2014 Player Spotlights: Isaiah Ross

Isaiah Ross
Leavenworth

Leavenworth's Isaiah Ross.

Position: Athlete
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 180 lbs.
Year: Senior
Film: Hudl

Player Comparisons
Jason Santifer, Olathe South (1999-2001); Erick Mayo, Lawrence (2010-2012)

The Skinny
Ross has dazzled the Sunflower League for three seasons now. That's right -- he's one of the few players you'll ever see around the league who played varsity as a freshman and will graduate as a four-year letter winner. But up until now, he's always played second fiddle to running back Jason Randall, who was a four-year letter winner in his own right. With Randall gone, Ross will firmly be entrenched as "the guy" for the Pioneers.

I categorized Ross as an athlete because it's challenging to pin him down at specific positions. Offensively, he's usually lined up as a slot receiver, but he rotates to the backfield as a twin running back in specific formations. And his junior season production -- 512 receiving yards, 287 rushing yards and a combined six touchdowns -- supports the notion he can player either position very well. Defensively, Ross plays a strong safety role for the Pioneers. He's a hard-hitter who can support the run (36 tackles in 2013), or play in coverage (he's totaled nine career interceptions).

Going forward, it's going to be fun seeing how Leavenworth head coach Mark Littrell decides to use the talented Ross in his senior season. Will he be more running back or receiver? Safety or corner? All we know for sure is that he'll be fun to watch for the fourth season in a row. And with Leavenworth dropping to Class 5A (and essentially out of the Sunflower League come district and playoff play), guys like Ross could be what gets the Pioneers deep into the playoffs.

2014 Player Spotlights: Cole Murphy

Olathe North's Cole Murphy. LJWorld.

Cole Murphy
Olathe North

Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 185 lbs.
Year: Senior
Film: Hudl

Player Comparisons
Matt Nowak, SM Northwest (2007-2009); Dylan Perry, Free State (2008-2010)

The Skinny
The old cliche is that you can't put a price on experience. But it's a cliche because it's held its value over time, especially as it pertains to quarterbacks in the Sunflower League. Murphy began the 2012 season as the starting quarterback for Olathe North, but just three games in he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. There were questions last offseason about whether he could effectively bounce back from the injury, but he answered them with high marks.

In 2013, Murphy led the Eagles to their first Sub-State appearance in three years in impressive fashion. He passed for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns, and added 808 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. His performance as a junior sparked memories of Olathe North's great dual-threat quarterback lineage -- which ranges from Josh Brewer to Jon Lamb to Mike McCall to Dustin Moomau.

Murphy can add quite a bit to his legacy in his senior season with the Eagles. The most obvious item that's missing is a state title, something each of the aforementioned quarterbacks obtained at some point at Olathe North. And that's really going to be the measure of Murphy's tenure with the Eagles. It doesn't matter if he combines for over 4,000 yards of total offense as a senior -- he won't go down in Olathe North lore unless he he takes home a state title. But with his experience and surrounding roster, he's in as good of a position to win a state title as any of Olathe North's previous quarterbacks.

2014 Player Spotlights: Adam Harter

Olathe Northwest's Adam Harter.

Adam Harter
Olathe Northwest

Position: Linebacker/Running Back
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 225 lbs.
Year: Senior
Film: Hudl

Player Comparisons
Adam Booth, Leavenworth (2002-2004); Nick Williams, Olathe Northwest (2005-2007)

The Skinny
Harter's a unique talent who, to this point in his career, hasn't really had a steady position for the Ravens. Through two seasons as a varsity starter, Harter's thrown 21 passes, made 20 receptions, carried the ball 139 times and made 32 tackles. In the early stages of his career, many expected Harter to play a Tim Tebow like role as the quarterback for the Ravens. He had quite a bit of hype, and with his size and athletic ability, it looked like he could be the next big thing on the Sunflower League scene.

But a coaching change brought in Chip Sherman, whose spread offensive attack didn't call for a dual-threat quarterback in the mold of Harter. For this reason, Harter took few quarterback reps as a junior, and mainly focused his efforts at the running back and outside linebackers positions. Those efforts saw him rush for 312 yards and four touchdowns, and record 32 tackles to go along with three interceptions and two forced fumbles on defense. Good numbers -- but nothing to write home about.

As a senior this upcoming fall, expectations from within the Olathe Northwest program are for Harter to have a breakout season. He's going to be starting on offense and defense for the Ravens, and the early reports are that he won't even leave the field for special teams. He'll get his opportunity to show the league just what he's made of in full-time duty at set positions throughout 2014.