'09 MO RB Montee Ball (Wisconsin Verbal)

[HotMic]

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Wentzville (MO) Timberland High School

Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 204 lbs
Forty: 4.5 secs
GPA: 3.5
Class: 2009 (High School)

Scout Bio:

2007:Ball rushed for 3,077 yards and 32 touchdowns during his junior year. He was named first team All-State, first team All-Metro, first team All-District, first team All-Conference, I.A.F.O. (Officials) Athlete of the Year and and St. Louis American Athlete of the Year.

2006: Ball rushed for 1,845 on 297 carries, 15 touchdowns; 12 receptions for 149 yards. Defensively, Ball recorded 11 solo tackles, six assisted tackles, one sack. 1st Team All-Conference, 1st Team All-District, 2nd Team All-State, Timberland Offensive Player of the Year, St. Louis Post Dispatch Sophomore of the Year, St. Louis Cardinals Suburban Journal Athlete of the Year. All-Metro Sophomore of the year.

Originally Posted by ESPN

Ball is a very productive runner who has been able to run by and through his high school competition. Physically ready to make the next step and carry the rock at the college level. He is compact, very thick through his thighs and lower body, and is built low to the ground assisting his in-line running strength. Presses the hole showing a bit of shiftiness and sharp cutting ability but most production stems from his ability to generate good north-south speed and power quickly. Could run with better body-tilt but is difficult to wrap up with his low center of gravity, wide hip base, powerful lower-body and constant leg drive. While he shows spurts of burst through the hole he is more of a one-gear back and lacks great acceleration and top-end speed. Shows marginal lateral quickness and lacks an extra gear when he bounces it outside and tries to turn the corner. Compactly built but tends to open himself up for big hits between the tackles; marginal suddenness and pick and slide ability could be an issue if he lands in a heavy-zone offense. Bottom line, at times Ball appears physically superior to his competition on film and could struggle maintaining his current yards after contact at the next level. With that said, you can't argue with his production and he is certainly built to carry the load and wear down a defense in a heavy power-running scheme.

Ratings: 77 (ESPN)

Scout $

2/29

By G. Powers. Missouri and Kansas have offered, while Iowa and Oklahoma are showing interest. Junior video also included.


RP Discussion Links:

[HotMic]

Scout (FREE)

3/18

By G. Powers.

Montee Ball is a hard running back with good speed and as a sophomore he was one of the top performers at the Scout.com Combine in Kansas City. He picked up early offers from the top two schools in the Big 12 North when Mizzou and Kansas offered, but now he is starting to see receive more attention. He has added two more BCS level offers in the last week.
Continued...

[HotMic]

Scout $

3/31

From the Oklahoma site. Ball says Iowa State and Missouri are his top two. He says Oklahoma doesn't seem that interested, but he may go to camp and try to earn an offer.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

4/16

From the Missouri site...talks about how he has been focusing on his upcoming senior season. After the 15th expects to talk to Coach Ford and is considering going to Mizzou's spring game.

[GoRU]

Rivals $

5/20

Picked up an offer from Stanford.

[Bernini]

ShowMeSports

5/30

Wentzville Timberland RB Montee Ball 5`11' 210 just received and official offer from Wisconsin today. Ball`s most recent offer before the one from the Badgers came from Stanford. He also holds offers from Missouri,Kansas and Northwestern.

Here's also a few videos of Ball in action: 1 2 3 4

YouTube if you're having trouble with those (as I am):

YouTube - Montee Ball

YouTube - Montee Ball 2008 Part 1

and his update page on ShowMeSports

[Bernini]

Rivals $

Indiana has now also said let's make a deal to Montee Ball. He could choose what's behind doors # 1,2,3, or 4....as he's already visited Mizzou, and will be checking out the Hoosiers, Wisconsin, and Northwestern.

He was especially excited about the Wisconsin offer he just received.

He should be excited about UW's offer. He appears to be the type of back who thrives in the Wisconsin system. A power back who can bull through the pile but also make you miss in small spaces. Reminds me a bit of Zaccheus Brown.

[HotMic]

Scout $

6/2

By A Bone. Montee says he is excited about the Wisconsin and Indiana offers, and will check out both schools for sure. Kansas and Northwestern are the schools in most contact. He would like to decide during his season.

[Heavystarch]

Rivals $

6/4/2008

Plans to visit Wisconsin in the next week or so. Now has seven offers, and would like to make his decision during his senior season.

[GoRU]

Rivals $

6/22

Credits Dave Doeren with luring him to UW.

[GoRU]

WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

As soon as running back Montee Ball sat down and watched tapes of the University of Wisconsin football team's offense, he knew it was the place he wanted to go.

"Their style of offense is the style of offense I was looking for," said Ball, who is from Wentzville, Mo. "They have huge linemen, they pound the ball, pound the ball — but they also throw the ball, too. It's a balanced offense and that's what I like."

That's why Ball, who initially thought he was going to wait until December to choose a school, ended up making his decision over the weekend.

He gave an oral commitment to the Badgers after an unofficial visit on Friday. His other two finalists were Missouri and Kansas.

Asked what comes to mind when he thinks of Wisconsin running backs, Ball said, "workhorses."

That certainly fits when it comes to the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Ball, who rushed for 4,922 yards on 655 carries (7.5 average) and 46 touchdowns the past two seasons for Timberland High School in suburban St. Louis.

"Very durable kid (with) big-play ability," Timberland coach Craig Collins said. "He's a guy we built our team around the last couple years."

Ball ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds at one combine, but most recruiting services list him at 4.5. He makes a living between the tackles, but after working with a personal trainer the past three years, he also became a breakaway threat last season.

"He's your typical Wisconsin-type running back," Collins said. "I think it's a great fit for them. Between-the-tackles type of guy, but he's got good ability to sidestep safeties and good ability to run over people, too.

"Has a great forward lean when he runs. This (past) year, he really showed the ability to break away, which accounts for the big numbers."

Ball rushed for 3,077 yards on 358 carries (8.6 average) and scored 31 touchdowns as a junior. He also caught four passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, helping his team finish 10-2 and advance to the Class 4 quarterfinals.

He is a good student, with a 3.4 grade-point average and already has a qualifying test score. He was recruited by UW defensive coordinator Dave Doeren.

"I've been talking to (Doeren) for about two months now," Ball said. "We already have a strong relationship going. When I went up there and visited, we sat down by the lake and just talked about the place, talked about what I was looking for, talked about my major — business — and all that stuff. We're going to be pretty good together."

That should be good news for UW fans who might remember an early oral commitment a year ago from wide receiver Wes Kemp, who was considered the top recruit in St. Louis at the time.

Missouri never gave up on Kemp and he de-committed from the Badgers and signed with the Tigers. Even though Missouri has had a lot of recent success keeping the state's top players at home, it's a different case with Ball, who doesn't seem a good fit for the Tigers' spread offense.

For now, at least, Ball doesn't see much chance of changing his mind.

"Nope, because when I sat down and watched the film with (running backs) coach (John) Settle, their offense is exactly the style offense we run here at my school," Ball said. "I'm basically moving into the same offense, which is going to be really comfortable."

[Bernini]

Ball was ranked as the 6th best prospect in Missouri by ShowMeSports Online.


6. Montee Ball 5`11" 210 RB Timberland
Committed To: Wisconsin
- Ball is the best pure RB in this class. Runs with power and speed. Has good quickness and feet. Very good forward lean when he runs and squares his pads. Usually delivers the blow to opponents when tackled. Could set state record for rushing yards.