Top Gun

THOUSAND OAKS —  The feeling was all too familiar for Mike Seidman of Westlake High.

No, not now, not again.

Seidman’s mind raced as he felt his left knee pop in a passing tournament game in July. He was slowing up in the end zone after scoring a touchdown, but there was no celebrating.

“I freaked out,” said Seidman, a senior rated the top tight end prospect in the nation by SuperPrep magazine.

In an instant, the athletic future of the 6-foot-5, 235-pound preseason All-American with the big hands and huge promise was clouded in uncertainty.

“He was pretty upset and pretty sure that he was done,” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said.

Seidman, who missed his sophomore season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a passing tournament game, hobbled off the field while a shaken Benkert tried to appear unfazed, not wanting to alarm his star player.

Benkert is breathing easier these days.

After successful arthroscopic surgery, Seidman is ready to open the season and assume his role as an offensive catalyst for the Warriors.

“He’s not only a great football player, he’s a great leader, a great inspiration, a great worker,” Benkert said. “He’s all those things. [If] you take that kind of kid out of your lineup, you lose the whole package.”

Seidman was off and running within weeks of his most recent surgery. He has worn a knee brace since his first knee injury, in 1996.

“I feel 100%,” he said.

With Seidman’s first knee surgery, doctors repaired the meniscus along with the anterior cruciate ligament, figuring that because of Seidman’s age, the fibrous cartilage would heal properly.

It didn’t, so on July 20 doctors removed the meniscus and surrounding scar tissue.

“If [the injury] had happened in the first week against Buena, he would have lost four or five weeks of his senior season,” Benkert said. “So now it’s over, it’s done, it’s cleaned and he’s ready to go.”

Seidman, a three-sport athlete, is ready to play and deal with college recruiters. He is the region’s top prospect.

A recruiting coordinator quoted in SuperPrep said of Seidman, “[He] might be the best tight end I have ever seen.”

Said Seidman: “It’s like a dream to say you’re the best at something. Not many people can.”

Seidman, who had 56 receptions for 728 yards last season, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds and has the physique of a chiseled college veteran.

“I cannot imagine anyone being more highly recruited,” Benkert said. “Of the 112 Division I schools, he has 112 legitimate offers if I got on the phone.

“They don’t get any bigger than him.”

Among the schools on Seidman’s shopping list are USC, UCLA, Penn State, Michigan, Colorado, Washington and Florida State.

Seidman, Ventura County and Marmonte League shotput champion last spring, is the kind of player a coach can build his team around.

Benkert, however, is reluctant to place too big a load on Seidman’s broad shoulders.

His duties on offense include being the primary or secondary receiver on most pass plays.

Because Westlake’s defense is inexperienced, Seidman has asked to play defensive end.

While Benkert would love to have an athlete like Seidman on the field for every down, he worries about subjecting his star to unnecessary hits that could lead to a career-ending injury.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Benkert asked. “You can see how valuable he is to us [offensively].”

Benkert got a taste of what Westlake would be like without Seidman at tight end after the knee injury in July.

“When he went down, our ability to move the football up and down the field went way down,” Benkert said. “He moves so well. He’s such a big target and he has the ability because of his natural size and speed to get open.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Sneak Peek

Third in a nine-part series. Today:

Aug. 27: Quarterbacks. Kyle Boller of Hart

Aug 28: Manuel White of Valencia

Tight ends: Mike Seidman of Westlake

Sunday: Wide receivers. Jerry Owens of Hart

Wednesday: Offensive linemen. Tony Sanchez of Sylmar

Thursday: Defensive linemen. Carl Cannon of Taft

Friday: Linebackers. Jorge Tapia of Hueneme

Sept. 5: Defensive backs. Corey Neal of Sylmar

Sept. 6: Kickers. Jason Geisler of Camarillo