Star’s hoops success lifts football prospects

RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Jeremy Crabtree

updated 4:20 p.m. ET July 7, 2009

Maxx Forde of Woodinville High in Washington is the first to admit he is a football player who just happens to play basketball. But it was one of his efforts on the hardwood that underscores why he’s one of his state’s top prospects on the gridiron.

Earlier this year in a game against Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline, Forde, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end who doubles as a forward in basketball, drew the assignment of guarding Kasen Williams.

Williams is arguably the top receiver prospect in the 2011 recruiting class and already has offers from coast to coast. Williams, who is 6-1 and 196 pounds, is also a talented basketball player who excels as a slashing guard.

On this night, however, Forde shut down Williams in a game that still causes his coach to shake his head in amazement.

“You’d figure a big guy in hoops compared to a guard, yeah, maybe he’ll lose a step or so because he’s quicker at the perimeter,” Woodinville coach Wayne Maxwell said. “But with Maxx’s athleticism and his range, it was pretty impressive to see him shut down Kasen like that. He was all over him that game, and Kasen didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities that he normally does because of Maxx’s athletic ability.”

Athletic is the most appropriate way to describe Forde. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball and track), Forde is just starting to come into his own as a football player. He has never really had a chance to train for just football with his focus on other sports, but Maxwell said coaches see his frame and agility and have quickly decided that he’s a must-get player.

“You look at him, he’s got a big frame,” Maxwell said. “He’s got these long limbs, and he’s got some weight to put on still. The recruiters are looking at him, and they’re looking d-line now with the possibility he could move to the other side if he continues to grow. They’ll start him on the edge. If he could get bigger, they could possibly move him to the inside.

“You’ll have to ask him what his 100-meter time is, but it’s a pretty impressive sight to see his big butt in the starting blocks. He’s always going against all the sprinter kids. Maxx holds his own there. There’s some different coaches coming out that watch him run and are very impressed. He’s still kind of like a blank canvas as a football player, but he’s got a lot of things that others don’t have – pure athleticism.”

Forde said a lot of that athletic ability has come from his father, Brian Forde. Brian Forde played at Washington State and spent five years in the NFL after being drafted in the seventh round by the New Orleans Saints.

With his father’s background in the game, it would be easy to assume that Forde was immersed in football early, but his father kept him off the gridiron as long as he could. The move paid off because it has helped Forde develop the right way.

“I’ve always wanted to play football, but my dad wouldn’t let me until I was in the seventh grade,” Forde said. “It might have been a little bit because he didn’t want me to get burnt out on it, but he also didn’t want me to get taught bad technique by the little league coaches. So he figured it would be easier to teach me when I got older.”

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In the end, it was the right decision as Forde has learned a lot from the coaches at Woodinville and has become one of the state’s top prospects. He’s already been offered by Washington State, Wyoming, Army and Air Force and is getting heavy interest from Oregon, Stanford, Washington, Idaho and others.

“I’ve grown up a Washington State fan for a long time,” Forde said. “I’ve kind of known about the traditions they have there, but right now I like what the coaches have going there. They’ve brought in a new attitude. I felt that when I was over there for their junior day. I really like what they’re doing right now. I was excited to get that offer.

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“I’m not necessarily going to go there because my dad went there, but I can definitely see myself ending up there. I really have no idea what I’m going to do. I’ve gone back and forth with myself. When should I get this done? What I came to, basically when I feel right, that’s when I’m going to do it. So it could be a couple of days from now, or it could be all the way up to Signing Day.”