West Mesquite talent now includes SEC commit

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West Mesquite standout safety Kameron Miles pictures himself similarly to Alabama’s standout safety Mark Barron. That’s why Miles is going to Tenneesse.

Miles committed to Tennessee at halftime of West Mesquite’s spring game Monday night. The 6-2, 200-pounder has been recruited to Tennessee by the Vols’ new defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri and newly named Tennessee safeties coach Josh Conklin.  Sunseri has spent the last three years as assistant head coach and linebackers coach for Alabama.

Of course, third-year Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley recruited Mesquite heavily while at Louisiana Tech and expects to open a pipeline to Knoxville of North and East Texas talent.

“Kam’s favorite player is Mark Barron and that was really Tennessee’s pitch with Coach Sunseri and Coach Conklin,” West Mesquite head coach Mike Overton said.”They want Kam to play that same position. Kam wants to be that kind of player.”

Barron was the No. 7 overall pick in April’s NFL draft by Tampa Bay after leading Alabama to the national championship with another dominating defense.  Barron (6-1, 213) was a starting safety on  Alabama’s ’09 and ’11 national champions.

At West Mesquite, Miles has been versatile to play several positions, but he’s been a defensive anchor on a perennially strong state playoff qualifier. West Mesquite reached its sixth-consecutive state playoff last season. Miles was named the District 15-4A Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in a vote of the coaches.

Miles’ three other finalists were Stanford, Penn State and Arkansas. West Mesquite overcame a largely youthful roster last season to again reach the playoffs. Miles is one of several major college prospects for the Wranglers. A half-dozen college coaches watched West Mesquite’s spring game including Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops.

In addition to Miles’ commitment to Tennessee, West Mesquite receiver Eldridge Massington (USC commit), Arizona defensive tackle commit Dimarya Mixon, cornerback Will Early (Mississippi and North Texas offers) and running back Raashad Reason and linebackers Darryl Battles and Andre Thompson likely to sign with colleges. It wouldn’t be surprising if several colleges don’t try to sway Mixon (also the Wranglers’ deep snapper) away from Arizona State.

The Wranglers have Class of 2015 standouts with quarterback Chason Virgil having started as a true freshman but went out with a broken arm after five games. Virgil was playing full-speed this spring. Class of ’15 receiver Akilian Butler will be another Wranglers’ playmaker and freshman center Juan Alvarez could anchor the line.

In the Class of ’14, safety Dillon Sumner-Gardner likely will blossom as a junior star and running back Darrius Payne-Edwards will be among the state’s top players when he recovers from a broken leg suffered this spring. Payne-Edwards has explosiveness and speed similar to former North Mesquite, University of Texas and San Francisco 49er starter Tarell Brown.

Sumner-Gardner moved to West Mesquite in middle school from the Northeast. He's a lifelong Clemson fan because of former Philadelphia star Brian Dawkins. Sumner-Gardner will have multiple national offers if he doesn't commit early.