'09 VA RB Shawne Alston (WVU Verbal)

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'09 VA RB Shawne Alston



Running back
Hampton (VA) Phoebus

Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 220 lbs
Forty: 4.5 secs
Class: 2009 (High School)

Rivals (free)

Alston, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound running back, has an early offer from Penn State.

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Penn State likes Phantoms RB Alston -- Economy, Business and Finance, Virginia, Virginia Tech -- dailypress.com

At 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, Phoebus running back Shawne Alston is a tough guy to miss in the backfield. Now, college recruiters are starting to take notice.

After running for 1,684 yards and 26 touchdowns last season to lead Phoebus to a 13-1 record, Alston began to pop up on some recruiting boards. Penn State is the only school to offer him a scholarship so far, and East Carolina may be on the verge of doing the same. Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina State also are taking close looks at him.

"A lot of people are trying to get in on him now because spring is here," said Phoebus coach Bill Dee, who was recovering Friday from Thursday hernia surgery. "He's going to be a good player for somebody. The word is just now getting out on him."

As Dee pointed out, Penn State has a tendency to recruit bigger tailbacks, and Alston definitely fits that category. He transferred last July from Menchville to Phoebus and promptly added 10 to 15 pounds in the Phantoms' weight room. He accumulated his huge numbers last season despite playing most of the year with a nagging knee injury.

The word on Alston is while he may be a load to bring down — as Peninsula District defensive players discovered last season when he was Phoebus' featured back — he does need to improve his speed. In Alston's case, brute strength makes up for any supposed lack of speed.

Though Alston has Division I potential and certainly will wind up playing in a Bowl Championship Series conference, don't be surprised if Virginia Tech doesn't have much involvement in his recruitment. Though it's difficult to tell at this early stage exactly how many players Tech will sign in February 2009, it's clear the Hokies will be stretched thin on available scholarships.

If Alston can spend next fall injury-free, he's a strong candidate to become the fifth back in Peninsula District history to gain 2,000 rushing yards in one season. That kind of potential deserves more attention from the big colleges.

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Rivals $

5/12

By Farrell...Maryland and ECU have offered, joining PSU. Talks about his interest in Maryland and is considering summer visits to Penn State, Maryland, East Carolina and Ohio State.

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Phantoms popular -- -- dailypress.com

Alston has picked up offers from East Carolina and Maryland. Dee said Penn State has "verbally offered" Alston.

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Rivals $

5/16

From VirginiaPreps...recaps of his performance last season as well as comments from his coach about what makes him such a great back. has written offers from Maryland and East Carolina and a verbal offer from PSU. Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Virginia and Illinois are also showing interest.

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Rivals $

5/25

By Farrell...still has offers from ECU and Maryland and has been told PSU's offer is in the mail. Also hearing from West Virginia, Ohio State, South Carolina State, NC State and Liberty.

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Phantoms' Alston commits to West Virginia -- dailypress.com

Shawne Alston always knew what the answer would be. So when the question finally came, it took him all of 20 minutes to respond.

Alston then became the third rising senior at Phoebus to commit to the Mountaineers' football program. He'll be joining quarterback Tajh Boyd and defensive lineman Dominik Davenport.

"I've been with 'Baby D' every day and he's been talking about West Virginia and saying, 'You need to come up there,' " Alston said, referring to Davenport. "But I told him, they haven't offered me, so I guess I'll have to go somewhere else."

That changed Monday when, following a staff meeting, recruiting coordinator Chris Beatty called Phoebus coach Bill Dee to extend the offer to Alston. When Dee relayed the news, Alston phoned his mother along with uncles Thomas Boddie and Lester Watkins.

Joining Boyd and Davenport wasn't the only reason Alston was eager to commit to WVU, but it certainly didn't hurt.

"The atmosphere there is so live," Alston said. "I was up there with Tajh and everybody was giving him high fives and asking for autographs. I told him, 'I see why you're coming here.' "

Alston attended WVU's spring game with Boyd, Davenport and Great Bridge wideout Logan Heastie — another Mountaineer commitment — in April.

Alston, who transferred to Phoebus from Menchville before the 2007 season, rushed for 1,684 yards and 26 touchdowns last year as a junior. And that was with a torn meniscus in his knee. At 6-foot and 210 pounds, he is considered a power back.

"I had somebody ask me how fast he was," Dee said. "And I said, 'Fast enough to score 26 touchdowns.' They really like Shawne. They want a speed back and a power back for a change-up, and Shawne obvious fits the bill for a power back.

"He's a solid back and a go-getter. He's going to go get it."