'14 FL OLB Dillon Bates (Verbal Offer)

[Jiggafini19]

Outside Linebacker
Ponte Vedra (FL) Ponte Vedra

Ht:6'3"
Wt:218 lbs
Class:2014 (High School)



http://rivals.yahoo.com/notredame/fo...rEeNMqBf1VtJB4

http://247sports.com/Player/Dillon-Bates-22535?pi=35545

Tennessee legacy has offers from Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, South Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest with interest coming from Clemson, Ohio State, Texas and Tennessee.

[irishunclebill]

Offered by ND today.

[Jiggafini19]

[NDAlumSon]

That's a pedigree right there.

[zimmsbg78]

Florida has verbally offered.

[zimmsbg78]

Junior year.........

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/134720/#highlights/19894432

[zimmsbg78]

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1457379 (free with video interview at bottom of page)

Rivals.com named Gallatin (Tenn.) Station Camp four-star wide receiver Josh Malone the offensive MVP and Ponte Vedra, Fla., four-star outside linebacker Dillon Bates the defensive MVP.

Bates, the son of three-time Super Bowl champion and former Cowboys safety Bill Bates, was especially dominant during one-on-one drills, a difficult task for any linebacker against speedy running backs running right at him.

The four-star prospect will have many options in recruiting. His father played at Tennessee, and Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Ohio State have been mentioned.

Surely, SEC and ACC schools closer to home will get involved, especially after hearing reports of Bates from the Army Combine.

"Bates had an amazing combine working out as a linebacker," Rivals.com national analyst Mike Farrell said.

"You can tell his coverage skills in space from playing safety translate closer to the line of scrimmage, but his instincts are what separate him. He has a feel for the game and for what his opponent is going to do, and he jumps routes and closes on the ball as well as anybody.

"He had a near interception on his first rep, a pick on the second I saw, and after that there were many pass breakups. He has the bloodlines, of course, and maybe that's where the instincts come from, but he also has a great frame, good speed, and a year from now he'll be a good-size linebacker who can cover wideouts."

[HoffVir]

Bates Still Eyeing ND Trip



Monday, 28 January 2013 08:38 Christian McCollum . .By just about any way you could measure it, Dillon Bates’ trip down to San Antonio earlier this month for the U.S. Army All-American Underclassmen Combine was a complete success.

“I went down there, put up some good numbers, did really well in one-on-ones and came out with the defensive MVP and a spot on the team for next year,” the 2014 Florida linebacker said.

“It really means a lot just to know the caliber of players that have come out of that game. Just to know that I’m right up there with them is really, really crazy. It’s really humbling to know that I’m right there with them. It was really cool to have that honor.”

The 6-foot-3, 218-pounder from Ponte Vedra High School (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) didn’t know that MVP awards would be handed out, but definitely had his eye on earning an invitation to next year’s Army All-American Bowl.

“I was obviously ultimately trying to get on the team for next year, but I also wanted to showcase my talent, play against top competition and know that I can compete on one of the biggest stages with the best talent in the country,” he said.

He definitely did that en route to claiming MVP honors.

“From what I’ve seen, they liked how I performed in one-on-ones,” Bates said of what analysts saw in naming him MVP. “I could have four picks, but I dropped a few. I had pretty good numbers. I had a 4.57 in the 40, a 35-inch vertical and a pretty good shuttle. The combination of both, I feel like I put up good numbers and feel like performed pretty well.”

Bates is the owner of an already-impressive scholarship list that includes Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Virginia among others. Since the bowl season wrapped up, several programs have visited Ponte Vedra.

“In the past few weeks, we’ve had a lot of schools come by just to see us,” said Bates.

Irish assistant Tony Alford is expected soon.

“I’ve been in contact with him and he’s been telling me he’s trying to get down here as soon as he can,” Bates said.

Bates almost made a trip to Notre Dame in November, but wasn’t able to make it. Instead, he’s looking into visiting South Bend sometime soon.

“Hopefully sometime during the spring I can get out for a spring practice,” said Bates. “From what (Alford has) told me, it’d be best for me to come individually so it’s not a big, huge group with 100 guys. He said the best bet would be for me to come during a spring practice, so I can get a feel for what it would be like to be an athlete there and be on campus with everybody else.”

Bates is honored by the Irish’s interest and offer.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “With Notre Dame being such a high caliber school with high caliber talent and all of the tradition that comes with Notre Dame and the legendary players from Notre Dame, it’s really humbling to know how much they care about me and want me to be a part of the program.”

Bates, the son of former Tennessee and Dallas Cowboy standout Bill Bates, has already scheduled a couple unofficial visits for the coming weeks.

“We set up one for Tennessee (this weekend),” he said. “There’s a Junior Day Feb. 2nd.

“We’ll probably set up one with Florida, hopefully Alabama and Ohio State for sure.”

http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/recr...eyeing-nd-trip

[zimmsbg78]

Virginia Tech has verbally offered.

[Purebred Irishman]

Jake_Brown: 2014 #Rivals250 LB Dillon Bates. RT @dillonbates: Picked up my #27 th offer from UCLA today! #BruinNation