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Wednesday, 13 December 2006 |
Lions' DB headed to Houston
By Wesley Lyle
Montgomery Advertiser
The past few days have been pretty good for Prattville senior Ricardo Bates.
On Saturday, Bates closed out his high school career in the 6A state championship. Now, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back is working on his college career with a verbal commitment to the University of Houston.
"My dream has been to play Division I," Bates said. "Coming off a state championship and (now this), I feel blessed."
The Conference USA champion Cougars are 10-3 and will play South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 29.
"(Houston assistant coach Chris) Thurmond has had his eye on Ricardo for a couple of years," Prattville defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Duwan Walker said. "He came back and looked at him again. It didn't take him long to make an offer. He knows talent when he sees it."
Thurmond also recruited former Lion and current New Orleans Saint, Roman Harper, to the Crimson Tide. Walker said Thurmond liked similarities he saw between Bates and Harper.
Bates was also impressed with Thurmond.
"Coach Thurmond is a good coach, and I know he worked with Roman," Bates said. "He promised to help me be my best. I can't ask for more than that."
According to online statistics, Bates finished the season as Prattville's second leading tackler with 97 stops. He also had a sack, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He had three tackles and a fumble recovery in Saturday's 35-21 win over Hoover.
"He is a sure tackler," Walker said. "His numbers were up there with our linebackers, because a lot of times, we put him in the box and used him as an extra linebacker. That was what made him so important, we could put him in the box to help out or we could drop him back to give extra help."
Bates is Prattville's third Division I commitment. Quarterback Larry Smith committed to Vanderbilt in August, shortly after defensive lineman Nick Gentry committed to the University of Alabama.
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