People have a hard time getting a proverbial handle on Ansel Ponder.

Even his name.

"Hansel?'' asked the cafeteria worker at West Virginia State. "Like Hansel and Gretel?''

Ponder just sighed and politely tried to correct the woman. He's used to being the center of confusion. The guys in Bluefield call him the "Moss Man" after Randy Moss. He's proven to be one of the state's best athletes, earning first-team Class AA football and basketball honors. He has good size and speed - he ran track - for a receiver at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds.

Yet he received only one Division I offer.

Which he then turned down.

That's why it's tough to get a handle on Ponder, who is one of just two - Capital's Tyrone Goard is the other - set to play in both the North-South All-Star Football Classic Saturday and the basketball event Friday. ("It's not hard on me,'' Ponder said. "I work out two times a day anyway. I think it's fun.'')

Bluefield coach Fred Simon suggested Ponder didn't receive more D-I attention because he didn't become NCAA eligible until a week before the February signing date. But when he did make the grade, Western Michigan flew Ponder to Kalamazoo, offered a scholarship and received a signature on a letter of intent.

Ponder, however, then called the WMU coaches back and will now attend Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

"In the beginning, I wanted to go to Hargrave, but that didn't work out for me,'' Ponder said. "So I decided to go on a visit. I was flown up to Western Michigan. I checked out everything and liked it. I came back home and thought about it for a while.

"I hadn't really talked to the Hargrave coaches. So I signed and everything. Then, about a week or two later, I talked to the [Hargrave] coaches. Some things opened up for me. I called [the WMU] coaches and told them I wanted to go to Hargrave.

"It was a hard decision, but I got through it.''

Ponder is rolling the dice.

"I just want to try and get some more options, in particular my area - Virginia Tech, schools like that. The ACC maybe,'' he said.

"I'd get stronger and faster going to Hargrave. They have the No. 1 prep football and basketball programs in the nation there. So it wouldn't hurt to go there and take another year to mature.''

People have a hard time getting a proverbial handle on Ansel Ponder.

Even his name.

"Hansel?'' asked the cafeteria worker at West Virginia State. "Like Hansel and Gretel?''

Ponder just sighed and politely tried to correct the woman. He's used to being the center of confusion. The guys in Bluefield call him the "Moss Man" after Randy Moss. He's proven to be one of the state's best athletes, earning first-team Class AA football and basketball honors. He has good size and speed - he ran track - for a receiver at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds.

Yet he received only one Division I offer.

Which he then turned down.

That's why it's tough to get a handle on Ponder, who is one of just two - Capital's Tyrone Goard is the other - set to play in both the North-South All-Star Football Classic Saturday and the basketball event Friday. ("It's not hard on me,'' Ponder said. "I work out two times a day anyway. I think it's fun.'')

Bluefield coach Fred Simon suggested Ponder didn't receive more D-I attention because he didn't become NCAA eligible until a week before the February signing date. But when he did make the grade, Western Michigan flew Ponder to Kalamazoo, offered a scholarship and received a signature on a letter of intent.

Ponder, however, then called the WMU coaches back and will now attend Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

"In the beginning, I wanted to go to Hargrave, but that didn't work out for me,'' Ponder said. "So I decided to go on a visit. I was flown up to Western Michigan. I checked out everything and liked it. I came back home and thought about it for a while.

"I hadn't really talked to the Hargrave coaches. So I signed and everything. Then, about a week or two later, I talked to the [Hargrave] coaches. Some things opened up for me. I called [the WMU] coaches and told them I wanted to go to Hargrave.

"It was a hard decision, but I got through it.''

Ponder is rolling the dice.

"I just want to try and get some more options, in particular my area - Virginia Tech, schools like that. The ACC maybe,'' he said.

"I'd get stronger and faster going to Hargrave. They have the No. 1 prep football and basketball programs in the nation there. So it wouldn't hurt to go there and take another year to mature.''

He admits that turning down WMU may have burned a bridge.

"I don't know if [the scholarship offer] is still going to be there [after attending Hargrave],'' Ponder said. "[WMU coaches] kind of felt ... I don't know. From my point of view, I think they thought I thought they weren't good enough. That wasn't the case at all - especially since I didn't have any other D-I offers or anything.

"I told them from the get-go I wanted to go to Hargrave. They were like, 'Well, come on this visit.' Then I kind of signed quick.''

Ponder expressed disappointment in Mountain State schools.

"I don't have a [favorite] team, really,'' he said. "I just like sports. But I like Tech because I know they recruit in their state. That's the opposite of what Marshall and West Virginia does, in my opinion. Plus, I have a friend, Austin Fuller from Richlands [Va.], who is going to Tech.''

Simon said the receiver has talent.

"He didn't play [football] his ninth grade and had a hamstring [injury] early in his 10th grade season," said the Bluefield coach. "So he got a late start. But he could be a good split [end] for someone. He has good height and speed.

"He's such a hard worker with God-given ability that someday he'll make someone a good player."

The Beavers went undefeated and won the Class AA title last season. Ponder helped, catching 50 passes for 757 yards with 11 receiving scores. Yet the offers were scarce.

Despite that, though, Ponder said he has no goal of making a statement in Saturday's North-South football game.

"I'm just looking to have fun in this game to be honest with you,'' said the wideout. "We have a lot of great players on this [South] team. And we all seem to be out here to have fun, you know? Just go and compete. Regardless of what's going to happen, I'm going to go to prep school.''

Which will serve as his proving ground, a place for D-I teams - as well as fans - to finally get a handle on Ponder's skill.

"I'm not worried about it,'' Ponder said. "Whoever didn't look at me, I think it's their loss. I work as hard as any other kid. That's how I feel.''

Reach Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com.