Jack Britt Busy During Recruiting Season

Jack Britt football coach Richard Bailey is looking forward to April 20.

Bailey isn’t starting a vacation or taking the day off. But he will be getting a break from constant telephone calls from college football coaches seeking updates on offensive lineman Xavier Nixon.

“On April (20), they can call him direct, and I don’t have to be the go-between,’’ Bailey said. “It’s been crazy. I get one call right after another.

“Florida State called today. Maryland called. Who else? Clemson called. He sat down and called six schools the other day during weight lifting class.

“It’s like that every day. I’m glad I’ve got one of those unlimited cell phone plans.’’

Such is life when you coach one of the nation’s top prospects.

Even though Nixon hasn’t completed his junior year, the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder already owns more than 30 scholarship offers from major-college programs, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

Nixon is such a significant recruit that he could end a 14-year trend next August.

The Fayetteville Observer has been ranking the state’s top prospects since 1994. No offensive lineman has ever held the No. 1 spot.

The closest an offensive lineman ever came to the top spot was in 2001 when North Mecklenburg’s Derek Morris was ranked No. 2. Morris signed with Ohio State, transferred to N.C. State, then left for the NFL after his junior season. He recently signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions.

Jack Britt’s Bailey hasn’t just been answering phone inquiries regarding Nixon. He’s also entertained some of the nation’s most well-known coaches at the school in recent months.

Alabama’s Nick Saban, Charlie Weis from Notre Dame, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, Tennessee’s Phi Fulmer, Mark Richt from Georgia, Tom O’Brien of N.C. State and North Carolina’s Butch Davis are just a few of the head coaches who have dropped by.

Some of those coaches have also inquired about Jack Britt quarterback Everett Proctor. Proctor was named 2007 Cape Fear region Player of the Year by The Observer after leading the Bucs to a share of the Mid-Southeastern 4-A Conference title.

But while Proctor has an early favorite in Maryland, according to Bailey, Nixon is still sorting through the options.

“With other kids I’ve had here, you could kind of tell who they liked,’’ Bailey said. “With (linebacker) Wesley (Flagg), he liked (North) Carolina. I know if my quarterback gets an offer from Maryland, he’s probably going to commit on the spot.

“But Xavier is not like that. He’s not a fan. He doesn’t wear like an N.C. State shirt around school every day. So I don’t have a clue who he’s really favoring.’’

But Bailey is encouraging Nixon to trim his list in the near future.

“You can’t date 30 women,’’ Bailey said. “It may sound fun, but you can’t keep 30 women on the string. You have to narrow it down at some point.’’

Bailey added that Nixon is already the most heavily recruited player he’s coached at Jack Britt, which is saying something. The Bucs have produced a number of major-college players since the school opened in 2000, including Aaron Kirkland (Tennessee), George Bell (Virginia Tech), Brandon Ghee (Wake Forest), Flagg (UNC) and Alex Frye (Wake Forest).

“The Ohio State coaches told me they aren’t the type to offer 10 offensive linemen and hope that three sign,” Bailey said. “They’re going to offer three and those are the only ones. They’ve told me he’s (Nixon) No. 1 on their board. Florida State told me he’s No. 1 on their board.

“So he’s a special player.’’

The best bets to challenge Nixon for the No. 1 spot in-state next fall are Charlotte Independence safety Devonte Hollman, Jacksonville Northside defensive end Donte Moss, South Stanly cornerback Terry Shankle, Gastonia Ashbrook wide receiver Jheranie Boyd, Durham Hillside running back Desmond Scott and Bertie offensive lineman Travis Bond.

We’ll take a closer look at some of those prospects next week.