Recruiting: Wilmington's Talent Pool Surprisingly Deep

Wilmington is often overlooked when discussing the hotbeds of high school football talent in North Carolina.

Usually, those conversations focus on places like Charlotte, Greenville, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Winston-Salem.

But over the last decade, the Port City has produced enough major-college talent to deserve mention with those cities.

Since 1999 alone, Wilmington has given us former Wake Forest running back Tarence Williams and current players such as UNC placekicker Connor Barth, East Carolina defensive end Marcus Hands and N.C. State’s Geron James (wide receiver), Levin Neal (defensive back) and George Bryan (tight end), just to name a few.

The talent pool isn’t deep in Wilmington this year, but it is significant.

The area’s most prominent college prospects are linemen Nick Becton from New Hanover High School and Jonathan Cooper of Hoggard. Both are uncommitted and fielding scholarship offers from numerous football bowl subdivision or Division I-A programs.

Becton wasn’t even playing football when Kevin Motsinger became head football coach at New Hanover prior to the 2006 season. The 6-foot-8, 291-pounder was focused on basketball before Motsinger convinced him to give football a try.

“He was raw, and he’s still learning the game,’’ Motsinger said. “But Nick is just an unbelievable athlete. He caught on pretty quick."

Motsinger used Becton primarily at offensive tackle last season. Becton was good enough to earn Mideastern 3-A/4-A Conference honors in his debut season.

Moving on to basketball season, Becton started at small forward for a New Hanover squad that captured the state 4-A championship. He averaged six points and seven rebounds.

“He was 6-7 and weighed about 260 pounds during basketball last year,’’ Motsinger said. “But he’s gotten so much stronger since then. He killed himself in the weight room all summer. Now he has the physical strength and a better understanding of how to play the game."

Motsinger believes the offensive line is where Becton will play in college, although at least one school, Virginia Tech, is considering him as a defensive tackle, too.

“There aren’t too many kids that big who can get out there and pull like he can,’’ Motsinger said. “He’s athletic enough to get out there before the linebackers in most cases.’’

Among the colleges competing for Becton’s services are Alabama, Clemson, East Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpack may be the team to beat with Becton, although Motsinger and Becton say there are no favorites at this point. N.C. State’s roster includes New Hanover graduate and freshman tight end George Bryan, who was also instrumental in getting Becton onto the football field.

New Hanover’s cross-town rival Hoggard also has an exceptional blocking talent in Cooper, a 6-3, 300-pounder who projects at either guard or center in college.

The latter is a position of great need at North Carolina, which may explain why the Tar Heels are making such a big push for Cooper. UNC has just two scholarship centers on its roster this season. One of those, Scott Lenahan, is a senior.

Cooper also has offers from Buffalo, Duke, East Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina and Wake Forest, but says the Tar Heels, Wolfpack, Deacons and Gamecocks are his top four schools.

Two aspects of Cooper’s abilities that have intrigued recruiters are his long arms and strong hands.

The latter he developed as a top-ranked wrestler. Cooper was unbeaten during the regular season on the mat as a junior and finished with a 42-3 record last year in the 285-pound class.

Two other Wilmington players of note are Hoggard kicker Casey Barth, the younger brother of UNC’s Connor, and New Hanover offensive lineman C.J. Brown.

Barth, a 5-11, 165-pounder, was an all-state selection last season after connecting on seven of nine field-goal attempts. Air Force has already extended an offer to Barth, and others like Duke, UNC, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Marshall are showing interest.

Brown has been overshadowed somewhat by Becton, but is a quality prospect in his own right, Motsinger said.