Local coaches lead state’s top prep football players in East-West game

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

When Jimmy Saros pulls off his Grosse Pointe South football helmet for the final time in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star game July 19 in East Lansing, it’ll mark the end of one of the most prolific prep careers in the Blue Devils’ history.

The best around
Saros ended his prep football days with the second most catches ever by a Michigan wide receiver.

But Saros’ 200 catches — second to Lowell High’s Mike Koster’s 214 — came in 27 games, while Koster’s came in 40, making Saros the all-time leader in receptions per game.

Even more remarkable is that Saros did it with a different quarterback and head coach each of his three years on varsity.

Receivers coach Ryan McCartney, on the other hand, worked with him all four years.

 “He was all out every play,” the coach said of Saros, who is heading to Brown University in the fall. “The kid never missed a practice in his whole career. He’s played injured and always left it on the field, which is a coach’s dream.”

While he may have been South’s dream, he was an opposing defense’s nightmare. Saros forced double and sometimes triple coverage with his 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound frame.

“He’s by far the best that I’ve seen come through South,” McCartney said, as Saros was the first at South to be named All-State by the Associated Press two years in a row.

On the hardwood, too
Saros didn’t limit his athletic prowess to the football field, either.

In basketball, he was a two-time All-Conference selection in the Macomb Area Conference White Division and led the team in scoring (16.5 points per game) his senior year.

But it was his defense that stood out to coach Jim Twigg.

“He was probably the best defensive player that I’ve coached in my 15 years,” Twigg said. “He always had the best guy on the other team.”

Twigg said an opposing coach once joked that Saros had covered their premier player so well that he might have cost his player a scholarship.

“Whoever he was guarding knew they weren’t going to have it easy,” Twigg added.

Part of Saros’ explosiveness on the court came from playing for The Family in the Amateur Athletic Union. The squad routinely sends basketball players to major universities and then often on to the NBA.

In fact, this past NBA draft, four former members of The Family were drafted.

After earning a spot on the prestigious AAU squad, Saros played his sophomore and junior years, but sat out his senior season, so he could attended football camps.

“I knew if I wanted to make it to Division 1 football, that’s what I’d have to do,” Saros said. “I love playing football and really have my heart set on it.”

Saros was named the Blue Devils’ Most Valuable Player in basketball and football his senior year, which was also a first for a South athlete.

Leading by example
Along with earning the trust of his coaches, he was respected by his peers, as his teammates voted him captain of the basketball and football teams in his junior and senior years.

“He was a leader both vocally and through action,” McCartney said. “The kids respected him on and off the field.”

Saros not only showed a proficiency in catching the football and guarding opponents, he also worked hard in the classroom, earning a 3.5 grade point average. In the Ivy League, where Brown competes, athletes have to be accepted academically as much as athletically.

Saros was recruited by over 100 D-1 schools, but eventually chose the Bears over the University of Iowa.

“After a year and a half of recruiting, he came into my library and told me his decision,” Saros’ father, Jim, remembered. “I got up and kissed him on the forehead, and said, ‘Buddy, that’s as good of a decision that you’re going to make.’”

Jimmy Saros said he plans to study business.

“I really liked the feel that I got when I was there,” he said of Brown. “It was the perfect offense for me and an outstanding school academically. It sets me up for the best possible position for life when football is over.”

Now that high school is over, Saros said he’s going to miss the whole experience, from the school to the playing fields.

“I felt like I had a good balance socially, athletically and academically,” he said. “I don’t have any regrets.”

Saros’ father said he is most proud of the fact that through all the records and accolades, his son has stayed humble.

“He has that rare ability where off the field of play … he’s an absolute gentlemen,” he said. “On the field, he’ll take your head off, and that’s a wonderful combination.”

Or as McCartney put it, “He’s the complete package.”

You can reach Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1062.