Clarion Ledger Article:
Derek Pegues spent a week last summer participating in a football camp at Notre Dame and meeting with coaches at Michigan.
While Pegues enjoyed his trip, the South Panola star won't be joining his relatives in South Bend or any other distant location in the near future.
After dropping Tennessee and Alabama, Pegues — the No. 1 prospect on The Clarion-Ledger Ten Most Wanted list — has narrowed his choices to Ole Miss (30 minutes from Batesville), Mississippi State (2 hours from home) and LSU (5 hours). He's slated to visit Starkville this weekend, Baton Rouge on Jan. 21 and Oxford on Jan. 28.
Signing Day is Feb. 2.
"I'm just going to pick where I feel most comfortable," said Pegues, a dynamic 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior who led South Panola to back-to-back 15-0 seasons, Class 5A state championships and Top 10 national rankings by USA Today as a junior and senior. "Some of those schools were probably too far away. It's wherever I fit in and feel like I'm home."
Pegues seems certain of at least two aspects of his recruiting: He's eager to hit the field as soon as possible; and he wants to play cornerback.
"Tennessee started two freshman cornerbacks and was recruiting like five more," Pegues said, "and Alabama wanted me to play running back. I really feel like my position in college should be cornerback if I want to make it to the NFL."
Pegues has a successful role model in former South Panola quarterback Deshea Townsend, who shifted to the secondary at Alabama and is in his seventh season as a defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Townsend, who sparked the Tigers to a perfect 15-0 season in 1993, shares some of his football knowledge in his frequent telephone conversations with Pegues.
Although Ricky Woods didn't arrive at South Panola until 2002, he wouldn't be surprised to see Pegues duplicate many of Townsend's accomplishments. In his final high school game, Pegues delivered one of the most memorable performances in this state's championship history by racing for 244 yards and five touchdowns in a 39-21 victory over Ocean Springs.
The sturdily-built Pegues pushed up 350 pounds on the bench press as a junior, an almost unheard of total for a prep athlete his size. His phenomenal speed — Pegues was clocked at under 4.4 seconds over 40 yards — helps explain why his nickname "Smoke" (jokingly given last year by South Panola assistant Trenell Edwards) caught on so quickly.
"Derek's really got everything," Woods said. "He's the fastest player with the ball in his hands that I've ever coached. As far as his size, I've always said it's sort of like Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse. Everybody looks at him and says, 'I thought you'd be a lot bigger.' But Derek's muscled up underneath that shirt.
"What really separates him is that he's just so smart. You don't have to tell him anything but one time. What we do on offense is simple, but he had to check a lot and read a lot of defenses. He did an excellent job. He never put us in a bad play."
Pegues enjoyed success in the classroom, too. He reports a 2.9 grade-point average and 18 on the ACT, putting him on track to be eligible as a freshman.
Although Pegues plans to play defensive back in college and in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 15 in San Antonio, his career on offense isn't over just yet. Woods intends to line up Pegues at tailback for the 18th annual Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Classic on June 4 in Mobile.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Pegues, who rushed for 1,659 yards and intercepted five passes in 2004. "I've been coached most of the time at quarterback, so I feel like I've got a lot of room to improve."
The big question remains: Where will he be doing that improving next fall?
After his Dec. 15 hiring at Ole Miss, Rebels coach Ed Orgeron wasted no time making a trip to Batesville to meet Pegues, who initially had dropped the school from his list after David Cutcliffe was dismissed Dec. 1. This weekend in Starkville, Pegues will be the only recruit on an official visit, meaning he's sure to get plenty of attention from MSU coach Sylvester Croom.
"I met Coach Orgeron and he seemed like a pretty live guy," Pegues said. "He seemed like he can turn the program around. I've got some boys on the team, too.
I haven't met Coach Croom in person, but he seems like a real straightforward guy. He has a lot of NFL connections and there's a chance to play right off.
"But right now, there's no leader."
If Pegues sticks with his plan, fans from all three of his choices may be kept waiting all the way until Signing Day in 3 1/2 weeks.
"I just want to make people sweat," he said with a laugh.
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