Recruiting: Duke, Wake Earn Commitments

Duke ventured out of state to find its future tight end, while an in-state tight end has announced he’ll head South for his college career.

First-year Blue Devil head coach David Cutcliffe got his recruiting Class of 2009 started last weekend when 6-foot-4, 235-pound Ryan Hall from Orlando, Fla., made an oral commitment while attending the annual spring scrimmage.

Hall, who plays at Olympia High School, was also being recruited by Boston College Harvard and Vanderbilt. An exceptional student, he scored 1,300 on his first attempt at the SAT, according to Olympic coach Bob Head.

“He always had Duke really high on his list,’’ Head said. “He's a really, really smart kid. He was looking at cream of the crop academically as well as good football programs. He’s a hard worker and a team captain. Duke is getting a player with a lot of intangibles.’’

First recruited by Duke’s previous coaching staff, Hall has been a starter at Olympia for the past two seasons. According to Head, Hall was thrown the ball 23 times last season and caught 22 of them.

“He’s our No. 1 weapon on

offense,’’ Head said. “Our offense is basically based around him. He’s such a valuable asset. Anytime we need a catch we’re going to him.’’

Clemson has continued its recent recruiting success in North Carolina by landing a commitment from 6-foot-3, 255-pound Tyler Shatley from East Burke High School.

Shatley, who has 4.75-second speed in the 40-yard dash, played mainly fullback last season in East Burke’s Wing-T offense. He piled up 1,209 yards and scored 18 touchdowns on 213 carries. Shatley also averaged 40.4 yards as the team’s punter.

But it’s as a tight end for H-back that the Tigers have recruited Shatley. He chose Clemson over scholarship offers from Maryland, N.C. State, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Football is Shatley’s forte, but he’s also an accomplished wrestler and track and field performer. He is one of the state’s top heavyweight wrestlers and as a sophomore he placed second in the state shot put competition.

The commitment from Shatley is the sixth overall and second from a North Carolina prospect for 2009. Shelby wide receiver Larry Raper previously committed to the Tigers last September.

Clemson signed two prominent North Carolina prospects last February in Charlotte defensive back Spencer Adams and Fayetteville tight end Dwayne Allen.

Wake Forest has received a commitment from one of Maryland’s top prospects, Michael Campanaro from River Hill High in Clarksville.

Campanaro, a 5-foot-10, 178-pounder, has 4.4 40 speed and chose the Deacons over offers from Akron, North Carolina, Northwestern and Towson.

A two-way star at River Hill, Campanaro rushed for 1,820 yards and scored 22 touchdowns as a running back and had 366 yards receiving as a junior. He also had 51 tackles and four interceptions in the secondary on defense.

The Demon Deacons have recruited Campanaro to play a slot receiver position.

Campanaro is the fourth player to join the Wake Forest recruiting class.