NW, Booker T. stars could be future Canes

What would happen if the best players at Northwestern, the nation's No. 1 high school football team, and Booker T. Washington, ranked fourth nationally by ESPN, were teammates instead of crosstown rivals?

What if Northwestern star quarterback Jacory Harris had his talented trio of star receivers in Aldarius Johnson, Tommy Streeter and Kendal Thompkins, plus Booker T.'s dangerous duo of Davon Johnson and Thearon Collier? What if a defense had Booker T.'s Brandon Harris patrolling the secondary with Northwestern's Sean Spence at linebacker and big defensive tackle Marcus Forston up front causing havoc?

''It would be cheating,'' Forston said. ``It just wouldn't be fair to other teams.''

Little by little, the dream is coming together.

Six current Bulls (Harris, Johnson, Thompkins, Forston, Spence and offensive lineman Brandon Washington) and two Tornadoes (Johnson and Collier) have orally committed to the University of Miami. Brandon Harris, Streeter, Northwestern offensive lineman Ben Jones and a few others are being pressured to be next.

Saturday when the Tornadoes (13-0) and Bulls (14-0) play in the Class 4A and 6A state championships at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively, at the Citrus Bowl, UM fans will be tuning in to catch a glimpse of arguably the most important additions to the Hurricanes' future.

It also will be a chance to watch Miami-Dade high school history. Monsignor Pace, a Miami private school, and Carol City won state titles on the same day in 2003. For the first time, two Greater Miami Athletic Conference schools will be playing for state championships in the same year.

For the Bulls and Tornadoes it could be a special ending to a special season. But for UM fans, the start to a special future.

''Playing together is something we talk about a lot, especially now,'' said Brandon Harris, a 5-10, 175-pound cornerback who is rated the 87th best player in the country by Rivals.com, regardless of position.

``We've talked about it for awhile. I've known those guys at Northwestern, Sean and Tommy, since I was in elementary school with them. I played against Jacory and Marcus in middle school. When the Hurricanes were still playing and we were all there for the games at the Orange Bowl all the guys would bring it up. How could we lose if we all played on the same team? Nobody would beat us.''

SPECIAL SEASONS

While the rest of the college and pro football teams in South Florida have been nothing short of disappointing, the Bulls and Tornadoes have been spectacular the last three seasons.

Booker T., which will take on Ponte Vedra Nease (13-1) at 1 p.m., has gone a combined 35-3 since Harris' first career start as a sophomore.

Northwestern, which will take on Orlando Boone (14-0), has won 29 consecutive games and has a chance to put together a 38-2 record in the past three years.

Larry Blustein, who has covered recruiting in South Florida since 1971 and now works for MSLCombines.net, said it is all a result of the special senior classes at both schools.

In all, he estimates there are around 50 FBS (formerly known as Division I-A) players on the teams' varsity rosters combined. He says the underclassmen on both teams are also very talented.

At Northwestern, he has been most impressed with sophomore defensive tackle Todd Chandler and junior safety Tevin McCaskill. At Booker T., he says sophomore running back Eduardo Clements and lineman Jose Jose and junior safety Natturner Harris are future stars to watch.

Blustein says there isn't a hotter spot in the country for talent than in the five miles separating the schools in Overtown (Booker T.) and Liberty City (Northwestern). Chris Lawlor, the editor of ESPN's High Elite 25 National High School football rankings, agreed when asked earlier this year.

''There's never been two great teams -- No. 1 and No. 4 in the country -- within a 10-minute drive of each other like this,'' Blustein said. ``You had Miami High and Gables in the 60s, but that was a different time.

``The closest thing to it would be a place like [Los Angeles, Texas or Oklahoma].''

HOW GOOD?

But just how good are these players? Blustein says there is a lot of potential NFL talent at both schools. But says many of them, including a few who are undersized, need to survive the difficult transition to the next level.

He thinks Jones (6-6, 270) and Streeter (6-5, 200) have NFL bodies, but Jones still needs to learn how to play tackle and Streeter is more of a complimentary, No. 2 receiver. Blustein likes Washington (6-4, 315), who projects as a guard at the next level, but says he will have to do what former Hallandale High star Davin Joseph did to ''achieve the rare feat of playing guard in college'' and making the pros.

He loves Jacory Harris' leadership ability and says Forston (6-1, 300) has talent, but needs to ``stop taking plays off.''

And he likes the speed Johnson and Collier have, but says both, listed under 6-feet, need to prove they can take hits at the next level.

His top three: Aldarius Johnson, Brandon Harris and Spence.

''Those guys have all the ingredients,'' Blustein said. ``If Aldarius isn't starting next year, I think UM's coaches are going to need their heads examined.''