Irish Sports Daily

Looking for the next great offensive lineman can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Sure you can find some players who are serviceable and play the position well, but finding that dominate bulldozer who controls the line of scrimmage is rare.

The Irish have already begun to gauge the interest of some of the elite offensive line talent in the 2012 class and one who has already been in Notre Dame's sights is Lee's Summit West's (Lee's Summit, Missouri) Evan Boehm.

Boehm, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman, helped lead his team to the 5-A state championship this year and according to his father and coach, Royce Boehm, his son's dominance on the field can be attributed to his hard work and the help of someone else.

"Honestly, I think it's his natural ability," said Royce Boehm. "God has blessed him with something special that you can't coach. Even when he was young we would go to baseball tournaments, basketball tournaments and soccer tournaments and would always have to take his birth certificate with us, because they couldn't believe that Evan was at the age that he was at. We always had to prove how old Evan really was."

As the young man worked through junior high to high school, he just kept getting better though his father was still a bit pessimistic.

"Back in Evan's freshman year, my offensive line coach and defensive line coach said they believed Evan was already a varsity football player as a freshman," he said. "Being the dad I said, 'No, he's a freshman and he'll play with the freshman football team.' And that was that.

"So we are practicing the first part of the season doing two-a-days, and we had just won a state championship in 2007, so coming into our 2008 year my coaches are saying, 'Coach, Evan can play at this level.'

We had two all-state defensive tackles that year and the coaches kept begging me, 'Coach, please bring up Evan and put him against our studs.' I said, 'You know what? If you guys want to do it, do it, but I'm going to have no part of it.' So I went at the other end of the field with the quarterbacks and receivers.

"I'm watching from a distance, Evan competing against our all-state defensive tackles, and these guys are seniors. Evan, as a freshman, is driving these guys 10 yards off the line of scrimmage.

"The coaches then come down and asked if I needed to see any more and I said, 'No, I've seen enough.'

So Evan Boehm began his high school football journey by being thrown in the fire early, but when most guys would be chewed up and tossed out, he was the one dominating.

"Evan has started every game since his freshman year for our varsity football team at Lee's Summit West," said the coach. "He started at left guard for us his freshman year and also did all of our long-snapping and short snapping. Evan earned all-conference honorable mention as a freshman, then was named first team all-state as a sophomore and then this year as a junior he was named all-state again.

"He was named MVP of our offense as a lineman, and he was also chosen unanimously for the all-conference player of the year. Those type of awards usually go to to quarterbacks, running backs or receivers.

"He was up for Missouri's Class-5 player of the year and was beat out by quarterback Corbin Berkstresser (Missouri commit)."

So what makes the junior so successful? If you ask him it's simple.

"I bring an attitude to the game," said the Lee's Summit star. "I finish every block and have great footwork that helps me get to the next level very well. Off the field, I'm known as a teddy bear, but when I get on the playing field I get that attitude and out comes the mean streak.

"We won state this year in class 5-A. We beat Webster Groves (44-21), they were undefeated for two years and were ranked #23 in the nation by USA Today when we played them."

Boehm's playing style has already garnered him early offers from big-time college football programs and the Irish are starting to show him a lot of attention.

"Evan was offered by the University of Missouri after his freshman year and now with the likes of Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State," his father said. "It's just honestly a great group of schools to be honored by. Evan has a top five right now, but if Notre Dame throws an offer on the table for Evan, that would throw a wrinkle into the whole process.

"When Coach (Ed) Warinner came in a few weeks ago, he told us that Evan was one of the top five offensive linemen they are after, so he said something could be coming around within the next month or two.

"Like I said, if Notre Dame offers it will put a huge wrinkle in the whole process."

The Irish also pique the junior's interest.

"Notre Dame has great tradition," said the lineman. "I would like to visit Notre Dame in the future. If they came walking through the door, I would be very interested."

With many formidable offers on the table already for the Missouri standout, he knows what type of schools he'll be looking for.

"Most importantly, I'm going to be looking at the education," said Boehm. "I will also be looking at the tradition behind the program, the championships, the bowl games, the atmosphere and if they have that family feeling."

Royce Boehm agrees with his son's assessment and knows that Evan will soon make the next step in his football journey.

"It's a scary thing for his mother and I," said Boehm's father. "We only have a year and a half left with him. So the realistics come back to ask the question, 'Have his mother and I done everything we can to prepare Evan for the world outside of this house?' That's our jobs as parents to make sure we have done that.

"There is that day where you have to let them go, and hopefully you have instilled in them the upper powers of the Almighty to make the right decisions and the right choices."

Part of the all-state lineman's journey will take him to San Antonio next week for a big-time engagement.

"Tom Lemming contacted us and told us that Evan is in the top-50 juniors in the nation and was invited to the U.S. Army All-American combine," said Royce Boehm. "We weren't signed up for it at first, but after Lemming's call we signed Evan back up and will be going to San Antonio.

