PREP FOOTBALL: South Bend fever

Nestled in the rolling hills bordering Madison and Orange counties lies what may be Central Virginia’s best-kept secret.

A breeding ground for high-level college football talent in recent years, Woodberry Forest — a private, all-male boarding school off Route 15 south of Culpeper — has produced seven FBS and Ivy League recruits over the last three years.

Head coach Clint Alexander and the Tigers will add one more name to that list Wednesday when free safety C.J. Prosise signs his national letter of intent to play at University of Notre Dame.

“C.J. is an amazing athlete, and I think he has a real shot at being Notre Dame’s starting punt returner next year,” said Alexander, who led the Tigers to their fifth straight Prep League title this fall.

Rated a three-star athlete by Rivals.com and ranked as the 22nd prospect in Virginia, Prosise turned that athleticism into 24 scholarship offers from schools such as Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Maryland to name a few.

The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder committed to Notre Dame last May, and said he chose South Bend, Ind., and the Fighting Irish because of the school’s tradition on and off the field.

“I just really wanted to be part of that football tradition, and it’s awesome that I’m going to get a chance,” said Prosise, the 2011 Prep League MVP. “And if football doesn’t work out I know I can do just about anything with a Notre Dame education.”

Prosise cracked the Tigers’ starting lineup halfway through his sophomore year. While most of his accolades stem from his time as a safety and punt returner, the Petersburg native has also lined up at cornerback, wide receiver and kick returner.

“C.J. is the most effervescent leader I’ve ever coached,” Alexander said. “Watching him in practice, whatever group he goes with instantly gets better. The morale is better and the enthusiasm is better throughout the group.”

As an all-state free safety, Prosise nabbed six interceptions his senior year. He was also the captain of a defense that gave up just 1.3 yards per carry, finishing with 51 solo tackles and scoring two defensive touchdowns — one on an interception and the other after a fumble recovery.

“He just has the ability to make plays and he always seems to make one when you need it,” Alexander said. “The coaches at Notre Dame said they’ve watched film of kids from all over the country and haven’t seen any that come off the hash like he does. He can line up on the hash and take away the deep ball all day.”

Prosise also scored five special teams touchdowns as senior — four on punts and one on a kickoff — and crossed the goal line three more times as a wide receiver.

“On punts and kickoffs, you have to get used to focusing on the next guy,” Prosise said. “You just have to beat one guy and move on to the next.”

“C.J. has what I call second-guy vision,” Alexander added. “He can make the first guy miss while he’s looking at the second guy. He has a natural feel for setting up blocks, and that’s hard to teach fast guys.”

With Prosise and seven other former Tigers taking the field on college football’s largest stage this fall and dozens more suiting up for Division II and III schools all over the country, Woodberry Forest’s football factory may not be a secret much longer.

Tigers in college

Woodberry Forest has produced seven FBS products in the last three years:

Ed Reynolds, SS, Stanford

» Expected be in the running to start as a sophomore

Aramide Olaniyan, OLB, UCLA

» Appeared in 13 games in 2011 as a redshirt freshman

Duke Moseby, DT, Wake Forest*

» Redshirted in 2010

Chad Kolumber, OL, Kansas

» 6-8, 320-pound offensive tackle

Ade Oyalowo, LB, Brown

» Played on Brown’s JV team as a freshman