'09 FL DE Demonte McAllister (FSU Soft Verbal)

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'09 FL DE Demonte McAllister



Defensive tackle
Tampa (FL) Alonso

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 240 lbs
Class: 2009 (High School)


Friday's News And Notes

Alonso defensive lineman Demonte McAllister received his first scholarship offer earlier in the week from FSU. On Thursday, McAllister received a visit from Florida's Urban Meyer, who also extended an offer. Tennessee made it three and Auburn could make it four when Coach Tommy Tuberville visits next week.

"Now is his time," Alonso coach Mike Heldt said of the interest in McAllister, who was second on the team last season with eight sacks. "I expect a lot more to come."

The offers are pouring in, but Heldt said the focus right now is on McAllister's academics.

"We're working on his academics to get them up," Heldt said. "We'll get those in order."

RP Discussion Links:

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Prep Report - Recruiting Updates Sports - from TBO.com Blogs

Alonso defensive lineman Demonte McAllister isn’t accustomed to people paying a lot of attention to him, but he better get used to it.

Some of the top college coaches have been making frequent visits to Alonso in previous weeks. Most SEC schools have offered the junior scholarships, including Florida and Tennessee, and the ACC schools may soon be getting on board.

Boston College and Duke coaches were at the school on Tuesday. So was LSU and USF’s Jim Leavitt. The Bulls have already extended an offer to McAllister. Later this week, Clemson and Georgia are scheduled to stop by.

“It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Demonte,” Alonso coach Mike Heldt said. “It’s only going to get busier because his name is out there and when coaches see his highlight film, they become interested.”

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High School Sports | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt*: Archives

January 16, 2008
Alonso's McCallister gets "surprise" - FSU offer

For Alonso junior defensive lineman Demonte McCallister, Wednesday started off like any regular school day.

But it ended as one he likely won't soon forget.

FSU assistant coach Odell Haggins came on campus to visit McCallister and offered him a scholarship (McCallister's first).

McCallister, an explosive 6-foot-3, 250 pound tackle who runs a 4.6 40, had eight sacks last season.

"I was surprised," McCallister said. "I hadn't talked to them - never - they dropped in and offered. It's exciting."

McCallister said he was a FSU fan growing up, although he had a little help.

"My mom (Katrina Daniels) was an FSU fan," McCallister said. "So I did too."

McCallister's teammate, senior defensive end Jamal Crook will start his three week college visit spree this weekend with a trip to Murray State, then Tennessee State (Jan. 25) followed by Georgia Southern (Feb. 2)

-- JOE SMITH

High School Sports | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt*: Archives

February 08, 2008
Alonso's McCallister "leaning toward FSU"

Alonso junior defensive lineman Demonte McCallister has seen his recruiting stock rise since the holiday break, with SEC schools like Florida, Auburn and, most recently Georgia offering him.

But the way it's looking so far, McCallister likes his first offer - Florida State - the best.

McCallister, an explosive, 6-foot-3, 240 pound tackle, said there's a long way to go - including several trips - but right now, "I'm leaning toward FSU."

Florida State signed three bay area standouts on Wednesday, with Hillsborough defensive lineman Moses McCray, Middleton tailback Carlton Jones and Plant tackle Rhonne Sanderson.

-- JOE SMITH

High School Sports | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt*: Archives

March 11, 2008
LSU offers Alonso star

Will Plant quarterback Aaron Murray be the county's most highly recruited football player in the Class of 2009? Maybe. Maybe not. The way things are looking, three standouts could give him a run for that title -- defensive end Ryne Giddins of Armwood, linebacker Petey Smith of Armwood, and last but not least, defensive tackle Demonte McAllister of Alonso.

On Tuesday, McAllister picked up what arguably is his biggest scholarship offer to date when national champion LSU pulled the trigger (McAllister confirmed the offer to the Times). Auburn, Florida, Florida State (the first to jump on board), Georgia and Tennessee are some of the other programs that previously offered. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder is preparing for his college boards as we speak. He is scheduled to take the ACT in April and will take the SAT sometime after that.

-- KEITH NIEBUHR & JOE SMITH

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Scout $

4/1

By Bone...LSU has offered and also is receiving heavy interest from Ohio State. Favors Florida State over Miami, LSU, Georgia and Ohio State and talks about what interests him in each of the schools in his top five.

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Scout $

4/1

Film.

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GatorCountry

For McAllister the visit to Florida represents a dramatic recruiting about face. Supposedly he was a heavy lean to Florida State but like so many other big time talents lately, when he finally visited the Gators and got a chance to really see what they are all about, there was a sudden change of heart from a childhood favorite.

“The couple of last times I have been to Florida it wasn’t one-on-one,” he said. “They were able to break it on down for me. It is just a great program. They had the National Championship and SEC Championship. It is just great right now.

“Florida is at the top of the list right now.”

It isn’t over though and this weekend McAllister will visit Florida State for their spring intra-squad game. He is planning to make a long day of that too.

“I am going to a junior day at Florida State and then watch the spring game Saturday,” he said.

McAllister is a very good student and grades are absolutely not an issue. The big time defensive lineman who boasted 63 tackles, 12 sacks, and 18 tackles for loss as a junior looks to have a strong senior year both personally and with his team. He plans on taking a huge leadership role to make sure the team steps it up after a mediocre 2007 campaign.

