Archbishop Mitty went 11-2 on the gridiron this past season. A big reason for that success was the No. 44 ranked football player in the NCP 2015 class, Dakari Monroe. As a junior, Monroe played all phases of the game as a running back (77 rushes, 747 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns), slot receiver (20 receptions, 419 receiving yards, 5 touchdowns), and defensive back (20 tackles, 1 interception, 2 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 fumbles caused, 1 touchdown).
At 5-foot-11 and 176 pounds, Monroe has both quickness and strength as he can run the shuttle time in 4.18 seconds, bench press 250 pounds, and squat 400 pounds. Mitty's two losses were both to West Catholic Athletic League rival Serra as the Monarchs only scored a touchdown in each loss (Monroe accounted for the lone score in the playoff loss to Serra to end the season). Monroe's season efforts earned him All-WCAL First Team honors, WCAL Receiver of the Year, and All-CCS First Team.
The rising senior will be going into his third year as a varsity starter and has been playing organized football for nine years. But that consistency still requires him to work on his craft during the summer as he says, "I work on my backpedal a lot and trying to be quicker out of my breaks. Also working on my eyes when playing the position because your eyes can help you a lot if you pay attention to the right things."
Another summer activity for football prospects is the college summer camp. Monroe's current list of camps that he will attend includes Oregon, Stanford, and USC. As for visits, he plans to tour the campuses of Arizona and Washington State during the summer.
In addition to football duties, Monroe is a versatile athlete who will be going into his third year on the Monarch varsity basketball program next season. He will be travelling with the Above & Beyond basketball club for the third summer.
Above & Beyond Coach Mani Messy says, "Dakari has been a great leader on court mainly because of his ability to communicate with his teammates, he knows every position on the court and can direct all the options out a particular play. You want to play with him as he will always find something positive to say to a teammate even when things aren't going so well for them. Additionally, he is a fierce competitor and hates to lose at anything. Liners, shooting drills, ball handling drills, you name it - he wants to be the best."
The Mitty point guard likens his basketball game to former Kentucky Wildcat John Wall because he pushes the tempo and likes to use his teammates. He also plays defense very hard and is an energy player. Monroe is a defensive point guard who does not focus on scoring, as he wants to make his teammates around him better. He considers his best skill to be his man-to-man defensive skills, similar to his football cornerback skill set.
Messy knows what it takes to be a Division I athlete as he played at Seton Hall as a forward before playing professionally in Europe for three years. Messy prepped at Saint Benedict's Prep in New Jersey and was then coached by current Rhode Island coach, Dan Hurley (older brother Bobby Hurley played at Duke and is the current coach of Buffalo & father is Bob Hurley who has over 1,000 high school wins and coaches at St. Anthony in New Jersey). Messy says about Monroe, "The thing I am more impressed with Dakari is his toughness. He has the ability as an athlete to go through a football game, practice and basketball all on the same day. As a basketball player, he has great instincts and can create off the dribble and finish at the rim without shying away from contact. He can shoot but needs improvement between shooting the long range and his in between game."
The WCAL should feature another challenging football season for Mitty. The Monarchs will welcome back former football coach Dave Brown as Matt Haniger is stepping down due to personal reasons. Monroe says about the change, "Coach Haniger was a great coach as Coach Brown will be as well. They both bring different aspects to the table but I think we will still be successful and will continue to be with Coach Brown leading the way."
After a strong junior season, colleges are looking at Monroe as a defensive back prospect. He has gotten offers from Arizona, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State, and Washington State. Schools that are showing interest include California, Oregon, USC, and Washington. "I think all of these schools are great and offer great chances for not only athletic opportunities, but academic ones as well," said Monroe.
For many high school seniors, college is an important decision from an academic and geographic perspective. Football prospects also need to factor in the athletics component as Monroe says, "I do have to look at what certain schools are recruiting me position wise, and where I see myself playing at the next level. I do want to go to a school where winning is important because that's just how my personality is built, I want to win. Also, the academic portion is very important as well and I will look in to if those schools have good kinesiology programs and criminal justice programs because those are the majors I'm thinking about."
Monroe considers his best skill to be his cover skills as he says, "The style I play is a man to man type of corner. It takes advantage of my skills because I feel I'm long and quick enough to stay with receivers. Also, my basketball background helps with the concept of guarding a man." For those who have not seen Monroe play in person, he likens his game to a former LSU Tiger, "Patrick Peterson plays a lockdown type of role in Arizona and on my team we play a lot of press man and cover 1. So, I try to watch him because he is one of the best at that."
The Monarchs had a strong season as their only losses were to WCAL rival Serra on the gridiron. In order for Mitty to avenge those losses in the upcoming season, the Monarchs will need Monroe to make more moves in San Jose, Calif.
No comments:
Post a Comment