Nick King photo

Hickman lineman Evan Conrad, left, will be challenged Saturday when he faces Gateway Tech five-star recruit Sheldon Richardson.

According to recruiting Web site Rivals.com, Gateway Tech senior Sheldon Richardson is the only five-star high school football recruit in the state of Missouri.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Richardson has received scholarship offers from schools as close as Missouri and as far away as Miami, Fla.

By comparison, Hickman 300-pound seniors Evan Conrad and Josh Harvey have one scholarship offer between them. Lining up across from Richardson tomorrow night when the Kewpies (2-4) travel to St. Louis to take on Gateway Tech (2-3), the two Hickman linemen hope to improve their recruiting status by facing a player considered among the best defensive line recruits in the country.

"It’s exciting," said Harvey, a 6-5, 325-pound three-year starter for the Kewpies on the offensive line. "Some games the D-lines we go against are small, and you don’t get anything out of it. You’re just there every play beating the crap out of them, basically. To get that even match is nice."

Considering his enormous size, the closest Harvey gets to an even match during the football season usually occurs in practice. Conrad, a 6-3, 305-pound starter on both the offensive and defensive lines, can hold his own against his bigger teammate.

Conrad	Harvey

"Evan goes hard all the time, and it aggravates me sometimes in practice," Harvey said. "We’ll be doing a drill 75-80 percent and he’ll come in and just knock me on my butt for no reason. It’s always on with him, and then I have to turn it on and come back at him."

Conrad is also an aggressive cuss off the field when it comes to finding a football scholarship. Coming off an all-state season as a defensive lineman last year, Conrad sent e-mail and film to several Division I football programs in the hopes of securing a scholarship offer before the start of his senior year.

So far, his nonstop effort on and off the field has garnered only one scholarship offer, from Illinois State.

"I don’t think I’m in the picture anywhere else," Conrad said, dejectedly. "I’m going to try to make one last little surge."

A few nice blocks on Richardson, ranked as the fifth-best defensive lineman and the top tight end recruit in the country, might help Conrad’s surge for a scholarship. Considering the freakishly agile Richardson lines up at several positions for the Jaguars, tomorrow’s game should provide plenty of opportunities for Conrad and Harvey to bump into him. He can play anywhere on the defensive line, as a tight end or running back on offense and he leads the Jaguars with seven special teams returns.

Richardson is second on his team with 34 tackles and leads the Jaguars with five quarterback sacks and 12 receptions. He’s also rushed two times for 31 yards, returned four kickoffs and three punts for averages of 25.8 and 24.3, respectively, and in a loss to Helias returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown.

"He’s 285 pounds and I would say a legitimate 4.6 guy," Hickman Coach Jason Wright said, referring to Richardson’s time in the 40-yard dash. "When he wants to play, he can play."

Same goes for Wright’s dominating duo on the offensive line. When the Hickman offense is at its best, Conrad and Harvey are clearing a path for a rotating backfield of runners that have compiled 1,055 rushing yards despite no one player gaining more than 241 yards.

In several of Hickman’s unbalanced line sets, Conrad and Harvey will line up next to each other. In some of Hickman’s balanced formations, they’ll line up on opposite sides of center Nate Meyer. Wherever they are, Wright feels pretty good about the production from his biggest linemen.

"They can get some movement; it doesn’t matter who they’re playing," Wright said. "Evan is just a guy with a high motor that loves to play the game. He’s physical and nasty. He loves to compete and loves to play the game, and I love that about him. … When Josh puts on his pads, he looks like an NFL offensive lineman."

For now, Harvey would settle for being viewed as a major-college lineman. He’s received interest from some of the same schools Conrad has pursued but has yet to receive a scholarship offer. Harvey said he’s also looking into some track and field possibilities after placing third in the shot put at last year’s Class 4 state meet.

"Josh is just a good athlete," Conrad said. "He’s big and strong and can overpower people."

Considering all of his scholarship offers, Richardson would seem to fall under the same categories. Conrad, who attended an MU football camp with Richardson in the summer before his junior year, said the St. Louis star is as good as advertised.

Conrad is sure that Richardson wouldn’t remember him from two summers ago, but he’s hoping to make a lasting impression on the blue-chip recruit - and maybe a few college coaches - tomorrow night.

"If I can play against somebody who’s supposed to be the best D-lineman or D-end in the state every game, I would," Conrad said. "It’s just more fun."

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