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Prep Report - Recruiting Updates Sports - from TBO.com Blogs

With nearly 20 Division I scholarship offers, Alonso defensive tackle Demonte McAllister has a hard time processing the attention at times.

“It’s been a little bit of a headache,” McAllister said.

It’s constant phone calls and emails and then there are the personal visits from coaches. Florida defense assistant head coach /defensive line coach Dan McCarney was at Alonso’s practice on Friday to catch up with McAllister. The Gators are one of the many prominent programs interested in the 6-foot, 3-inch, 250-pound tackle. Florida head coach Urban Meyer has already visited the school, as has Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer, Auburn Tommy Tuberville and USF’s Jim Leavitt.

USC and Nebraska joined the mix this week with offers. McAllister said he plans to narrow his list down after the spring game and then he wants to take visits. He’s already attended junior days at Florida and Florida State. He’d like to see the campuses at Ohio State, LSU, Miami, USC and Georgia. McAllister would like to make his official announcement before the end of his senior season.

“This whole thing has been amazing,” McAllister said. “I’ve been dreaming about playing college football for a long time. This recruiting has been stressful, but I’m going to try to have fun with it.”

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Prep Report - Hillsborough Sports - from TBO.com Blogs

Demonte’s the name, football’s my game. This is Demonte McAllister and I’m a defensive lineman from Alonso High School.

I’ve been playing football since I was 9. When I first got to Alonso, I wasn’t going to play football because my last year of youth football I didn’t play and wanted to play basketball. Then I did play football and I went from wide receiver to tight end to fullback to defensive end.

Now I’m trying to make my college decision. I’ve gotten 24 Division I offers and today I’ve narrowed it down to my top nine. I hope to narrow it down to five by the end of the summer.

So here’s my top nine: Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Tennessee and USC.

[HotMic]

Scout $

6/17

From the LSU site. McAllister is no longer looking at Florida, and FSU is now his leader. He grew up watching FSU and has a good relationship with the coaches, but says that LSU is right behind them. Florida State, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee and USC will get officials.

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McAllister's Play Speaks For Itself

Chances are you see Demonte McAllister before you hear him.

He's hard to miss. The Alonso defensive lineman's bulking 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame stands out in a crowd, especially on the football field.

"That's where everything comes out," said McAllister's mother, Katina Daniels. "He does his talking on the football field, but in a good way."

There's a reason McAllister's the shy, silent type. At a very early age, doctors discovered a cyst on his vocal chords, which led to a raspy voice.

"People used to call him 'Froggy,' like the kid from "The Little Rascals," Daniels said. "So he wouldn't talk because he didn't want people to make fun of him."

McAllister's voice returned to normal after the benign tumor was removed, but he kept the shy demeanor.

The defensive tackle, part of The Tampa Tribune's "Nine Lives" series focusing on the top recruits in Hillsborough County, may be tight lipped, but that hasn't stopped a lot of college coaches from talking about him. One of the USC coaches recruiting McAllister proclaimed him the best three-technique player they've seen in the country.

"And you know USC sees everybody in the country," Alonso assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Kevin Diez said.

USC is one of 27 Division I programs to offer McAllister a scholarship. He has whittled the list down to his top nine, which includes the Trojans, defending national champion LSU and FSU.

The Seminoles have been a favorite of McAllister since he was a kid. The feeling is mutual if a recent unofficial visit to the Tallahassee campus is any indication. Mobbed like a rock star, students were asking for his autograph.

"Somehow, someone got my phone number and called me," McAllister said. "They've also left messages on my MySpace page telling me I should go to FSU."

The phone calls have become so frequent that McAllister won't answer if it's an area code outside of Tampa. The mail's also been abundant.

"He might as well have his own mailbox," Daniels said. "There's so many letters from colleges I joke with the mailman sometimes and ask him, 'can I please get a bill?'"

The deluge began pretty much as soon as McAllister asserted himself on the Alonso football team, which occurred after the coaching staff figured out what to do with him.

"His first year, we put him at fullback on junior varsity," Diez said. "His first play from scrimmage, he takes it 80 yards right up the middle and never stopped. We kind of looked at each other and said, 'now what do we do?' Boneheads that we are, we left him on JV."

When McAllister finally moved up to varsity for a playoff game against Wharton, he made a play to solidify his spot on varsity.

"He goes and breaks the starting quarterback's arm on a blitz," Diez said. "We knew we had something special."

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Prep Report - Hillsborough Sports - from TBO.com Blogs

Alonso defensive tackle Demonte McAllister verbally committed to Florida State on Saturday, but that won’t be the end of his recruiting process.

McAllister had narrowed his rather lengthy list of Division I scholarship offers to five - FSU, Georgia, LSU, Miami and USC - but couldn’t resist telling the Seminoles they were his No. 1 choice. Having participated at FSU’s camp this past week, the lifelong Seminoles fan let coaches know of his decision following workouts.

The senior defensive lineman, who one USC coach described as the best three technique in the country, still plans to take official visits to the other four schools this fall, but said it would be extremely difficult to change his mind.