"Even with that news, we have to make sure that Evan remains very humbled, respectful and not let anything go to his head. That is mom and dad's responsibility to make sure he stays grounded."

Playing middle linebacker requires just as much brain as it does brawn. To do the job you have to make the right reads and calls before the snap, all the while dodging 300-pound linemen intent on ruining your day.

Notre Dame has one of the best in the country in Manti Te'o, but will need to have a capable replacement when his time in South Bend is done. One player who might fit the bill is Ryan High School's (Denton, Texas) Alex De La Torre.

De La Torre's ESPN profile has him at 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, but the junior linebacker says he's now 225 pounds, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.60. The Ryan standout has already been receiving a ton of attention from many of the top schools in the nation, but he doesn't plan to tip his hand to soon.

"I prefer not to say who has offered, we're kind of keeping that closed up until the season is over," De La Torre said. "I am receiving mail from Texas, Notre Dame, Auburn, Miami (FL), Florida State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and people like that.

"I'm interested in Notre Dame, because they have a lot of tradition and one of my dad's best friends is the linebacker coach, Kerry Cooks. He grew up with him and with him being the linebacker coach, I'm kind of interested."

Plenty of teams will be hoping to get the Texas standout to their campus this summer and though he doesn't know much about Notre Dame he would like to see what they have to offer.

"I haven't been up there," said De La Torre. "But I'm hoping to try and make it sometime. This spring, I'm going to try and make it to all the colleges and see whats going on, meet all the coaches and see the campuses and everything."

So what will he look for in colleges before narrowing down his list?

"I want to picture myself being there for four or five years," he said. "Because you want to stay somewhere where it feels like home. So family atmosphere, great coaches and great people around you are definitely going to be a factor.

"Of course academics is important. I want to major in business so I'll have to look into all of that. I will also look for great tradition and a great football team.

"I grew up being a Texas fan, but being recruited by all these different colleges you have to take a different outlook on different schools. You have see the positive side of all the colleges trying to recruit me."

De La Torre's playing style helped lead Ryan to a successful 15-1 record this year and a state championship appearance.

"I try and be the best leader I can," said the junior. "I always try to be around the ball. My coach always says, 'You always have to have population around the ball to be able to be a great defense.'

"We have some good guys on defense, so we swarm to the ball and I believe my closing speed, pass rush and run stop are pretty good."

So now that his season is over, the Ryan linebacker knows that the work is just beginning.

"I'm going to focus on getting bigger, faster and stronger," he said. "I'm just going to train for football this offseason instead of playing any other sports."

Last year, Notre Dame went into North Carolina and picked up the commitment of a big-time linebacker prospect by the name of Kendall Moore. What many don't know is that Kendall isn't the only Moore sibling that could get a chance to play Division I football. The other one lines up at wide receiver and is Kendall's brother, Jon Moore.

The wide receiver from Middle Creek High (Apex, N.C.) stands 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and even though they were so close in age, they rarely were on the same team at any time.

"We went to the same middle school, but we never really played together because we are two years apart," the younger Moore said. "We had the chance to in high school, but he went to Southeast Raleigh (Raleigh, NC) and I didn't want to go there, so I went to Middle Creek (Apex, NC) and we never really played with each other.

"We almost played against each other last year in the playoffs and that would have been fun. He would have been actually guarding me because I was playing in the slot and he would of manned up on me.

"So we never really played with each other, but I think playing together would definitely be real fun for me with him on defense and me on offense."

For that scenario to happen, Moore would have to earn an offer from Notre Dame and, though he doesn't at the moment, it doesn't stop him from wondering what if.

"I have no offers yet," said the junior. "I'm receiving interest from the local schools like North Carolina State and Duke. Those are the main schools around the area. I also have received information from Clemson, Nebraska, LSU, and Tennessee.

"My brother was back home for Christmas and said Notre Dame had been asking about me. He was going to take my highlight tape back for them, but it isn't done yet. It should be done in a couple of weeks.

"I would love to play for the Irish and tag-along with my brother. That would be real nice."

With his brother playing for the Irish already, Moore and his family have been to South Bend a few times to see the sights.

"The campus is great. I have been up there a couple times because of my brother," said Moore. "The campus is really nice. Actually, when my brother went up for his official visit when they played USC last year, that was a pretty intense game. That was probably one of the best college games, even though they lost, that I had been at.

"The indoor facilities are amazing. I've never really seen anything like that. The atmosphere is real nice. I mean you can't really get much bigger than Notre Dame. Overall, I really liked it and I know a lot of the freshmen there and I hung out with them a lot. So again, it was a great experience and I really like Notre Dame."

The Middle Creek star has been working hard in the classroom also, compiling a 3.4 grade-point average, and knows when it comes time for his decision, grades will mean everything.

