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CEDAR HILL, Texas -- A friendly reminder to those trying to frustrate Fort Worth (Texas) Southwest's Robbie Rhodes with trash talk: Don't.

While you might think your verbal jabs are working, all you are really doing is hyping up one of the fastest and most explosive receivers in Texas. And you'll end up eating your words real soon.

"People talk trash but they are just making it harder on their defense," Rhodes said. "God bless them."

Dallas Skyline sophomore linebacker Cameron Hampton was the latest to figure that out during pool play of the Dallas Under Armour Sevens on Saturday.

Hampton, one of the state's top sophomores, engaged in a little friendly banter with Rhodes throughout the 30-minute game. Rhodes barked back a few times but made his biggest statement with three touchdowns in Southwest's victory.

Read the full story here.

ESPNHS profiles Dallas Skyline quarterback Devante Kincade, who has gained attention since he was named MVP of the Dallas Elite 11 regional.

IRVING, Texas -- The excitement of the Nike Football Training Camp had the wind taken out of its sails momentarily when ESPNU 150 Watch List wide receiver Ra'Shaad Samples went down with a lower left leg injury Sunday at the Cowboys' training facility.

Samples, one of the nation's most highly touted receivers, sustained the injury at the end of a play against a camp defender. The severity of the injury is still unknown, but Samples was carted off and greeted by the cheers of receivers, defensive backs and onlookers.

"It looks like it's a severe ankle injury," said Reginald Samples, Ra'Shaad's father and the coach of the Skyline football team. "We'll know more on Monday or Tuesday. Everything is shut down for now, so we didn't get a chance for a full evaluation.

"He's got a plastic cast on for now. He's wearing a little wrap and some cloth on it. We will go in Monday and see what the doctors say."

Prior to the injury, Samples was having the kind of camp worthy enough to be considered the MVP of the receivers. He is currently balancing 33 offers from schools such as Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Cal, USC and Washington.

UPDATE: Samples is out 3-4 months with a fractured fibula. Read more here. (Insider)

Read more about the Nike camp here.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Halfway through Saturday's Nike Elite 11 camp, coach and ESPN personality Trent Dilfer issued a warning to those quarterbacks who were lackadaisical going through the motions of the drills.

In his opinion, they needed to get on the same level of intensity demonstrated by Dallas Skyline quarterback DeVante Kincade, because he was putting distance between himself and the rest of the pack for the camp MVP honors.

The intensity rose but none could catch up to Kincade, who picked up the first invite to the national Elite camp in July with his MVP selection.

Five quarterbacks were selected to participate in a final two-minute drill simulation at the end of the camp, which included Kincade and Southlake Carroll quarterback Kenny Hill.

Click here for more information on Kincade's elite performance.

Dallas Skyline just keeps cranking out linebackers who can play at the next level.

Since 2006, 10 linebackers from Skyline have signed with FBS programs, including two from the class of 2012 -- Peter Jinkens (Texas) and Domenic Spencer (Central Florida).

Junior Isaiah Williams has been inspired by the linebackers who preceded him at Skyline and looks to keep up the tradition.

"When I first got here, it was pressure, but growing up and seeing what the great linebackers did, I see that this is easy if I do what they did," Williams told ESPN.com Midlands Recruiting writer Damon Sayles. "I see guys like Corey Nelson, Anthony Wallace and Nigel Robertson, and being next in line, I feel I can fill those shoes -- maybe even bust them."

Click here to read Sayles' story on Williams and Skyline's linebacker tradition.

DALLAS – The Dallas school district holds an annual signing day ceremony on the first day of the NCAA football signing period in which they showcase all of the football and basketball recruits -- from FBS signees to junior college signees. Linebacker Domenic Spencer (Dallas Skyline) wasn’t a part of that ceremony.

On Thursday, Spencer had his own ceremony, as the 5-foot-11, 215-pound outside linebacker proudly wore his Central Florida ball cap in front of family, friends, coaches and teachers. Spencer is Skyline’s 13th college signee of the 2012 recruiting class. He’s also the 11th Skyline linebacker to sign an FBS scholarship in the last seven years.

“It feels real good to finally take this load off my back,” Spencer said. “My brother’s in college, and my mom and dad are paying for him. It feels good that they don’t have to pay for me and that I have guaranteed four more years to play football, Big East football at that.

“It was hard for me not being able to sign on signing day. My mom and dad just told me to keep praying. They’re prayer warriors, and everything worked out.”

