The most prominent of these prospects is wide receiver Greg Little, who figures to be one fo the most hotly pursued prospects in the South. He will be featured here in coming days, but today we’ll look at his counterpart at cornerback Tyree Bullock.
At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds with 4.55 speed and big time transition skills, Bullock fits the classic description of a cover corner. He also has the intangibles required to survive and thrive on an island.
“I guard the best receiver on the other team every game,” said Bullock. “The key is confidence and also just knowing the game and studying game film. Another thing is my teammates help me a lot.”
Bullock was impressive matching up with some of the best prospects from the Class of 2007 at the Junior Combine in San Antonio last month. He played press coverage and exhibited an acuity for anticipating cuts and breaking on passes.
He also turned in a 4.32 time in the shuttle and showed a full array of athleticism. It wasn’t surprising to learn he started at guard in basketball, won the state high jump competition with a 6-4 effort and ran a leg for the state championship 4X400 relay team as well as ran the 200 meters. He missed the final five games in the 2005 football campaign with torn ligaments in his wrist that required surgery and forced him to also sit out the entire basketball season at Hillside.
“I got hurt about the fifth game of the season so I only played half the season,” Bullock explained. “I finished the season with four picks, 49 tackles andf 13 catches for 300 yards and two touchdowns. I also had two punt returns for touchdowns and one interception for a touchdown.
“We were 4-6 last year, but we only graduated two seniors. We were real young and a lot of the guys we had just came up from the JV team.”
Before Bullock’s season ended with wrist surgery on Oct. 5, he played with a cast and more than held his own.
“I played against Marshall Williams last year, who went to Wake Forest, and he was one of the best players in the state,” Bullock said. “I held him to two catches and both were on screen passes, and I was in the game with a cast.”
Although Bullock plays Class-4A ball, which is the state’s highest classification, in one of the toughest conferences in the state, his greatest challenge comes in his day-to-day matchups against teammate and good friend Greg Little.
“I match up with Greg in practice all the time,” Bullock stated. “Some times I have good days and some times he has good days.”
Aiming to maximize his opportunities and options, Bullock plans on appearing at several high profile combines this spring and is already hearing from a variety of schools. He has scored a 1300 on his SAT and will take the ACT in May.
“I’m going to the Scout.com Combine in South Carolina and I’m going to the Nike Camp in South Carolina,” he said. “I’m going to ECU (East Carolina University) for junior day and I just got back from Junior Day at Duke. I’m also coming to Nashville Scout Combine.
“I’ve got letters from Alabama, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke, and Tennessee. “I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’m open to everybody right now.”
That’s something the receivers he covers can’t say.