By Will Marshall and Hank Rippetoe
Darius West DB
Lima Central Catholic High School
Lima, OH
Darius West Junior Year Highlights 2012:
The 5'11'' 200 pound West, was a consensus 4 star player, had 26 offers with from schools such as Notre Dame, Missouri, Pitt, Penn St., Michigan St., Miami, Louisville, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Rivals ranked him the 9th best player in the state of Ohio while also placing him in their heralded Top 250 (he's rated the 219th best player in the country). This is a Vince Marrow recruit, naturally. West committed on June 10th and helped to build the recruiting momentum over the summer.
West recently broke his leg for the second time in the last year and may be red shirted if he's unable to participate fully come fall camp. West has stated that he elected not to undergo surgery on his leg when he broke it initially, but after the second occurrence he will undergo surgery.
West believes he'll be back on the field training in 2-3 months. The concern is if this will become a recurring injury. West is a very talented player and if healthy will push existing players for playing time at the safety positions. The safety positions are currently held by starters Ashely Lowery and Eric Dixon, with the primary back-ups being Zack Blaylock and Glenn Faulkner.