LEAGUE CITY, Texas – At the beginning of last season, Trevon Randle appeared destined to become one of Clear Springs High School's top running backs. Except things didn't go so well in the first game.
"He fumbles the ball three times," coach Clint Hartman said. "About 4 in the morning, I made the decision he couldn't fumble on defense."
Nope. When Randle is at the linebacker spot, he wreaks havoc on the other team's offense, and that's what has him on the road to the Southeastern Conference. Randle has verbally committed to LSU after a tremendous junior season in which he had more than 170 tackles.
Randle has also impressed off the field.
"He's a December grad, so his grades are As and Bs and he's got everything taken care of," Hartman said. "Not a greater kid in the world, and that's just the truth."
Randle is speedy, and it's easy to understand why Hartman played him at tailback throughout the opener last season. That quickness, along with his 6-foot-2, 219-pound frame, helps him disrupt whatever the opposition might be doing.
"He runs a 4.5," Hartman said. "Long, athletic, rangy. I know he eats up space in the passing game. He's very physical."
Hartman expects Randle to get a little bigger after this season as he prepares for the SEC.
If his junior season in high school is any indication, Randle is a quick learner. Hartman still let him play running back on occasion, and he bounced back from that tough opener.
"He never fumbled the ball the rest of the year," Hartman said.
By then, though, he was primarily a defensive player — perhaps those fumbles worked out for the best.
"Maybe it was just God telling me, 'Don't be stupid,'" Hartman said.
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