SAN ANTONIO -- Misconceptions run amok about New Jersey.
The entire state smells bad.
Everyone lives one exit off the New Jersey Turnpike.
All "New Joisey" residents do is gym, tan, laundry and fist-pump.
But there is one particular fallacy that a handful of players from the state would like to dispel this week at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl: The only sport the state can flourish in is basketball.
"We have great basketball up there, but because of that I think we get overlooked and people say, 'Oh, well those city boys can't play with those country boys,' or something to that nature," said Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep defensive end Darius Hamilton. "We may not be the biggest or the fastest but we are tough kids."
Hamilton is one of four Don Bosco players selected to participate in the game. The others are cornerback Yuri Wright, safety Elijah Shumate and receiver Leonte Carroo. Athlete Devin Fuller (Old Tappen, N.J./Northern Valley Regional), the state's top player and No. 39 prospect overall, is the only other player from the state.
It's believed to be the first time in U.S. Army All-American Bowl history that that many players from one high school were selected for the same game.
"It's great that we are the first high school in All-American history [to have four players from the same high school]," said Carroo, a three-star prospect. "We cherish the moment. When All-American came for their tour our entire school cheered us on, and since I've been down here I've gotten messages. All of New Jersey has been supporting us a lot."
Ponder the fact that Don Bosco has four U.S. Army All-Americans this year for a second or two. That's more than or equal to the total representation of 27 states.
As mind-numbing as that might be, it shouldn't come as any surprise that Don Bosco is the school sending the quartet. It went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the 2011 Powerade Fab 50.
"To win a national championship is something that me and Leonte sat down our freshman year and said we were going to do," said Wright, the No. 3 cornerback in the country.
The program has won 46 straight games and six consecutive Non-Public 4 titles, the latest coming with a 42-14 victory over archrival Bergen Catholic at Metlife Stadium.
Shumate, the No. 14 safety in the nation, scored three touchdowns in the game on first-half runs of 5 and 1 yards, and a 20-yard interception return in the third quarter.
"Maybe a lot of people will start respecting our football," said Hamilton, the No. 66 prospect overall in the ESPNU 150. "We win national championships down there, state championships nearly every year. For us to be out here together means a great deal."
And to be in San Antonio for their football prowess means even more.
"We definitely want to prove that we have competitive players and that it's not just about the South and the West," Wright said. "New Jersey has real good football too. It's not just basketball up there. People feel like because we are so close to New York or that we are from the East Coast that it is all about basketball. We've got real good football players."
Carroo, for one, got a boost in confidence that football could be in his future when New Jersey's own Muhammad Wilkerson was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
"When he got drafted it was a 'wow' moment," Carroo said. "He went to high school in New Jersey, got drafted by the Jets, is representing for New Jersey and is showing all the kids that look up to him that your dreams can also come true."
Carroo is such a believer in New Jersey and its football capabilities that he has committed to in-state Rutgers. He's the only one of the quartet to have chosen his college, but is doing what he can to keep the others close to home.
"You can call me a little recruiter since I've been down here," he said. "I've been trying with my teammates all year. At the end of the day it is their decision, but hopefully they come with me so we can spend the next four years together."
He could be in luck, because each player has Rutgers among his finalists. Hamilton's are Florida, Cal and Rutgers; Wright's are Notre Dame, Michigan, Colorado, Georgia and Rutgers; Shumate's are Notre Dame, South Carolina and Rutgers.
Regardless of where they end up, the quartet is making sure to enjoy this time together and with the other players.
"I think the relationships you build with these guys is more important than anything," Hamilton said. "These are kids from all over the country. You will come in and say 'Oh, that's Kyle Kalis, I've seen him on the computer.' Or 'That's Tommy Schutt, he's a great player.' And when you get to talk to them they are just like you."
Football players.
William Wilkerson covers University of Texas football and recruiting for HornsNation.