As Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood played Terry Parker Friday night in a
lop-sided victory that was 42-6 at halftime, I came to the game wearing my
scarlet and gray sunglasses to watch the highly-touted Maurice Wells.
Sandalwood, now 6-1 on the season, looked as if they were clicking on all
cylinders after their first loss to Wolfson last week. Wells ran effortlessly
for 145 yards on just 11 carries and a touchdown. He also had three additional
carries called back because of holding that totaled 118 yards, including a
72-yard sprint down the left sideline.
I spoke to Wells after the game and asked about a hip-pointer injury that has
plagued him the last couple of weeks.
"Oh yeah, the injury is great, its feeling one hundred percent. I've
been feeling good today and have been doing it all week, getting it done in
practice. I am feeling good for next week's game. I'm definitely good right
now," he replied.
Wells seemed hesitant at the beginning, making a couple cut-back runs slower
than usual. As the game progressed, though, it was certain that a nagging injury
nor an opposing defense really had a chance to stop Wells despite his limited
opportunities in the game. His offensive line provided huge holes to run
through. It was obvious that given space to work with, Wells can be an extremely
dangerous runner.
Perhaps his most impressive run came in the second quarter where he broke a
tackle in the backfield, ran it up the middle, then cut it back up field for a
29-yard gain. In the 4th quarter, he carried the ball out of the shotgun
formation. His initial burst once the quarterback received the snap is part of
what makes him such a valued back. He is a cork-popping running back, with a
burst everyone just marvels at. Out of the shotgun formation he hit the hole in
a blink of an eye, ran left, then cut back to the right for 28 yards. Make no
bones about it, Wells was built with one thing in mind -- speed.
The Sandalwood fans seemed accustomed to Wells potentially taking every carry
to the house. His #34 jersey was seen throughout stands as he is definitely a
crowd-favorite.
While I left wishing I could have seen him tested more in-between the
tackles, where some have questioned Wells due to his size (5-9 180), I still
came away confident that wherever this man chooses to go to college he presence
could be felt early.
I asked Wells if he thought he could come into college and contribute in his
first year.
"I am going to work hard in the off-season to prepare myself for the
season to be in the best fit that I can. Work hard once I get into school during
the season. Hopefully once the season starts, if the coach thinks I can
jump-start an offense, great. If the coach thinks I can contribute at some point
in the season, then I am going to do that. So it's basically whatever the coach
thinks," he said.
It has been a wild ride as for as recruiting goes for Wells. He seemed jovial
in describing the future as his recruitment comes to an end.
"It's going good (the recruiting process)," Wells described.
"I've just been trying to narrow it down. I've got really my top three
schools: Ohio state, USC, and Georgia Tech. I've actually got an official visit
set for the 20th to Ohio State for the Michigan game."
I asked Wells if he had ever been to an OSU-Michigan game.
"I've never been there for a game, period," he said. "So I'm
really looking forward to that. I hear it's pretty crazy (during the Michigan
weekend). Hopefully, once I find a school that's right for me I'll make my
decision. So that's basically it."
The next game for Wells is a homecoming game versus Mandarin. Wells is also a
finalist for homecoming king next weekend. After seeing him play Friday night,
he gets my vote.