Recruiting guru visits Las Vegas for evaluations

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.

Green Valley High School quarterback Lance Patonai used just one word to describe being invited to meet ESPN.com college recruiting analyst Tom Lemming Tuesday night.

"Wow!" said Patonai, a 6-foot-4 lefty who bares a striking resemblance to former Texas quarterback Chris Simms.

Patonai was one of a handful of Las Vegas area prep football prospects who were invited to meet with Lemming at UNLV's Rebel Park practice fields Tuesday as Lemming made the latest stop on a cross-country tour that he is chronicling on ESPN.com. It's the fourth consecutive year that Lemming, who also picks the USA Today All-American team, has stopped in Las Vegas as he compiles his list of the nation's top 500 prep football prospects for 2004.

Lemming had Patonai, Durango defensive tackle Robert DeMartini, Bonanza safety Mark Seward, Cheyenne running back David Peeples and Cimarron linebacker Matt Miller fill out questionnaires and pose for pictures to be included in his Prep Football Report magazine, the bible of prep football recruiting.

"I feel blessed to be included in this and have the opportunity to be seen on a national level," Patonai said. "I didn't get much exposure last year because I broke my collarbone and missed most of the season. But hopefully this should help me in that regard."

"I was honored to get invited," said Peeples, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash who has been contacted by more than 20 Division I colleges, including Tennessee and the entire Pac-10.

Lemming said Las Vegas is a growing area that is going to produce more and more Division I football players.

"I also pick the players for the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio and we've had a player invited from Las Vegas each of the last two years," he said. "Two years ago it was (Foothill running back) John Ford. Last year it was (Desert Pines running back) Cornell Johnson.

"If one of these players has a big senior season, they might make it three in a row."

Unlike most of his recruiting colleagues, Lemming travels to meet and watch players he includes in his report. That means a lot of driving and flying around the nation. He started his sojourn in March in North Carolina and is scheduled to end his travels in early July in Florida.

During the past week alone, Lemming has:

"I figure I'll drive about 12,000 miles on this trip," said Lemming, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Barrington.

After meeting with the five Las Vegas players, he had a quick dinner and began preparing for a 6 a.m. wakeup call today so he could make the 440-mile drive to Salt Lake City to meet the top eight prospects in Utah this afternoon.

He then is scheduled to fly to Denver, where he will visit with Colorado's finest on Friday, including 6-foot-4, 260-pound Loveland lineman Jeff Byers, regarded as the nation's No. 1 center prospect. Then it's on to Dallas Friday.