The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • C7

college, a big Sarell said. talk about that a a part of his game that refined over the past two years. Most of success has come from his sheer size and athleticism. But it was in his junior year that he said he really began to understand when to make calls at the line of scrimmage, thanks to Kurle. And Sarell learned much of his technique, he said, by working with former New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns lineman LeChar- les Bentley.

Sarell met Bentley in this past offseason at The Opening, a camp held at the University of Oregon that is comprised of most of the top high school recruits in the nation. learned a lot from said Sarell, a U.S. Army All-American. a lot of of- fensive line gurus in Washington, so learning from LeCharles Bentley really helped Mike Farell, the national director of recruiting for Rivals, wrote that performance at The Opening one of the best in the history of the But if anything like Garnett, then most of his mental maturity will come from his experience at Stanford and working with offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren. Jeffers said that Garnett only had to show up and compete at Puyallup High School and he was going to have success.

But 4A SPSL defensive linemen the same as those in the Pac-12. was a big guy in a little pond Jeffers said. clearly nobody in the SPSL was giving Foster too much of a run for his money, either. when (Sarell) shows up at Stanford that will change with coach Bloomgren and what they do. The cream will rise to the top, and Foster will get pushed and it will make him better than he already is, for Sarell is the backside blocker, so hunting for linebackers or safeties.

He jumps off the line so fast that he runs by the Puyallup safety playing inside the box before he realizes nobody to block in the third level of the defense. So he displays his unique athleticism. Sarell is two steps behind the safety after passing him. But he adjusts, turns around and levels him to the turf all before Graham-Kapowsin running back Micah Smith has burst through the hole. runs by the guy at 320 pounds or 315, depend- ing on what cheeseburger he ate that Kurle says, he still gets back on that and adjusts even though he Sarell is by far the larg- est member of his family.

His older sister, Naomi, is 5-foot-4. Sarell posed for a pic- ture with Garnett the sum- mer before entering his junior year of high school, just before se- nior campaign at Stanford. Even in that photo, Sarell, who has size 18 shoes, was bigger than 2016 Outland Trophy winner. His father, Ryan Sarell, is a 6-foot-2 Puyallup graduate and former base- ball player. He took his then 2-year-old son to a appointment, where they would spec- ulate how large Foster might eventually become.

lady looks at us and says going to be 6-7 or said Ryan Sarell, who is a real estate developer. His wife, Pam, is a teacher at Rogers High School in Puyallup. like, sure enough They put Foster in all kinds of sports. He was a pitcher and first baseman in Little League. He played soccer, football and dominated in basketball, traveling across the coun- try, playing AAU basket- ball for Team Brandon Roy.

Foster attributed his footwork to hours on bas- ketball courts. But it took time, especially because he had developed hammer toes. His feet grew so fast that his parents keeping up with buying him the right-sized shoes. Ryan Sarell said. was big and Foster started on basketball team his fresh- man year but stopped playing after that.

Instead, spent his winters training at Edge Fitness in Puyallup and continued to develop his footwork and agility under trainer Bryan Petersen. and foremost, his footwork and athleticism are Ryan Sarell said. he took that ability and cultivated it through playing a lot of sports, mainly basketball, growing Puyallup stacks the goal line and a 290-pound de- fensive tackle knifes through, head down, on the backside of the run. Sarell is pushed a step back, but he sits low and tosses the lineman to the ground, finishing in a chair-like position as Smith bounds into the end zone on the right side of the play. might think, not much of a but a great Kurle says.

is what stops a goal-line play, is the backside guys knifing through the A and gaps. cuts that off and physical enough to stop him from going, even when the big guy has full mo- mentum. strong enough to do easy to compare Foster Sarell with Garnett and grad Zach Banner, considering how dominant they were and that they all grew up in the South Puget Sound. But Huffman remem- bers his first impressions of each quite differently. He said he saw Garnett in the eighth grade and how large and strong he was and figured be a good high school player.

He saw Banner, who is listed at 6-foot-9, 360 pounds as he prepares for the NFL draft out of USC, as a freshman on the sideline. remember saying, if that kid can just walk and chew gum at the same time he had a Huffman said. But Sarell? Foster, you just went, my goodness. Look at that Huffman said. had refined footwork and tech- nique as a freshman.

