He’s a human highlight film, a shifty 5-9, 181-lb. slot receiver with moves and explosive big-play ability. Running, catching or handling a recruiting camp interview, Braxton Berrios is a smooth as a $50 cigar.
Berrios is visiting Oregon his weekend. Last Friday he had the first high school game of his senior season for the Leesville Road Pride of Raleigh, North Carolina. Berrios smoked Durham Jordan for 204 yards on 9 carries, with touchdown runs of 52, 30, 60, and 28 yards.
Run to daylight: Braxton Berrios cuts for a 48-yard touchdown run against Panther Creek in his sophomore season (Travis Long, newsobserver.com photo).
The dynamic playmaker is one of the most sought-after recruits in the country after leading the Pride to two straight undefeated seasons and three Cap Eight 4A Championships. In 2012 he scooted for 1,142 yards on the ground, catching 38 passes for 766 yards. He’s an ideal candidate for the slot receiver/running back TAZR role at Oregon, a mature, tough football player who accelerates into creases and comes down with the football in traffic.
Pride coach Chad Smothers has made his talented senior the focal point of a rebuilding team that returns just three starters on offense and and four on defense. The coach told Caryn Grant of newsobserver.com, “Braxton’s a very talented young man, He has some God-given ability, and he doesn’t just rely on his God-given ability. … He’s an excellent team player. He’ll play anywhere we put him and will not question. He understands what we’re trying to do.”
At The Opening, a recruiting and scouting event held on the Nike Campus this summer and televised nationally on ESPN U., Berrios wowed scouts, finishing fifth overall in the field of elite recruits with a SPARQ score of 131.37. He turned in a 4.52 40 and a vertical leap of 40 inches, and the camp’s best shuttle time, 3.81.
Berrios’ ability to change direction, his great hands and tremendous competitiveness make him one of the most sought after recruits in the country. He’s sifted through four boxes of letters and fielded offers from two dozen schools, including Miami, Ohio State, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Ducks. A 4.35 student, he’s taking all five of his trips and weighing his options. After his visit to Eugene he’ll travel to Miami for their showdown with #10 Florida on September 7th, a game that will generate much more electricity than Saturday’s one-sided snoozefest against the Nicholls State Colonels.
Fans have to hope the spectacular new Football Performance Center, the offense, the team atmosphere and the coaches make a better impression than a game where the crowd lingers at the halftime tailgate and checks out early. It’ll be a beachball-tossing display of the fourth team by the fourth quarter that could threaten the Autzen Stadium scoring record of 72 points even if Oregon runs the zone read on every play of the last 20 minutes. The beachball could get stranded in rows of empty seats.
Here’s Braxton’s recruiting video, with an epic soundtrack worthy of a killing montage in “Gladiator.”
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