You’d think with a 39-game win streak and a 2015 CIF Division I-A state championship, there would have been lots of college recruiters flocking to Mission Viejo High School (Mission Viejo, CA) to check-out the Diablos’ top talent. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s always a lot of recruiters looking at head coach Bob Johnson‘s troops, but over the last three years, three of MV’s top defensive players have flown below the scouting radar.
Is Christian LaValle the next Schooler Brother?
It also started in 2015 with defensive back Brenden Schooler, who turned-down his only FBS offer from Wyoming on national signing day and then signed with the University of Oregon in June 2016. Schooler went-on to start ten games for the Ducks as a true freshman with 74 tackles and a team-high four interceptions.
It continued last season with Brendan’s brother Colin, who signed with Arizona earlier this month, but only held offers from non-Power 5 FBS schools Buffalo, College of Charleston, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico and UNLV after a standout career as a two-way starter at linebacker and running back, which led to him being named MVP of the South Coast League last season.
Now comes senior-to-be linebacker Christian LaValle, who despite leading Mission Viejo in tackles last year doesn’t have any “prospect stars” next to his name or offers at this point. The 6-foot, 220-pounder’s stats over the last two years speak for themselves with over 100 tackles each season.
This past Sunday, La Valle took to his home turf for the Under Armour All-American Camp, hoping to ignite the recruiting fire.
Christian LaValle’s Recruiting
LaValle told me that he has learned a lot from the Schooler brothers’ recruiting process, “They (Schoolers) told me to stick with it…if you can play they’ll find you. Coach Johnson always has lots of recruiters in here, so I don’t expect any problems when it comes to recruiting.”
Helping LaValle’s cause is the fact that he’s an excellent student. He says at this point, Boston College, Cincinnati, and Yale have been in contact with him, plus he’s talked with Duke and Stanford, plus he took at trip to Vanderbilt. In effort to catch the eye of recruiters, La Valle will also take part in Nike’s The Opening and a Rivals.com camp.
