Interview: California 2017 LB Sam Ness Drawing Ivy League Schools out West

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Class of 2017 football recruits are now just days away from the start of their senior season instead of months away. All the hard work from an off-season of promise is about to give way to reality. One of the many seniors ready to showcase their stuff on the gridiron for college coaches in 2016 is Arroyo Grande High School’s Sam Ness.

Ness has been a whirlwind of kinetic football energy over the past two seasons tallying a combined 255 tackles, 173 solo. His junior season was another team leading campaign in just about every major statistical category putting 139 ball carriers on the ground, eight behind the line of scrimmage with 3.5 sacks, and a pick.

With the 6’2”, 220 pound, linebacker guiding the defense, the Eagles went 11-2 last season making it into the second round of California’s high school playoffs. College programs like Fresno State, Claremont, Columbia, Yale, and Cornell, among other Ivy League schools, are all showing interest in Ness. Before Ness starts the all too critical senior year, I sat down with him for a quick one-on-one interview.

Interview

Sam, which camps did you attend this summer?

“I went to, back east for nine days camping with Yale, Cornell (offered), and Columbia. I was injured when I went back (left quad). I was only able to do work with Yale and Cornell. I did not do as well as I was hoping or as well as I wanted to do because of my quad. I sat out at Columbia, but I enjoyed the experience.

“I also went down to the Los Angeles area for a camp at Claremont. I really liked that camp a lot.”

With your quad injury, are you 100 percent yet?

“I’m close to it.”

Which schools are showing recruiting interest in you right now?

“Claremont and Trinity (Texas) are the two major players right now. All the Ivy League schools want to see senior film and the process will continue with them from there.”

Before your quad setback, what all were you working on to prepare for your senior year?

“I was working on my speed and agility the most. One of my old coaches works with me for fast-quick twitch stuff. I was doing a lot of single leg lifting trying to improve my explosiveness.”

Will we see you on offense at all this year?

“Yes. I’m getting reps in at fullback.”

Are you excited about getting sometime in at fullback?

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. I used to line up in the backfield with Sawyer (May – 2017 quarterback) in youth league football. It is fun to do that again.”

How did your junior year finish out in the classroom?

“Unweighted it was a 4.0, weighted it was a 4.6.”

Have you taken the ACT and/or the SAT and if so what did you score?

“I scored a 33 on the ACT and a 1440 on the SAT.”

Very nice.

“Thank you.”

How do the Eagles look going into this season?

“I’m liking our team. Our team is different from last year. Last year we had 22 guys with starting experience, this year we have seven. I’m confident with the team. Our young guys are really excited. Our core seniors have been playing together since our sophomore year. That group is mentoring the younger guys who are ready to go. We have a hungry team. We’re ready to get to the semis and pass that.”

Are there any games on the schedule you are getting excited to play?

“We have three major games. Week 1 (Aug. 26), our first game of the year is against Lompoc at their field. They base their season on how they do against us. We want to beat them again like we have the last two or three years. Paso Robles is another one (Oct. 7). Christian Erickson is a good running back. I’m ready to compete against him. He is fun to play against because he is a dynamic runner and a good athlete overall. Atascadero (Oct. 28), they have a good mentality on the field. They are a hard hitting team. They are a main competitor of ours in general.”

Sam, thanks for your time today and good luck with your quad in fall camp.

“Thank you.”

Photo credits: Raphotos.com; No. 45 Sam Ness drags down the ball carrier.