Nice article on Lazarri from
ESPN:
"Under-the-radar Corner Finds A Home In Lincoln
Lazarri Middleton (Long Beach, Calif./L.B. Polytechnic) entered his junior season at Long Beach Polytechnic High School as a starting cornerback with hopes of gridiron success to bolster his college recruitment. Unfortunately, the 6-1 corner missed some early playing time with injuries, and at a premier school like Poly, which has a history of producing NFL-caliber talent, there is usually a formidable replacement waiting in the wings.
"I got replaced by a senior, and he did real well when he went in," Middleton said. "It was hard to lose my starting job, but I just did my best when I went in as the nickel guy [on passing downs]."
Middleton had a solid year but did little to attract the attention of college scouts who put most of their emphasis on junior season production. Entering the fall of his senior year, he had no scholarship offers and his hopes of playing big-time college football seemed unlikely.
"I basically did not have enough film to show coaches and received little recruiting interest," Middleton said. "It was tough; I knew people were overlooking me. I thought I might end up at juco or something."
The No. 5-rated cornerback out of California decided to take recruiting into his own hands and did everything he could to self-promote. From sending out clips of his summer passing leagues to copies of each senior game film, Middleton worked hard at gaining recruiting exposure, while also polishing his skills as a corner this fall.
Yet through November, he was garnering minimal attention on the recruiting trail, with just two offers from non-BCS programs Southern Methodist and Idaho State. Middleton's rare combination of size and closing speed went unnoticed, despite his racking up over 60 tackles from his cornerback position and close to 10 pass breakups for his 13-0 Poly squad (currently No. 2 in the ESPN FAB 50 rankings). While we acknowledged he was a late bloomer and still a bit raw in terms of technique on his evaluation, we were still very impressed with the raw physical tools he showcased on film as an underneath corner.
We weren't alone. It might have taken a complete senior highlight film to catch his attention; but it didn't Bo Pelini long to see Middleton's special talent on film.
"In late November the Nebraska coaches left me a message, and when I called them back Coach [bo] Pelini was sitting in the room nudging one of the coaches to get on the phone with me," Middleton said. "Coach Pelini joked and said, '[the Nebraska coaches] have played me your highlight film five times already, but I told them after just the first two minutes we should offer this kid.'"
Middleton said it was "a blessing" that schools began to recognize his talents, and acknowledged that it made it all the more special that his first big offer came from a coach with such a respected defensive pedigree.
"It means a lot, and it's one of the main reasons why I committed this week," Middleton said. "With all the success he had at LSU, it's just a good feeling to know he likes me as a defensive prospect."
Middleton is the Cornhuskers' 20th commitment for 2009 in a class lacking elite blue-chippers (no ESPNU 150 prospects), but plenty deep with solid, underrated football players like the hard-hitting corner they landed this week."
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