6 reasons to watch USJ-Milan
When University School of Jackson travels to Milan on Friday, it will be the first time since 2008 for the programs to meet.
They haven’t played since USJ went to Division II in 2009 after being in the same region before the Z-Plan.
West Tennessee fans enjoy the matchup from a historical perspective as the programs have 13 state championship appearances between them.
But here are six reasons to want to watch this game based on what’s going on with the Bulldogs and Bruins in 2016.
1Blue chip prospects: The first one is probably the most obvious one. Trey Smith was the first local player in this year’s senior class to receive a big-time college offer when Ole Miss and Tennessee offered the USJ lineman a scholarship before his sophomore season of high school ball.
Milan lineman Jacob Rimmer was the second one as Vanderbilt offered him a scholarship in August of 2015, just before his junior year before he committed to Duke this past February.
Smith plays on the defensive line as well, so there’s a chance we’ll see the West Tennessee titans match up with each other.
2The other D1 scholarship offer athletes: Both Milan and USJ have other athletes who’ve received scholarship offers from NCAA Division I schools.
Milan running back Anthony Ballard and USJ receiver Wells Smith each have offers from Tennessee Tech.
Ballard is a junior and has another year to mull his offer over while he receives other offers during the offseason.
3Coaching matchup: Milan head coach Jeff Morris and USJ head coach Rusty Bradley have coached against each other twice, and those happened in 2011 and ’12 when Milan and Bradley’s former team, Christian Academy of Knoxville, met in the Class 3A championship game.
CAK won both of those games against a pair of quality teams even by Milan’s standards.
4Contrasting styles: During a preseason appearance at the Jackson Exchange Club, there was a formation drawn up on a marker board next to where Bradley and other Jackson coaches were speaking, and it was an I-formation with two tight ends kind of lineup.
“If I ever send an offense on the field with a full backfield and two tight ends, shoot me,” Bradley said to an audience who got the joke and his commitment to spreading the offense out and throwing the ball.
While Milan spreads the offense out more than it used to and utilizes its passing game more this year than it has in recent years, the Bulldogs still do what they’re known for and do it well – hand the ball off to fast backs behind a big line and move the chains while wearing down the defense.
USJ’s offensive line and Milan’s secondary will be two tested groups at the end of this game.
5Developing players: USJ quarterback Jacob Buie and Milan receiver Lamartez Brooks are two players who’ve impacted their teams so far this year.
The scary part about them is they’re both still developing their skills.
Brooks is a senior, so his development will probably continue in college. Buie is a junior and could be a high-caliber quarterback next year and continuing what he’s possibly doing at the end of this season.
6Next meeting isn’t known: Teams will sign their schedules for the next two years in the next few weeks, and this matchup could happen again or we could wait a few years before we see it again.
Football fans who think they could be possibly interested in seeing this game should get to Johnnie Hale Stadium because there’s no guarantee they’ll play again next year.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751