Spencer had offers from Navy and FCS national runner-up Sam Houston State, which is where his older brother, Desmond, attends college. Spencer also received interest from UTEP, SMU, UNLV, North Texas, Texas State and Nevada. Recruited by UCF director of player personnel Drew Hughes and linebackers coach Tyson Summers, Spencer is expected to play outside linebacker for the Knights, and he is expected to be the only Texan on the roster.

Spencer committed to UCF on Feb. 13, 12 days after national signing day. Prior to committing, Spencer visited Orlando, Fla., and the UCF campus. He was hosted by freshman linebacker Troy Gray, and Spencer said Gray and the rest of the players were a big reason why he chose to play for the Knights.

“Their players are a family. They really bond down there,” Spencer said. “When I went down there, we were all one big group. They didn’t think about partying; they think about how they can help each other on and off the field. We played video games all night talking about what we can do to get better.”

Spencer had 145 tackles and five sacks during his senior year. Spencer is expected to play outside linebacker but can also play middle linebacker if needed. As a junior, he lined up at defensive end and recorded 13 sacks. Spencer additionally was a defensive captain for this year’s team, which went 14-1 and advanced to the Texas Class 5A Division I state semifinals.

“He was a leader, and he was not afraid to redirect his players … but it was OK, because it was never in a way that was negative,” Skyline coach Reginald Samples said. “Sometimes, it’s good for the team, because there were some who didn’t have the courage to speak up.”

Spencer said he plans on majoring in education and hopes to be a college football coach after finishing college – if a professional football career isn’t in the plans.

Damon Sayles covers Midlands recruiting for ESPN Recruiting. He can be reached at dsaylesespn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSayles

WYLIE, Texas -- From the opening tip, Skyline controlled its bi-district matchup against McKinney Boyd (15-20), claiming a 60-30 win.

Skyline (28-4) excelled at finding and hitting high-percentage shots in the paint, which made up the majority of the Lady Raiders' points.

The Lady Raiders opened up the game on a 6-0 run that consisted mostly of transition layups after turnovers forced by Skyline’s man press.

“We wanted to keep the pressure on from start to finish,” Skyline coach Cassandra McCurdy said. “We kind of eased up a little in the third quarter and they came back around, but I was proud of the defensive effort.”

The remainder of the game was flashes of transition buckets and dishes into the post for Skyline, whose game plan was to exploit the post with its height advantage.

UIL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Boys brackets: 5A »   4A » Girls brackets: 5A »   4A » State tournament: Girls » Boys »

“We felt like if we got our posts some touches, we would come out on the victorious end,” McCurdy said. “We felt like we had the height advantage so that’s one of the things we emphasized was trying to get it inside.”

Skyline’s rebounding in the second half became slightly lethargic, allowing Boyd to tally a few more points in the final frame, but never enough to threaten the lead.

Skyline forward Stabresa McDaniel led both teams in scoring with 18 points. Four Skyline players finished in double-digits in scoring.

Skyline advances to the area round to play Mesquite who beat College Station's A&M Consolidated in the bi-district round.

DALLAS -- Lake Highlands' boys basketball team (17-13, 8-5 in 9-5A) planned to exploit its height advantage over Dallas Skyline (14-14, 8-5) in the teams' first meeting this season.

It didn’t pan out for the Wildcats in a 63-58 loss the first time around.

Friday, Lake Highlands couldn’t help but try to get the ball to its bigs down low, and this time it worked perfectly in a 79-59 home win.

Post James Lonergan used his long frame to knock down a game-high 27 points for the Wildcats, 12 of which came in the third quarter. He fell one rebound short of a double-double.

“We put in a good week of practice working on that and making sure we could get the ball down low,” Lonergan said. “Working it down low seemed to space it out for everyone.”

That included guard Nate Welty, who sparked the Wildcats' 11-2 run to begin the second half that ultimately put the game out of reach.

Welty drained a 3-pointer just seconds into the third quarter and followed it with a behind-the-back pass to Lonergan on a breakaway that led to an easy layup for the big man.

“I had no idea it was coming,” Lonergan said. “I saw it last second and thought it was about to hit me and didn’t know what was going on, but it worked out. He’s very slippery in the post and can make some great passes.”

Welty added 15 points for the Wildcats.

The win complicates things in the middle of District 9-5A, putting Skyline and Lake Highlands in a tie for third place. Both teams have one more game to play; Lake Highlands against Richardson and Skyline vs. W.T. White.

If Lake Highlands and Skyline both finish the final game with the same result, it would force a tiebreaker between the teams.

If that situation arises, both coaches would agree upon a tie-breaking scenario, either playing another game or flipping a coin.

Lake Highlands coach Rob Wylie said he wasn’t sure which he would pick if the cards fell in a tie, but he said there are some disadvantages to playing another game for third- and fourth-place seeding.

