For every high-profile Nerlens Noel that hits the barbershop, etches a crisp school logo in the back of a high-top fade and takes his talents to college via ESPN, countless pairs of wishful eyes are glued to the television with the hopes of swapping places with one of America's top prep recruits. The underdogs.

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As a response to the turmoil surrounding the Watts Riots of 1965, the LA Watts Summer Games were established by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce. The LAWSG started in 1968, and its current mission is to "build bridges of understanding among high school youth through positive interaction, respect and achievement through spirited competition in athletics, arts and academics."

It is known throughout the world of sports that AEG wants to own an NFL franchise and build a state-of-the-art stadium in downtown Los Angeles. What has been widely ignored is the fact that either USC or UCLA will benefit directly from the presence of an NFL team in Los Angeles. AEG billionaire owner Philip Anschutz has his hands gripped tightly around the epicenter of downtown Los Angeles.

CLA Sports caught up with Damore'ea Stringfellow (WR/2013) at the 2012 LA Nike Sparq Football Camp at Cerritos College. Stringfellow currently has offers from Florida, Michigan, Washington, Nebraska, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington State, to name a few.

The combination of Xavier Johnson and Stanley Johnson has allowed Mater Dei to eat up the glass thus far in the 2012 CIF State Playoffs. The Monarchs go into Saturday's matchup vs. Mission Viejo (3/10/12) with an extreme height advantage. Mater Dei suits up 8 guys that stand 6'5" and above, while the Diablos' tallest player checks in at 6 feet 7 inches.

The talent pool of student-athletes spread throughout California’s high schools is no mystery. However, West Coast preps seem to lack the national exposure granted to other sports recruits in U.S. States throughout the South and Midwest, such as Texas, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida.

Everyone knows about Taft. You just don’t know.

Next time you’re in the Los Angeles region, take a close look into the sky beyond the haze of smog that blankets much of the area some days. If you look closely, what appears to be a bridge has slowly begun to form above the path from William Howard Taft High School to the University of Southern California campus.

Ranking high school recruits is not an exact science. Well, if you compare ranking high school recruits to how NFL players are scrutinized, it isn’t very scientific. On the morning of April 27th 2012, Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay would have helped determine the fate of the first 32 picks of the NFL Draft. Similarly, the likes of ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com compile rankings and analysis of high school recruits. The particular ranking of a recruit can significantly improve or reduce that player’s stock and be the difference between Division I, DII, DIII or less.

Watch this CLA Sports exclusive video interview featuring University of Oregon pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate De'Anthony Thomas & USC linebacker Hayes Pullard while they starred at Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, CA). Check out the post game interview, as well as highlights from the game vs. undefeated Culver City High School.

Watch this CLA Sports exclusive video coverage of Hayes Pullard while at Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, CA). Pullard led the Cougars to a record of 14-1 as a senior. High school teammates De'anthony Thomas and Marcus Martin also went on to play at the college level, with Martin joining Pullard at USC, and Thomas electrifying the world of college football at the University of Oregon.