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"Chris was a smart, hard-hitting, intelligent player for Laney," said Laney Coach Jay Uchiumi. "Although Chris had a year of eligibility remaining at Laney, he was already being offered scholarships by several schools, including Tennessee, Washington State, and others."
An '07 graduate of El Cerrito High School, Moncrease was forced to take a year off to rehab a broken leg suffered playing pickup ball with some friends. Fortunately, there was no ligament damage, allowing Moncrease to come back and excell on the field for Laney in '08.
A full-time receiver out of high school, Moncrease really didn't hit his stride until connecting with Laney strength and conditioning coach Nelson Gifford, lowering his forty time to 4.43 and adding considerable strength and muscle to his frame while switching to the safety position.
"Coach Nelson gets people right when he gets his hands on them," said Moncrease.
"Coming out of high school, I'd never lifted and never had run a forty and I really didn't know what I was doing when I went out to a Nike camp. I'd just signed up the day before and had no idea what to expect out there."
The transition to safety was fine with Moncrease, who had 60 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles on the year in '08, leading Laney to an 8-3 record on the year.
"I like it on defense," said the 6-2/215 Moncrease. "I definitely like to be the hitter instead of the one being hit."
Not wasting any time after his commitment, Moncrease will join his new teammates on the field on his birthday, July 5th.
Moncrease's addition to the roster for the 2009 season was a boon for the Bears, adding depth at one of the few positions where the Bears are a little thin in '09. He'll have three years to play three heading into camp this fall.
To view Moncrease's youtube highlights, click here
To view Moncrease's ESPN profile page, click here