really excited to be taking my visit there," Willie Mobley said about Ohio State. "It's gonna be cool to see Columbus and experience what it's like there during a game day. I've never been there before, so I don't really know what to expect. Ohio State has a great record, but for me it's more about their history..."

Continued...

[osugrad21]

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Willie says he is very excited to get to Columbus this weekend to hang out with the tOSU commits.