Recruiting on the South Plains | WR Dominique Wheeler

This was a pretty big commitment and I'm a bit sorry that I wasn't around to write about it at the time as Crockett WR Dominique Wheeler committed to Texas Tech.  Wheeler is an elite talent, one of the best receivers in the country and there's no doubt that the staff was high-fiving when Wheeler decided to make his decision to commit to Texas Tech.  The thing that I initially thought was Wheeler is supposed to be more highly rated that fellow commit, WR Reginald Davis although I have a tough time trying to distinguish between the two athletes and I guess this is where those that work for these types of services come into play, but to me the two of them almost seem indistinguishable in terms of athletic ability.  Davis had about 1,500 yards and 31 touchdowns while Wheeler had 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns (Wheeler did have 5 passing touchdowns, but the total is rushing and receiving).  Celebrate Wheeler, but don't forget about guys like Davis that may be just as an elite prospect as Wheeler is.

DTN FanPost and/or FanShot:  Hat-tip to miketag and RedRaid13!

The Measurables:

DOMINIQUE WHEELER
Position: WR
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals 5.9
Scout
ESPN 82
24/7 Sports 95
Ht: 6'2" | Wt: 178 lbs | Forty: 4.40
High School: Crockett (Crockett, TX)

The Player Speaks:  LAJ's Don Williams didn't talk with Wheeler, but he did check out his Facebook page which is where Wheeler announced his intent to commit.  I'm sure there are some actual quotes on some of the subscription based services, but he's committed, so it's good times. 

Offers and Rankings:  It is probably easier to figure out who wasn't offering Wheeler, but I won't do that.  There were big-time programs after him:  Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma St., Texas and Texas A&M (Some will say that UT and TAMU backed off Wheeler, but Rivals, Scout and 24/7 Sports are all showing that there is still an offer.  I honestly have no idea, but just throwing it out there.). 

Nationally, Rivals thinks that Wheeler is the #9 receiver, Scout thinks he's the #4 (and the only 5-star player on Texas Tech's commitment list and the only one I can remember in quite some time), ESPN has him as the #6 receiver and last, but not least, 24/7 Sports says that he's the #9 nationally ranked receiver.  That's good.

More after the jump.

The Video:  Film don't lie.

Scouting Report:  Incredible acceleration and elite speed.  When you watch something like Wheeler's film, you wonder how a person can be that fast and I tend to think that I would be one of the people four yards away from Wheeler grasping at his ankles.  In the 24/7 Sports highlight video, the first two plays are tremendous.  Aside from changing the course of the field, I loved how Wheeler fights for the touchdown.  It's not enough to make an incredible run, it's not over until he crosses the goal-line.  In the second play, I absolutely love how he timed his jump for the touchdown.  That's not something that's easy to learn or coach. 

There's plenty of national and state folks that are scouting and talking about Wheeler.

ESPN's Tom Luginbill:

Dominique Wheeler (Crockett, Texas/Crockett) displays terrific acceleration ability both vertically and after the catch. He is not quite as big, but he has similar qualities to Cayleb Jones after the catch. He is a fine player with natural run instincts with the ball in his hands.

Dave Campbell's Greg Tepper:

Dominique Wheeler is one of the state’s most dynamic, versatile athletes. Now, he’ll take those talents to Lubbock, as Wheeler recently committed to Texas Tech. The pride of 2A Crockett, Wheeler rushed for 1,187 yards and 16 touchdowns, threw for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 16 passes for 305 yards and 7 TDs. Wheeler is a homerun threat in the truest sense of the word. Some people are not as high on Wheeler as I am, and I recognize that; I think the 2A competition plays some role in that. But if you ask me, Wheeler is a legitimate top-tier get for the Raiders, and he’ll find a nice home in the Tech offense.

Texas Prep Stars (interestingly, Wheeler and Davis have their scouting report combined):

Wheeler and Davis spent most of their time at quarterback last season running with the ball of throwing it instead of catching it. Wheeler averaged an astounding 15 yards per carry running the ball. He has speed that on film makes everyone else look like they are standing still, especially in terms of his acceleration through trouble. He goes from first to fifth gear in the blink of an eye. Davis is more elusive with extremely quick feet and the ability to escape negative circumstances and make big plays out of certain losses.

Dominique, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2012 Class:  The receiver class is absolutely unbelievable.

Position	Commitment	Ht/Wt	School/State	Rivals	Rivals Rating	Scout	ESPN	ESPN Grade	24/7	24/7 Grade
QB	CLAYTON NICHOLAS	6-3/205	Cooper (Abilene, TX)	3	5.7	2	4	79	3	88
RB
WR	REGINALD DAVIS	6-1/185	Tenaha (Tenaha, TX)	4	5.8	4	4	81	4	91
WR	MARCUS JOHNSON	6-1/180	Clear Spring (League City, TX)	3	5.6	3	3	78	3	89
WR	DOMINIQUE WHEELER	6-2/178	Crockett (Crockett, TX)	4	5.9	5	4	82	4	95
TE
OL	CHRISTIAN OKAFOR	6-6/320	Westbury (Houston, TX)	3	5.6	4	4	79	3	88
OL	HALAPOULIVAATI VAITAI	6-5/260	Haltom (Haltom City, TX)	3	5.7	4	3	78	3	89
C	JARED KASTER	6-4/268	Rice (Altair, TX)	3	5.6	2	3	78	3	87
DL	J.J. BYNUM	6-3/275	A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX)	3	5.6	3	3	79	-	-
DL	MICHAEL STARTS	6-5/285	La Vega (Waco, TX)	4	5.8	4	4	80	4	94
DL	ANTHONY SMITH	6-0/291	Westfield (Houston, TX)	3	5.6	3	3	76	3	86
LB	MICAH AWE	6-0/210	Mansfield Summit (Mansfield, TX)	-	-	2	3	78	-	-
LB	KRIS WILLIAMS	6-2/200	Bryan Adams (Dallas, TX)	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
DB	LA'DARIUS NEWBOLD	6-1/180	Lancaster (Lancaster, TX)	3	5.7	3	3	75	-	-
ATH	KEENON WARD	5-9/176	Snyder (Snyder, TX)	3	5.5	3	3	78	-	-
Averages				2.79	4.86	3.14	3.14	72.93	2.14	57.64