The cold, hard fact of recruiting is that colleges will first look for kids with size then look for kids with speed. The jackpot for a recruiter is to find a player with both like Menchville tight end Mario Thompson who has been drawing attention from most of the DI-AA programs in the state of Virginia.

The 6-foot-4, 220 pound rising senior recently ran a 4.65 forty according to Coach John Byron who will use the talented 2009 prospect at both tight end and defensive end. "Mario has been working extremely hard in the weight room and running track in preparation for his senior season," says the coach.

Primarily a speed rush type of defensive end, Thompson recorded 48 tackles and 5 sacks in 2007, but should see those numbers grow this season. "We are really working on his run stopping ability. In our league, we've got to be able to shut guys down on the ground so we've worked a lot on his strength and techniques in the off season."

Offensively, Thompson has tight end size, but possesses the speed to line up outside as well; Byron plans on using him at both spots. "He's got real good hands and he catches the ball real well. He's got good height so that when we throw him the ball, he can go up and get it. He's pretty physical and his footwork is pretty decent. He's a smart kid too, tell him something once and he gets it."

Where he projects at the college level will depend a lot on how much he grows. "If he stays where he is right now, he'll be a sam linebacker or on the offensive side, he'd be a tight end or wide receiver."

He has camped at both the Naval Academy and Hampton University and currently lists those two as his top choices for continuing his football career but he's also received heavy interest from James Madison and Richmond.

www.VirginiaPreps.com is the #1 High School site on the Rivals network. To contact Rod Johnson, the Statewide Football Editor for the site, please email him at vaprepsrod@cox.net or on the AIM network via user name VP ER Rod.

This post was edited on 6/30 7:51 PM by Eastern Region Rod