13 Year Old Commits To USC (To be USC's quarterback in 2015)

myfoxny.com ^ | 2-5-10 | ADRIAN CARRASQUILLO

[Justaham]

The next Tiger Woods? The next Lebron James? Everyone is always looking for the next phenom. And that's why you might want to learn the name David Sills. He is a seventh grader who just gave a verbal commitment to the University of Southern California to be their quarterback - in 2015.

The six-foot-tall 13-year-old is a wunderkind in the eyes of his personal coach Steve Clarkson, who has mentored top college quarterbacks Jimmy Clausen and current USC star Matt Barkley.

The shocking commitment of such a young player is more common in sports that are less physically demanding than football. There is the issue of Sills continuing to mature physically to withstand the punishment of the highest level of collegiate football, but Clarkson doesn't foresee any problems.

[castlegreyskull]

Where is Todd anyways?

[al baby]

This is the latest i could find

April 14, 2009, 7:30 AM Todd Marinovich: The Man Who Never Was Twenty years ago, he was guaranteed to be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game of football. Engineered to be. He was drafted ahead of Brett Favre. Today he's a recovering junkie. This month he was arrested again. Scenes from the chaotic life of a boy never designed to be a man. Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/the-game/todd-marinovich-0509#ixzz0eiHknwmi

[Michael.SF.]

Todd who played for USC or UCLA

USC

Kid had more pure talent then many Pro Bowl QB's, but was a head case, that and drugs were his down fall.

Next time you see him, he just might be holding a card board sign or selling oranges at freeway off-ramps in LA.

What is the Yogi Berra line? Athletics is 90% mental and the other half physical.

[castlegreyskull]

Poor guy.

[aft_lizard]

Correct but nothing is preventing the recruit from contacting the coaches which at that point is when a verbal offer can be tendered.

[aft_lizard]

BTW This isn’t the first time this happened with Lane Kiffin:
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2009/jun/29/berrys-brother-13-picks-vols/

[copaliscrossing]

So tell us about his “stuff.” Can he throw a “cutter” inside?

I do not watch a lot of baseball but I am always amazed at all these different pitches. Years ago it was fastball, curve, maybe slider and knuckleball.

What about a sinker? Do those really exist? What is a cutter?

He is 6'2" and about 200lbs. Will be sitting at around 90mph on his fastball and 80mph on his shoulder to knees curveball. Has a nice change and a nasty 2 seam fastball that busts inside on a righty and runs away from a lefty. The Pac-10 coach and a former MLB pitcher told him his curveball is a MLB quality curveball with the break and velocity. The Pac-10 coach says his curveball is very unique from the perspective of it's flight path. Somewhere between a normal curve and a sinker. Some of the guys that he has pitched to says his ball has a lot of movement. Looks a lot like the movement a lefty has so it's really hard to track.

Nowadays, you have a TON of kids throwing as fast as they can and mix it in with a slider and maybe a weak change. This is where my son has separated himself by going with a nasty curve and a hard running 2 seamer and an above average changeup. He also locates his fastball very well.

It should be a fun run for him as long as he stays healthy.

[MarkAccord]

Yogi Berra said it best, “A verbal commitment isn’t worth the paper it is written on.”

[thefactor]

This kind of thing amuses me.

If someone is a violin virtuoso people think nothing of them saying at a young age, "I'm going to Juliard." It's encouraged.

But when it's about playing football, it's national news.

[Frantzie]

Neat. The curve sounds wicked.

Do the coaches have any feel on how the curve might affect his shoulder or arm? I wonder what guys like Shilling and Randy Johnson did to increase their longevity?? I think Randy just threw fire aka fastballs.

[copaliscrossing]

Neat. The curve sounds wicked. Do the coaches have any feel on how the curve might affect his shoulder or arm? I wonder what guys like Shilling and Randy Johnson did to increase their longevity?? I think Randy just threw fire aka fastballs.

He has been taught from about age 10 on how to throw his curveball properly and up until the last year or two he hasn't used it very much in game situations but has worked on it under the close supervision of his coaches. I have read numerous studies on this myth of curveballs being bad for your arm and the conclusion was that it was no worse on your arm than any other pitch when properly thrown. The study actually showed that overthrowing a fastball is worse for your arm than a properly thrown curveball.

As far as the old fella's like Johnson and Schilling, they went from straight gas to mixing it up and getting more movement on their pitches and also LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Kinda' like Real Estate. Look at Jamie Moyer. Probably never threw a pitch over 84 mph but located his pitches that had a lot of movement and is pitching into his mid-40's.

[copaliscrossing]

This kind of thing amuses me.

If someone is a violin virtuoso people think nothing of them saying at a young age, "I'm going to Juliard." It's encouraged.

But when it's about playing football, it's national news.

I agree with you 100%. Why do you think these "thugs" in the basketBRAWL league called the NBA and some other high profile professional leagues think they are untouchable, even by the law. Answer: That's they way they have been treated their entire lives.

Once in a blue moon we see "child prodigys" in the Arts or Sciences but not nearly like we see idolized in the field of athletics. I wish it were different.