April 23, 2008: Recruiting guru tabs Cretin's Henderson as best in Class of 2010

In 30 years of ranking high school football players across the country, Tom Lemming said he has never tabbed an offensive lineman as the top overall player in a class.

But that changed recently when Lemming, the leader of the pack when it comes to recruiting gurus and the author of Prep Football Report, named Cretin-Derham Hall offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, a junior-to-be, as the No. 1 overall player in the country for the class of 2010.

"He's a cross between Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace," said Lemming, referring to two of the best offensive tackles in the NFL over the past decade. "I don't know if I've ever seen someone that good and that big at that age, who is that kind of an athlete."

Among those previously tabbed by Lemming as top overall high school recruits: John Elway, Emmitt Smith, Randy Moss and Joe Mauer. For a recent local comparison, Cretin-Derham Hall receiver Michael Floyd, a Notre Dame recruit, was Lemming's No. 13 overall prospect this year.

Lemming, who travels extensively to combine in-person scouting with intense video study of thousands of players, sealed his decision with a recent evaluation of the 6-7, 305-pound Henderson. He already has drawn intense recruiting interest from several schools, including Ohio State, Notre Dame and Minnesota.

• Cretin-Derham Hall assistant head football coach Andy Bischoff has been hired an as assistant by Montreal in the Canadian Football League. The Alouettes' first-year coach is St. Louis Park native Marc Trestman, who coached with the Vikings and several other NFL and college teams.

• Dan Sova, a defenseman for the Hill-Murray Class 2A state champion boys' hockey team, is going to Providence for an official recruiting visit.