"I would love if my brother would come and play with me, but knowing Darius, he will be like, 'I want to go see this school or that school,'" Casher said. "It will be his decision, but of course I will put a little bug about Alabama in his ear."South Carolina is the first school to offer Thingstad, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound junior. He filled an important role during St. Paul's run to the Class 5A quarterfinals this year, helping replace a pair of college signees from last year on the defensive front in Jared Holloway (Samford) and Bryan Slater (Troy)."Troy is a guy who wanted to make himself a great player," Mask said. "In the off-season, he did whatever he could to get better. He spent hours after school working - jumping rope, doing tires, whatever he thought could help him. He has developed into a really good player."Mask said Thingstad could project as an offensive lineman in college. He played some on offense this year in short-yardage packages and also as a sophomore and likely will do so again next season.St. Paul's Troy Thingstad makes a tackle on UMS-Wright's Gunner Roach during the Battle of Old Shell Road last season. (Bill Starling | preps@al.com)
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Alabama commit Josh Casher (74) and his younger brother, Darius Whitfield (72) block against Williamson during a game earlier this season. Whitfield was offered by South Carolina on Monday. (Mike Kittrell | mkittrell@al.com) -- Alabama offensive line commit Josh Casher doesn't hesitate when asked whether he or his brother, St. Paul's sophomore Darius Whitfield, is a better athlete."Darius always has been better athletically than me," Casher said. "He can dribble a basketball between his legs. I can't even make a layup. It's always been like that since we were younger."Whitfield also seems to be on a faster recruiting path than his older brother. Casher didn't receive his first scholarship offer until March of his junior year. Whitfield now has three.South Carolina offered he and Saints' defensive tackle Troy Thingstad on Monday. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Whitfield also has offers from Ole Miss and Florida State already."He has amazing athletic ability," St. Paul's coach Steve Mask said of Whitfield. "He is very quick and very strong. He does need to mature some. He will look like a million bucks for six plays, then for three or four plays you might not know he is in the stadium. When he decides to turn it on every play, he has a chance to be great."Whitfield played right guard to Casher's right tackle this past season. Mask said he could project as a defensive lineman in college. He started on the defensive line for the Saints as an eighth grader and played left tackle in the ninth grade."His upside may be just a little better than Josh's upside," Mask said, "just because he is a little more athletic. While Josh has been mainly an offensive lineman for us, Darius has played a number of other positions. He has been here for five years, and he practiced with us as a seventh grader. That's important."Casher said he will advise his brother just to stay humble through the recruiting process and to listen to his coaches. He also said that while college will ultimately be Darius' decision, he might have a little advice for him should the University of Alabama offer down the road.