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Area's Top Collegiate Prospects will form backbone of Alabama Team that will face Mississippi in December 12 contest in Mobile
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Theodore's C.J. Mosley was named to the 2009
Alabama All-Star Classic roster.
| MOBILE, Ala. (Oct. 6) – Area fans attending the 2009 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic will not only get to see the top 37 senior high school stars and collegiate prospects from the state of Alabama battle those from Mississippi, but plenty of familiar faces, as well, as nearly one quarter of the Alabama team roster will hail from Mobile and Baldwin county schools.
Game officials announced on Tuesday that nine area players have been selected to participate in the annual talent showcase, set for Saturday, December 12 in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The talented group includes five stars from Mobile County high schools and four from Baldwin County, and three members of the ESPN Top 150 and Rivals Top 100 national recruit lists, as well as the Press-Register's Elite 18 ranking of the state's top collegiate prospects for 2009.
The Mobile County players selected for this year's All-Star Classic include Blount defensive back Jarrick Williams, Theodore linebacker C.J. Mosley, UMS-Wright linebacker Jay Prosch, Vigor offensive lineman Quinterrius Eatmon, and Murphy wide receiver Solomon Patton. | 
Blount DB Jarrick Williams was named to the Press-Register's
Elite 18 list, which ranks the best prospects across the state.
| Selected to the team from Baldwin County are Fairhope's dynamic running back-quarterback duo of Jamal Woodyard and Daryl Norris, offensive lineman David Fowler from Daphne and Foley kicker Jorge Santa Maria.
"Having nine players from this area selected to play in the All-Star Classic is obviously a great indication as to the tremendous quality of football that is played here in southwest Alabama," said All-Star Classic Executive Director Vic Knight. "We're looking forward to featuring these great talents, along with the state's other top players and those from Mississippi, in what will rank as the Deep South's premier recruiting talent showcase here in Mobile on December 12."
The remaining 29 members of the Alabama team selected to participate in this year's event will be announced later this week. Members of the squad are selected by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA), in conjunction with the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).
The Mississippi team of all-stars will be selected by the Mississippi Association of Coaches on October 21.
The group of Mobile and Baldwin county stars selected for the All-Star Classic includes many of the state's top collegiate recruits for 2009.
Williams, a 6-2, 218-pounder, ranks as one of the nation's elite defensive back prospects. A member of the Rivals Top 100 national list, he was also the number two player on the Mobile Press-Register's Elite 18 list which ranks the best prospects in the state.
In last week's thrilling 34-33 Blount victory over Murphy, he returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown, and has verbally committed to play at Alabama next season.
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Speedy WR Solomon Patton of Murphy has
verbally committed to Florida for 2010.
| Patton is one of the nation's top receiver prospects, an ESPN Top 150 selection who was fifth on the Elite 18 list and has verbally committed to play at Florida. A 5-9, 168-pounder with blazing speed, he has caught 36 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns so far this season, topped by a 16-catch, 218-yard, two-touchdown effort against Blount last week.
One of the state's top uncommitted players is Theodore's Mosley, a 6-2, 215-pouunder who was also an ESPN top 150 selection and was third on the Press-Register's Elite 18 list. In 2008, he set a school record with 176 tackles on the year, and is being recruited by several major programs including Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida State, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
UMS-Wight's Prosch is a former offensive lineman who has developed into one of the state's top prep linebackers. A 6-0, 245-pounder, he leads the Bulldogs with 118 total tackles on the year, 68 of them unassisted, good for a whopping 19.7 tackles per game average.
One of the state's top offensive line prospects, Eatmon is a 6-6, 320-pounder who has received scholarship offers from Louisville, South Florida, Southern Miss, New Mexico and Mississippi State.
Woodyard is enjoying a banner 2009 season, making a strong case for Alabama "Mr. Football" honors in the process. The 5-9, 196-pounder has already rushed for 1,092 yards and 20 touchdowns in six games, which has included single game performances of 384 rushing yards against Foley and 314 against UMS-Wright.
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Fairhope QB Daryl Norris has torched defenses this season tossing for
more than 1,000 yards leading the Pirates to a 6-0 record and top-10
ranking in 6A.
| In that UMS-Wright contest, he added 121 yards receiving and 30 more on kickoff returns to account for 465 total yards to earn Press-Register Player of the Week honors.
Norris has quarterbacked the Pirates to a 6-0 start and a top ten ranking in 6A. A 6-1, 214-pounder, he completed 21-24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown in last week's 38-17 victory over Benjamin Russell, and has now passed for over 1,000 yards on the year.
Fowler, a 6-4, 290-pound offensive tackle, has verbally committed to play at Southern Miss. He has also been heavily recruited by Duke and Louisville, among others.
Santa Maria, a 5-10, 180-pounder, will handle the dual roles of punter and place kicker for the Alabama team.
Over the past 21 years, the All-Star Classic has built an impressive legacy of featuring close, exciting games, as well as the best home-grown talent from Alabama and Mississippi over that time -- players who have gone on to enjoy tremendous success at both the NCAA and NFL levels.
A total of 17 first-round NFL Draft picks and 116 total draftees have played in the contest since its inception, an impressive list that includes stars such as Antonio Langham, Deuce McAllister, Jason Campbell, John Copeland, Cadillac Williams, Steve McNair, Willie Anderson, JaMarcus Russell and Andre Smith, the sixth pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.
Over 80 former All-Star Classic players are currently listed on Southeastern Conference team rosters, which includes stars such as pre-season All-SEC selections Julio Jones and Rolando McClain of Alabama, Antonio Coleman at Auburn, Mississippi's State's Anthony Dixon and John Jerry of Ole Miss.
The Mishkin Group, a Mobile-based sports marketing firm, assumed management of the All-Star Classic earlier this year, and plans on a host of changes to the event to make the game week experience for players and game day entertainment for fans commensurate with the quality of players selected to play in the contest each year.
This year's All-Star Classic Week in Mobile will run from December 7-12, with the game set for Saturday, December 12. Kickoff time is TBA.
Alabama leads the all-time series against its Mississippi counterparts with 15 victories in the 22 games including last December's 28-3 win, as St. Paul's quarterback A.J. McCarron, a University of Alabama signee, earned Alabama MVP honors with two TD passes.
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