“If it was for a district championship you’d probably see us play a game, but you might see a coin flip since it’s just for seeding," Wylie said. "I’m not real sure at this point. The problem with a game is everyone who is going to see you in the playoffs is up in the stands, taking down everything you’re doing, but in general, you’d like to decide it on the court.”

What we got right: Almost all of the girls teams in last week's polls did what they needed to do to secure their positioning. All the teams in 4A remained the same.

What we got wrong: Dallas Skyline took an unexpected, nondistrict loss to THESA (home school), dropping the Lady Raiders to No. 10 in the 5A poll. In 4A, Rockwall caused a shake up after taking a one-point loss to McKinney North. The damage, however, was not as severe, dropping Rockwall to No. 6.

Say hello to: 5A - Sachse; 4A - Nobody

Say goodbye to: 5A - Arlington Bowie, 4A - Nobody

Your turn: Use the comments section to let us know what you think about these rankings.

Click here for boys rankings

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas -- Notes from 2012 reclassification and realignment day.

*Say goodbye to the chance of Euless Trinity-Allen and DeSoto-Dallas Skyline second-round playoff meetings that have become a fixture in recent seasons. Allen’s move to Region II and DeSoto’s move to Region I mean a playoff renewal couldn’t happen until the fifth round next year.

*The District 7-5A playoff teams could be looking at a bi-district trip to Central Texas. It will be facing teams from 8-5A made up of four Killeen schools, Belton, Copperas Cove, Temple and Waco Midway.

*Plano East coach Johnny Ringo thought he had taken every precaution in setting up his nondistrict schedule prior to Thursday’s realignment. But there he was, struggling to find a game after landing in a six-team district. “I was ready if we’d been put in a seven-team district, but I didn’t see six coming.’’ When last seen, Ringo was on the phone, scouring the San Antonio area for a potential opponent.

*Lake Travis’ run of five straight Class 4A state titles ends with its promotion to Class 5A.

*Look for some scheduling problems in District 4-5A, which features four Keller schools that share one stadium.

*Landing in a six-team district is no big deal for Flower Mound coach Dane Johnson, on the job for only two weeks. At his previous stint at Class 3A Boerne, Johnson said six-team districts were all he knew.

*Corsicana’s move to the East Texas-flavored 16-4A ends district rivalries with Waxahachie and Ennis.

*Amarillo, the Class 5A program with the most wins all-time, drops to Class 4A. Plano will take over the top spot in wins in 5A and Amarillo will be second to Highland Park in 4A.

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas -- The makeup changed very little or not at all in four of the area’s nine Class 5A districts at Thursday's UIL reclassification and realignment.

*The current District 4-5A (five Arlington schools, Fort Worth Paschal, North Crowley and Weatherford) remained intact but, because of district consolidation in West Texas, changed its number to 3-5A.

That’s an agreeable change, said Anthony Criss, football coach at Arlington Sam Houston and former Arlington ISD assistant athletic director.

“It’s great for Arlington because it means we stay in the area for first-round playoff games instead of going to West Texas,’’ Criss said. “We’d still go west once, but not until the second round.''

*The current District 5-5A retained seven of its eight members in the new District 7-5A: Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Grand Prairie, South Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Mansfield Timberview. The only change is Mansfield Legacy drops down to Class 4A and powerhouse DeSoto takes its place.

“A tough district just got tougher,’’ said Grand Prairie coach Gary Bartel.

*In District 9-5A, Dallas Samuell dropped to Class 4A and was replaced by Richardson Pearce, which is moving back up to 5A. The other seven members are unchanged: Dallas Jesuit, Dallas Skyline, Dallas Sunset, Dallas W.T. White, Richardson, Richardson Berkner and Lake Highlands.

“I wasn’t sure Jesuit would stay in,’’ said Skyline coach Reginald Samples. “In fact, we had agreed to play them in a nondistrict game if they weren’t in our district.’’

*The seven Garland ISD schools that made up 10-5A in the last realignment are now without McKinney Boyd as they go forward as District 11-5A with this lineup: Garland, Garland Lakeview, Garland Naaman Forest, North Garland, Rowlett, Sachse and South Garland.

DALLAS -- Hidden behind the fanfare that surrounded Dallas Skyline receiver Thomas Johnson’s signing day selection of Texas A&M was one of the largest signing groups in North Texas.

Skyline football had 14 student/athletes sign national letters of intent Wednesday in front of friends and family at the high school.

The Raiders' other ESPNU 150 athlete, No. 57 Peter Jinkens, inked his pledge to play for the Texas Longhorns next year. It is the seal to a commitment Jinkens made well before the beginning of his senior season.

