Mesa football helps Greathouse get Pac-12 offer without ever playing at MCC
MESA, AZ – He didn't play a single down, and never even put on a Mesa football uniform, and yet 2014 Chandler/Hamilton graduate A.J. Greathouse will begin his college career in the Fall at the Pac-12 University of California thanks in large part to MCC head coach Ryan Felker.
Greathouse is one of several players that Felker has helped "get out" as it is termed before his T-Bird eligibility has expired. The term "get out" refers to junior college players moving on to four-year schools.
For MCC it began slightly more than a year ago when All-America defensive back Damarious Randall moved to Arizona State after just one year at Mesa with Felker's blessing and help. Randall started most of the season for the Sun Devils at free safety and was named third team all-Pac-12.
This year, along with Greathouse, Felker helped in the move of quarterback Bo Reilly to Hawaii without ever having played for MCC, as well as defensive back Jalen Rogers who played for the T-Birds last season and is also headed to Hawaii.
And, it's not just those with eligibility remaining. A total of 34 players from the MCC program are moving on, with another couple still possible.
And, it's not just small schools they are joining. Included on the list are the likes of USC, Purdue, Kansas, Oregon State, East Caolina and, again, Arizona State, among others.
"When we recruit kids we tell them we'll do everything we can to get them out when it's their time, whether it's now or later," says Felker. "We're not going to hide them. We're not going to not put you out there because we want to use you for a year or two.
"A lot of colleges say that, but then they don't. Other teams went into his living room and said 'in two years, when you're done playing for us, we'll get you out.' We're not that. If you are qualified, and you did what you were supposed to do academically in high school, and you play well enough to get out of here, even if it's after spring football or your first season, we will get you placed."
It is a reputation that Mesa has built after two years under Felker. The website JCFootball.com has noted that Mesa was starting to develop a good reputation as a destination spot.
In the case of Greathouse, he comes from a noted Arizona football family (His father and grandfather were stars at Arizona and Arizona State respectively) but was unrecruited as a high school senior.
"A.J. didn't really mature and was under-recruited," notes Felker. "We went after him hard because we realized what kind of ability he had."
California sent a representative to Mesa looking for defensive backs during MCC's spring practice.
"We showed them his film and it was good enough to get him a scholarship in the Pac-12. We felt he was good enough to put him in front of those coaches and they pulled the trigger."
Greathouse is appreciative of what MCC helped him accomplish.
"Coach Felker came into my school and he seemed like a coach I could work with well in the future," he explains.
After going through the spring program Greathouse got his chance with Cal and is truly appreciative.
"I expected to play at Mesa, but the coaches realized I was a good athlete and they cared about me so they got me out as soon as they could instead of relying on me for a season. I appreciate everything they've done for me."
The Mesa approach has worked well in Felker's two years in charge. A program that won a total of just seven games from 2008-11 has put together two straight bowl appearances and a spot in the Western States Football League (WSFL) championship game last season.
Despite giving up the chance to have several extremely talented players on the 2014 T-Birds, Felker feels the opportunity to show future recruits that he will always work on their behalf will only strengthen MCC in the future.