This Chapman star WR broke Deebo Samuel's school record. Why are college recruiters overlooking him?

The old adage "late bloomer" has rarely held negative connotations. It usually describes a successful person who simply took a little longer than most to prosper.

However, that label can certainly hold back a talented football player when it comes to the college recruiting process, leaving many deserving high school prospects on the outside looking in when it comes to the most desirable offers being tendered.

Chapman High star wide receiver Dante "DJ" Black is one of the best case studies for late-developing standouts as to how finally finding your proper path late in your high school career can have a detrimental effect on finding firm footing in the minds of college recruiters, especially at the higher levels.

"He's a late bloomer," Chapman coach Harry Cabaniss said. "With how the recruiting stuff works they try and get ahead of everything and there are still people out there like DJ who grew up so late and evolved. He's still one of the rawest receivers you'll watch and he's still just coming along. This year was the first time we really opened up his route tree. Last year as a junior he was truly just a vertical threat and a screen guy for us. This year his route tree exploded and that's why his receiving yardage and stats exploded."

Cabaniss added, "I can't answer why the bigger places aren't on him. Like I've told people, if you don't get him and he plays against you, you're going to pay for it, and I truly believe that."

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Black was one of his state's biggest breakout performers this season with 79 receptions for 1,445 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had a school-record 270 receiving yards on 12 catches against Woodruff with five going for touchdowns. That broke Deebo Samuels' mark of 266 set nine years earlier. Samuel went on to star at South Carolina before getting drafted 36th overall in 2019 by the 49ers and is now considered one of the NFL's best receivers.

Black was selected for this year's South Carolina Shrine Bowl roster although the game was canceled for the second consecutive season because of COVID-19 concerns. He also played in the annual North-South All-Star game in Myrtle Beach. But despite coaches in his state and all-star committees being fully aware of his prowess, it somehow didn't translate to those tasked with stocking collegiate rosters.

For most of the season, Black's only two offers were from Army and Howard. Since Nov. 23, he has picked up four more from VMI, Catawba, North Greenville and Shorter. All of those programs are a far cry from the Power Five or Group of Five schools for which both Cabaniss and Black believe he has the ability to compete.

Cabaniss has been constantly working the phones and also has been putting Black's information and highlight video out to his contacts.

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"You name it in the Southeast and they have his stuff," Cabaniss said. "It's kind of frustrating because the smaller schools don't think they have a chance with him. We have this conversation all the time where he's like, 'Coach, I just don't understand. (The smaller schools) just tell me we don't have a chance with you. We just wanted to say hey.' We've had a couple of schools come in recently and say they were offering him and 'If you don't want to talk to us, that's fine.'

"And I'm glad they have because DJ thought he was doing something wrong. With the bigger schools, unfortunately with the transfer portal and stuff it's really hurting guys like him. Three or four years ago, he is a no-doubt Group of Five guy and then maybe some random Power Five place might have reached out to him. I think that's what's frustrating, and we talk about that. We don't hide anything from him."

Checking the boxes

Not only has Black's recruiting been hindered by his late bloomer status, he's in his first full season as a wide receiver -- he did play the position during last year's pandemic-shortened season -- after undergoing a remarkable body transformation from his sophomore to junior seasons when he grew six inches. He had played running back his first two years after arriving at Chapman at about 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds; he estimates he grew to about 5-8 as a sophomore.

"Now he's all of 6-4, 190," Canabiss said. "He's going to run a 10.8 in the 100. He's still raw and still growing into his body and I don't think people understand that. He's not done. I would not be shocked if he walked onto a college campus and grew a few more inches. He's 6-foot-4 right now and his dad was 6-6, 6-7. He's really just a late bloomer.

"He's got the grades, no problems there, and that's even more disheartening. He has a 3.6 grade-point average. He's done everything he's supposed to do. He's taken AP and dual credit classes. He checks off all the boxes, and it only takes one place that's going to offer him and he's really going to make them happy."

Cabaniss took over at Chapman just before Black's junior season, so he was unaware about the drastic growth spurt and initially figured he was a wide receiver when the two first met.

"He told me he'd never played receiver, and I said, 'Well, you are now.' He's taken it in stride, literally, and he's awesome to work with. From Day One, we could all see this guy was just different and he kind of took off."

Black said the position change was "real hard to adjust to, but I just dealt with it. I came into my junior year having to switch positions and that's kind of when COVID was going on and then we had all our coaches leave, so it was just a real big change for me all around. There was a lot of adversity to deal with at that time."

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Since he has only one year of video at his current position, he has not had the chance to get on the recruiting lists of most schools. That lowered the amount of attention he has received.

"It does frustrate me knowing I'm good enough to play at a pretty big school, but sometimes things just don't work out," Black said. "So if I do have to start small and then go big, that's what I'll do. It is kind of stressful sometimes, knowing nobody wants to give you a chance when you know you're good enough."

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Black continues to weigh his options

Just like many high school players who haven't established themselves as blue-chip prospects high on the lists of multiple national recruiting services, Black has been hurt by a one-time rule change last year and a, for now, permanent rule change prior to this past spring.

All college players were granted an additional season of eligibility by the NCAA after COVID-19 had such a negative effect last year. While that was a positive ruling for the players already in college, it caused unprecedented overcrowding among rosters and negatively impacted incoming high school recruits.

Then the NCAA lifted its longstanding rule that forced players who transferred to another program to sit out a year before becoming eligible to compete. Student-athletes are now permitted a one-time transfer where they become immediately eligible to play that next season at their new school. That has caused many colleges to focus as much on grabbing experienced players from the transfer portal as they are on mining the high school ranks for talent beyond the top stars.

In the meantime, Black said he continues to text, call and direct-message coaches making sure they know who he is and has his highlight video. He's even willing to bypass the February signing date into spring hoping that when the dust settles the right offer might be there for him.

Cabaniss said all options are on the table, including Black exploring a possible enrollment in junior college or using the transfer portal to his advantage by accepting an offer to a smaller school. He would count on his performance to boost his stock and then transfer to a larger school.

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Some smaller schools pursuing him have encouraged him to come play for two years and said they would back the idea of him later transferring if he proved to be good enough.

"I tell him there is no recipe to recruiting," Canabiss said. "There's no cut and dried of how this works, none of that. Every kid is different, every school is different and every year is different. You've got to be patient and there's going to be a school. He's going to have a home no matter what."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College recruiting: Why standout SC WR is still waiting on big offers