“I’ve been dreaming about going to Texas since I was little. It’s like a dream come true. Words can’t describe how happy I am right now.”

Jinkens will be joining a group at Texas that includes some of the area’s best talent, including No. 2 Johnathan Gray from Aledo.

Alongside Jinkens and Johnson at Skyline’s signing table was one other D1 signee, David Green, who will attend UNLV in the fall.

The remaining athletes signed with a variety of other schools, including Grambling State, Cisco Junior College, Southwestern College and Tarleton State Universtiy.

DALLAS – The last thing Dallas Skyline receiver Thomas Johnson wanted to do in the recruiting process is overthink his decision.

That’s why he followed his heart, which told him to become an Aggie.

Johnson signed his letter of intent to play football for Texas A&M at his school Wednesday in front of peers, family, coaches and teachers.

As has become the norm on national signing day, the event wasn’t without a little drama. Johnson had stated interest in Oregon, Cal and TCU prior to Wednesday and featured hats from those three schools in front of his seat at the signing table.

When the time came for Johnson to make public his decision, he brought forth the maroon A&M hat from under the table and pulled it down on top of his head.

“I don’t do a lot of thinking, because overthinking – you make the wrong decision,” Johnson said. “'Think long, think wrong' is what I was taught.”

Johnson said he settled on the Aggies after he returned from his recruiting trip on Jan 20. He said being around the players and coaches in College Station made him realize it was the place he needed to be. That thought process stuck with him on the drive back to Dallas and as he thought over his options the next day.

Johnson gave A&M a call Tuesday night to alert the coaching staff to expect his signature Wednesday morning.

Johnson said the addition of Kevin Sumlin to the helm of the Aggie football team only helped in nabbing the No. 33 recruit in the nation.

“If they bring the passing attack from Houston to A&M, it’s a wide receiver-friendly university,” Skyline coach Reginald Samples said. “If you look at the numbers of their wide recievers that are graduating, it’s a good opportunity for him to catch a lot of passes, and that’s what he was concerned with.”

A&M’s move to the SEC also helped in recruiting Johnson, who said he was excited to play in “the best conference in the country.”

“I’m about to go down there and do some work on these SEC guys,” Johnson said.

The runner-up in the Johnson recruiting race was hometown TCU, which was represented on the table in front of Johnson in the form of the locker room Rose Bowl champion hat.

Oregon dropped out of the picture after Johnson’s recruiting trip to the northwest due to the distance of the school from his home.

“That flight gave me a lot of time to think and you know what I said, ‘Think long, think wrong,’” Johnson said. “But everything worked out to the best.”

Johnson had previously been committed to Texas for over a year before decommitting from the Horns earlier in January.

Johnson will join his cousin De’Vante Harris of Mesquite Horn in College Station. Like Johnson, Harris decommitted from his original selection, Oklahoma, and decided to send his commitment to A&M not long after.

While Johnson said Harris never directly influenced his decision to pick A&M, Harris made it a point to recruit Johnson to the Aggies.

“Knowing I have family on campus is a great feeling,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s last-minute decision didn’t surprise his coach much because it was that instinctive nature that made him such a threat for Samples at Skyline.

“He tried to take all the extras out of it and get right to the point,” Samples said. That’s the kind of young man he is and I’ve enjoyed working with him the years he’s been here.”

One of the area's top uncommitted recruits came off the board over the weekend.

Euless Trinity four-star defensive end Polo Manukainiu committed to Texas A&M after a trip to College Station.

Dallas Skyline four-star receiver Thomas Johnson remains the top-ranked uncommitted recruit from the Metroplex.

Here's a look at other recent area recruiting news leading up to Wednesday's signing day, courtesy of Damon Sayles' Midlands Region recruiting blog:

Lake Highlands offensive tackle Chase Walling changed his commitment from North Texas to SMU.

North Forney athlete Stephen Buckley committed to Northwestern.

Mansfield defensive end Hassan Ridgeway confirmed his pledge to Texas despite taking a visit to Texas A&M over the weekend (via HornsNation's William Wilkerson).

DeSoto receiver Ridge Jones committed to New Mexico.

Dallas Skyline linebacker Nigel Roberston committed to Central Arkansas.

During the football offseason, ESPNHS.com is taking weekly looks at teams expected to be of national prominence in the fall.

In the latest entry, which you can find here, Dallas Skyline is in the spotlight.

Skyline, which finished No. 14 in the 2011 POWERADE FAB 50, is projected to be a top-10 team in the 2012 preseason rankings. The Raiders will be led by quarterback DeVante Kincade and receiver Ra'Shaad Samples, son of coach Reginald Samples.