The science of college football recruiting is not perfect by any means. Players that possess talent but haven’t had ample opportunity to showcase that talent usually make their mark on the scene in some form or fashion, sooner or later. Del Valle High School’s Josh Cleveland had that opportunity at summer camps last week. The 5’7 165 lb. athlete showed his speed at the Oklahoma State Camp held at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, TX, when he ran a 4.29 40. You read that right – a 4.29 40. The coaches timing him at UMHB were Coach Jeff Shinn of UMHB and Coach Jemal Singleton of Oklahoma State (In all fairness one coach clocked him at 4.29 and the other at 4.30). Yesterday at the University of Texas Camp, Longhorn Strength and Conditioning Coach Bennie Wylie clocked Cleveland at a 4.38 40 yard dash on his first run. That run was evidently sufficient because Coach Wylie advised Josh not to run again.
Cleveland played his junior year at Del Valle as a slot wideout and 2nd running back in the Cardinal’s shotgun offense and will assume the role of starting running back next year. We talked with Brad Alexander, Del Valle’s Offensive Coordinator who said this about Josh: “He’s a tireless worker that has worked hard to become a starter and is now ready to lead our team to new heights.” Lightly put, Cleveland is a guy that shoots for the stars and takes nothing for granted.
The word is now out about Josh Cleveland’s tremendous speed which should be enough to get him some serious looks/considerations from many Division 1 programs. His biggest downside is probably his size, but I can think of two similar sized Big XII running backs that were brutal on run defenses – Oklahoma’s Quentin Griffin (5’7″) and Kansas State’s Darren Sproles (5’6″). Think of the damage he could do on kick returns alone….
Keep an eye out for Josh as the recruiting cycle runs it course but in the meanwhile check out his 40 yard dash video from the UT Camp. This is what FAST looks like.
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Josh Cleveland
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