LoneStarPreps: Recruit of the Week

DeSoto (Texas) dual-threat quarterback and Ohio State commitment Tristen Wallace suffered a broken ankle in week two last season, but he worked hard to rehab his injury and ended up returning for the Eagles' first round playoff game against Coppell.

Wallace helped to lead his team to a first round playoff win, throwing for 75 yards and rushing for 183 yards with three touchdowns. DeSoto ended up falling to Allen, the eventual 6A State Champion, in the second round by only three points - 25-22.

The standout prospect is one of 13 total 2016 prospects - not even counting the talented underclassmen - for the Eagles that are receiving D1 recruiting attention, an annual occurrence at a program like DeSoto.

Does the amount of talent on the team and expectations created added pressure?

"Not really, the attention is no pressure," Wallace said. "It's actually nice being around other players and teammates that have a high talent level. We all know how to work hard and we make one another better. I believe the competition brings the best out of everyone on the team."

Your head coach, Claude Mathis, left for the college level this past off-season and your offensive coordinator stepped in to take over - how is everything going with the transition to so far?

"It's actually changed a whole bunch," Wallace said. "Our workouts were intense before, but this summer has been 6:00am to 12:00pm every day. We have just been lifting weights and running, anything we can do to separate ourselves. I feel that our team is really stepping up our game and that is a direct result from our coaches and their direction."

There are several people choosing DeSoto as a favorite going into this season, what are your expectations for the upcoming season?

"We have the same expectations as last season, but it's all about just taking it one game at a time," Wallace said. "Our team knows that we are going to win games, with our coaching staff and the talent we have, we are going to win games. We have to just execute and play the game of football, it's that simple."

Do you and the team have a motto or message going into this next season?

"We pride ourselves on leaving no doubt," Wallace said. "Just every time we hit the field it's a chance to make a statement. Our team wants to leave that statement every time we play. We are just working hard and remaining humble, but 'leave no doubt' is the message for this season."

A lot of people are talking about the week two match-up against IMG Academy from Florida, what are the team's thoughts on that game?

"To be honest, we really haven't even talked about it," Wallace said. "Our first game is against Arlington Martin on ESPN and we are focused on one game at a time as a team. But we can talk again when it's time to play IMG, or even after the game, and I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about."

Wallace verbally committed to the reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in April and shared his thoughts on the recruiting process.

"Making my decision has definitely slowed things down on the recruiting front," Wallace said. "It gave me a chance to focus on my team and working with my teammates, more time to focus on my senior season and winning games.

"Before my commitment, I was always on my phone. Coaches were calling and texting all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's a blessing to hear from the colleges, but it took a lot of time from my day. The best part was getting to travel around to each campus and see different types of football, sit down with the offensive coordinators and learn more about each offense in more detail."

As the quarterback, Wallace is used to being a leader, but when it comes to recruiting the standout signal caller prefers to let other players do their own thing.

"I mean, our recruiting class is already stacked," Wallace said. "Most of those guys are cool with me and we have a good relationship. It really just depends on the player or recruit, but I'm not the type of guy to recruit others very much. I like to let guys do their own thing and recruiting every once in a while is enough for me."

Rated a three-star prospect, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback is the No. 21 dual-threat prospect in the nation and the No. 44 player on the Rivals.com Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.

In less than four games played, Wallace finished with 603 yards and five touchdowns passing along with 535 yards and eight touchdowns rushing this past season.

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