Football standouts get respect from Dave Campbell’s

The Hurst L.D. Bell Blue Raiders football team may not have improved record-wise in the first season under head coach Mike Glaze, but someone who knows football saw something that impressed them.

Despite coming off a 1-9 season, the Blue Raiders have two seniors on the prestigious top players to watch at their respective positions in the annual Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine recently released.

Offensive lineman Brendon Weatherspoon and wide receiver Christion Nealy are the players featured. In addition, perennial power Euless Trinity had defensive back Cameron Jones make the list of top juniors, and senior offensive lineman Manase Mose is a preseason all-state selection.

“It is always great to be recognized, especially by such a prestigious listing,” Glaze said. “I don’t think it is important to the overall success of our team, but it does show that we have some really good talent in this senior class.”

Weatherspoon stands 6-4 and weighs 295 pounds. He is in his third varsity season and has 5.4 speed in the 40-yard dash.

Nealy, also in his third varsity season, played in six games last year. He caught 12 passes for 128 yards. Standing 6-3 and weighing 190, he has 4.6 speed.

“It’s one of my favorite magazines,” Weatherspoon said. “I love to see all the predictions.”

The magazine has Trinity picked to win District 5-6A and the Trojans are ranked 10th in the state. Bell is picked seventh out of eight teams, something Weatherspoon said only inspires the Raiders.

“There was a world of difference in our team and how we played last season even though the record didn’t show it,” he said. “The fact that we have two players on this list shows things are going in the right direction and that people are seeing progress.”

Nealy agrees.

“We never gave up, and people saw we didn’t,” he said. “We had a positive summer, and now we’re getting ready for a better season.”

While Nealy learned of the honor first from Glaze, Weatherspoon found out in a little more surprising way.

“It was on the Fourth of July. I was in my room and my dad came in. He always reads it first,” Weatherspoon said with a chuckle. “He said, ‘Hey, did you see you’re listed in Dave Campbell’s?

“And then I found out Christion is also on there. Wow. To have two players from our team is great. I love seeing this. It’s an extreme confidence booster.”

Nealy and Weatherspoon have been contacted by some colleges to play following high school. Nealy believes this could help lead to more contacts.

“It opens up the door for more colleges to notice us, and it’s added incentive for Brendon and myself, more motivation,” Nealy said.

Bell dropped two overtime games last season and had another contest slip away in the second half. Hold on for those wins and they would have finished 4-6.

Glaze said honors such as this can help instill the kind of confidence needed to make such an adjustment throughout the team.

“It should help instill some confidence in not only those two players but also into our entire team that ‘Hey, we’ve got some pretty good players on this team,’” he said.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Football standouts get respect from Dave Campbell’s."