It was like watching a pol- ished power forward on the football field because he moved so well. You see that in a lot of college linemen, let alone high school, and certainly not freshmen in high school. was a guy that as a freshman, you were like, left even then. Foster was as close to a no-brainer as seen at any posi- Lakes coach Dave Miller said one of chal- lenges will be to continue to not let all the hype garnered since he walked into halls get to his head. seems like handling it all pretty Miller said.

kids know how to handle that. But from what seen got a good head on his shoulders much like It seem fair. Sarell makes the call at the line of scrimmage that going to down block and crush a defensive tack- le. He blocks with such explosion and strength that the defender is on the ground just as Smith hits the gaping hole. him drop his hips and explode Kurle said.

what you want to do. opens up because of what Foster can do, getting some push on a big guy like But has Kurle ever seen a lineman, that large with that kind of explosiveness off the line? he said. Graham-Kapowsin quar- terback Dylan Morris was the ball boy when he first began to hear about Sarell. Then Sarell earned a starting spot on the offensive line as a freshman alongside Mor- older brother, center Tyler Morris. would say that Foster was a Dylan Morris said.

was just manhandling people as a freshman and was bigger than them been a freak since middle said Smith, the junior running back. was the best offensive lineman they had as a freshman. crazy senior offensive linemen were looking up to a Morris is one of many on the team who call Sa- rell because of how gentle he is off of the field. the season you are just playing football, but as the season is over and leaving for col- lege, hard to realize I got to play with such a good player like Morris added. mean No.

1 offensive lineman in the country you just see that in him because he act like that at Just as big as size, strength, speed and athleticism is his will to be great, Kurle said. knows how to pull, he knows how to step and he knows how to run block and pass block, and he knows how to study the Kurle said. can only give him a sea level of that, but the time Stanford is going to have him spending on football is going to take him to an- other level. a guy who is going to do it. a guy who I have no doubt in my mind knows he wants to be TJ Cotterill: 253-597-8677 FROM PAGE 1C NW NUGGETS I I Michael Roos, Mountain View (Eastern Washington) Selected 41st overall in 2005 NFL draft 9 votes Ray Mansfield, Kennewick (Washington) Selected 18th overall in 1963 NFL draft 8 votes Ray Pinney, Shorecrest (Washington) Selected 37th overall in 1976 NFL draft 7 votes Travis Claridge, Fort Vancouver (USC) Selected 37th overall in 2000 NFL draft 6 votes John Yarno, Gonzaga Prep, Ferris (Idaho) Selected 87th overall in 1977 NFL draft 6 votes Tony Coats, South Kitsap (Washington) Selected 209th overall in 1999 NFL draft 3 votes Bruce Jarvis, (Washington) Selected 53rd overall in 1971 NFL draft 3 votes Ed Simmons, Nathan Hale (Eastern Washington) Selected 164th overall in 1987 NFL draft 3 votes Andrew Peterson, South Kitsap (Washington) Selected 171st overall in 1995 NFL draft 3 votes Victor Rogers, Decatur (Colorado) Selected 259th overall in 2002 NFL draft 2 votes Stephen Schilling, Bellevue (Michigan) Selected 201st overall in 2011 NFL draft 2 votes Lee Artoe, Lincoln (Cal) Selected 97th overall in 1940 NFL draft 1 vote Zach Banner, Lakes (USC) 1 vote Ernie Janet, (Washington) Selected 37th overall in 1971 NFL draft 1 vote Jake Kupp, Sunnyside (Washington) Selected 116th overall in 1964 NFL draft 1 vote Jeff Pahukoa, Marysville-Pilchuck (Washington) Selected 311th overall in 1991 NFL draft 1 vote George Strugar, Renton (Washington) Selected 27th overall in 1957 NFL draft 1 vote top offensive linemen We asked for input from 26 high school football coaches from the South Sound on who they thought were the best linemen to come out of the state of Washington.

Each coach was allowed to select "ve linemen. Here are the votes: A David DeCastro BELLEVUE (Stanford) Selected 24th overall in 2012 NFL draft 17 votes Joshua Garnett PUYALLUP (Stanford) Selected 28th overall in 2016 NFL draft 13 votes Curt Marsh SNOHOMISH (Washington) Selected 21st overall in 1981 NFL draft) 12 votes Mike Utley KENNEDY CATHOLIC (Washington State) Selected 59th overall in 1989 NFL draft 10 votes Benji Olson SOUTH KITSAP (Washington) Selected 139th overall in 1998 NFL draft 10 votes Foster Sarell GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN (Stanford commit) 10 votes 1 2 3 4 4 4 Image sources: Associated Press and staff file photos DREW PERINE Foster Sarell keeps a list of football-related goals on a chalkboard in his bedroom. a guy who I have no doubt in my mind knows he wants to be Graham-Kapowsin coach Eric Kurle says about Sarell. DREW PERINE Foster Sarell walks to class at Graham-Kapowsin with his buddies. Sarell dwarfs most of his schoolmates.

From left: Beau Blowers, Sarell, Rodney Hubbard and Devin Jones. SUNDAY JANUARY 22 2017 7CSportsTHENEWSTRIBUNE.COM NORTHWESTNUGGETS.