"Academics is going to be a big part of it," he said. "I don't know the percentage, but not a lot of players make it to the league, and I definitely want to have a backup plan. Notre Dame is on TV every week and I always wanted to play on TV.

"I love the fans and I know my brother loves that also. It's just the fans they help you out. Even when you're going through a drought you can just close your eyes and when you open your eyes, you see so many people cheering for you, it gives you pride and really makes you want to play."

With a lot of good schools already showing interest, Jon Moore credits another sport with helping his development on the gridiron.

"I'm a possession receiver pretty much," said the talented North Carolina receiver. "The thing with me is I'm always going to catch the ball, that's my main thing.

"I really learned how to catch the ball in basketball. Believe it or not, basketball really helps your catching ability out. I bring to the game a lot of emotion, I love to win and I'll do anything for the team whether it's blocking or anything."

Moore believes his decision on a school might come sooner rather than later once the offers start rolling in.

"I will probably get it out of the way before my senior season, so I can focus on my team, my senior season and trying to win it all," he said.

So if the Irish offer him?

"They would be in my top five, no doubt."

Kyle Bosch's recruitment thus far hasn't been unusual, except for one major fact.

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound lineman from St. Francis High School in Wheaton, Ill., is receiving mail and taking unofficials visits like most underclassmen do.

Bosch has been getting mail from Ohio State, Arizona, Purdue, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas Tech, Penn State, Iowa and Notre Dame. He's taken two unofficial visits to Purdue and also been to Ohio State and Arizona as well.

"They were awesome," Bosch said of his unofficial visits. "I loved it, it was fun. They had buffets and stuff, introduced us to the academic coordinators, offensive and defensive coordinators, recruiting coordinators. Got to go on the field for warmups. Got to see the facilities. It was a good experience.

"I'm going try to take a couple more visits. I'm going to try to get to a couple camps this offseason. I'll probably do a lot in June. I'm probably going to go to Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and possibly Arizona and Oregon."

So what's unusual about Bosch's recruitment?

"I haven't seen another sophomore on any of the visits," he said.

Bosch is a Class of 2013 recruit.

Bosch's size and athleticism has attracted the early attention from college coaches along with his attitude.

"They like my motor," Bosch said of what college scouts have told him. "They like how if the play is away from me, I keep pursuing. The Arizona coaches liked that if I pancake somebody, I don't call it quits then, I keep going down field to find another person to run over. Let's say the running back is 30 yards down field and there's another guy coming, who looks like him might be able to get him, I'll probably lay myself on him instead of trying to cut him off."

It's that same attitude that pushes the sophomore to work out at six o'clock every morning during Christmas break.

"I like having that pressure on me because it always makes me want to go to the gym," he said. "It's good to have that because you're going to wake up in the morning like, 'Well, I don't feel like working out today.' Then you think about that. 'The coaches are going want you to be in shape, they're going want you to be strong. They're going to want you to be big, so you've got to push yourself.' I like that pressure."

Bosch doesn't plan on having that pressure push him throughout his high school career.

"I'm aiming for either by the end of my junior year or beginning of senior year," he said of when he hopes to make a decision. "I'd like to get it over before my senior year just so it's not a distraction."

Bosch played basketball his whole life, but gave it up to concentrate solely on football. He gained about 25 pounds since quitting hoops and pushed his bench and squat numbers up significantly.

Arizona has already told him that they view him as an offensive linemen, but other schools haven't decided yet.

"If I grow another inch, I'll probably play left tackle," Bosch said. "If I just stay at 6-5, I'll probably play defensive line or guard."

Bosch doesn't have a preference.

"I used to love defensive line and I hated offensive line, but I've come to love it," he said. "Quite honestly, I'm in love with both positions."

Bosch is already thinking about the factors he will be looking for when it comes time to make a decision.

"I'm looking for a place where I can get a good education for after football," he said. "Even if I'm lucky enough to play beyond college, football ends at some point. It ends for everyone, even Brett Favre is going to stop at some point. We can't keep playing forever, as much as I love playing, you need something to fall back on.

"I'm also going to be looking for a good student life and good facilities, which is another big thing. If there's a sophomore All-American left tackle there, I probably won't go there because he'll probably start junior and senior year."

Bosch attended Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game in April and camped at Notre Dame this summer when he got the chance to talk with some of the Irish coaches. Notre Dame has been in touch since.

"I got a couple things from Notre Dame, not as much as I want," he said. "I want more. That's one of my top schools. I'd love to go to Notre Dame.

"The environment. The social environment and the school environment and just the football as a whole there. Everybody knows a bout Notre Dame football and it's a great tradition there. I'd love to be a part of it."

With the Irish coaches trying to finish up their 2011 recruiting class while starting to build relationships in the 2012 class, it'll be interesting to see how much time they find for Bosch and any other top 2013 prospects.