Champion1

PCL won't hurt him if he rehabs it. I tore mine and never repaired it but learned to move without it.. However I hope he plays in good weather because it does give me problems in the rain as almost every injury will! Hope he has a healthy recovery!

I'm not gonna say any different because they are the biggest and most complete teams in this new region.. (UC and Peabody) but I will say this.. It will still be a gauntlet as it is in the west. The only teams lacking that were formally in regions along with these teams are mckenzie Huntingdon and bruceton. Each have gold or silver balls. But looking at recent years, SF will not compete very well. Dresden should pose a threat after a rebuilding period. UC IS UC with multiple gold and silver balls in history. Lake co is no longer the powerhouse they once were but beware of the athletes there. I personally admire decisions their new coach has made and the job he's done. WC will be down as they have since their semifinal and quarterfinal appearances a couple years ago. Gleason is the hardest playing school I've ever seen even though they are undersized and under talented. Greenfield is still struggling with their identity but had a couple of athletes come through recently. And Peabody will be loaded next year without a doubt. They have a winning coach and tons of speed.

Like I said I'm not sure.. Just remember it being 400 yards or so.. Haven't heard about anyone at UC doing it since but doesn't mean it hasn't

It is hard to compare any teams as of late to several 05-10 teams.. Not saying they were all necessarily better but in most areas size has dropped significantly as well as competition level.. In that time frame it was a gauntlet in 1A and 2A in the west pretty much like the SEC

I guess I worded that poorly. I didn't intend for it to read as if I thought he wasn't. Just that he had more of a running back physique and the speed of a running back rather than being a slower back with a low center of gravity that is more like a hybrid lineman as most traditional fullbacks are.

I would like to say Huntingdon played well against Trenton and did pretty good in 2A this year. However after watching them closely over the past 5 years I don't see them being able to compete at that level any longer. They are starting to hit the down slope in size and talent. Coaching and tradition has kept them up a lot but I don't know how long it will last. Several area 1A teams are on the rise and building programs. Huntingdon is no longer the powerhouse they once were. I think the right move for them is to move to 1A. They have lost to other 1A teams over the past few years and haven't really set themselves apart like they had before.

Nicks I think fit the UC system best.. He was a hybrid type back.. He wasn't a true bruiser back like Hyde was a couple of years ago. Nicks had great speed and acceleration and good size almost like a Dwyer from Georgia tech. He was big enough and fast enough to lay the initial lick and break into the open and outrun the defense. A bunch of teams run the ever different ways. UC runs theirs as a speed veer rather than a slow developing ever most years. They took a step back after nicks left and replaced him with a more physical built runner to try and pound it up the middle that caused them to lose some speed but they have picked it back up the past couple of years.

Nicks was very good. Ronnie Fair was the best lineman I had ever seen there at the time. Colton speed was very special as well.. And a few years before that there was a guy I think named Demetrius Bracey who was spectacular at running back who I think holds the rushing record for yards in a game there.. Don't hold me to that but I think that's right..

First things first this is Tennessee.. Never say anything referring to us being more like Alabama. That's considered a sin and treason. Also there is a large gab in all classifications. Even more in some of the upper classes. UC is a true 1A school but are just at the top. Someone has to be. They happen to be at the top and be winning. If they weren't winning no one would care I promise you. I played at a very small 1A school and played Huntingdon, UC, JCS, and other much larger schools and took thumpings for years. Yes we have less talent to choose from but the only real advantage is depth which comes from players on the team not people in the school because if every male in the small school played like kids do in Alcoa then you would actually have more.. But back to my point, football is 11 on 11. Not 80 on 40. It's the players on the field that make a difference. By using your logic a lower classed school should never beat a higher classed school yet I've seen it happen numerous times. Also schools are so spread out across this great diverse state to lower the classification percentages would create chaos by not having enough equal sized teams in an area and possibly having to create 12 classes versus the 6 we have. Coalfield has done tremendous with their program and reaching this point. It is slightly more difficult for some smaller schools to reach this point. But then again it may depend on the program because I'm pretty sure several previous multiple time champions were smaller schools in their respective divisions with great programs and better teams.

Personally I believe it is hard to compare teams from previous years to teams as of now based on wins or dominance because every team changes every year.. I agree thinking they me be the best UC team ever but I would have to see them play the UC team that had Colton Speed and Ronnie Fair.. That team was Very solid as well with phenomenal athletes..

1A ball in the east may be down because of the powerhouses fading some but not so much here in the west. There are several good teams around in districts 13 and 14 that compete very heavily but seem to have run into each other or the F5 purple storm known as UC..

Not anymore.. Each have taken a step back.. Great programs and traditions but haven't been dominant as of late like they were in the past. This is partially due to some of the west teams finally creating programs of their own and aren't relatively new to the league like most of them were.. Also there are bigger schools in the east and less poverty areas which draws talent. Also regarding your other post everyone knows about Alcoa, Maryville, south Pitt, and trousdale if you wanna count them as east. They are great teams and programs but they are about it from the east. Just a few powerhouse teams with history or money and not a lot of competition there like in the west.

Touching on the classification debate for a second here. UC is atop the 1A class this is true. Peabody, a team UC handled is at the bottom of 2A. Each are playing for a gold ball on Friday. Even if UC was moved up to being the smallest 2A school they would still be winning a gold ball. If I am correct I also believe Alcoa is the smallest 3A school but decorate their Christmas trees with state rings. Because at the end of the day it's 11 on 11 and true champions will step on the field against any other 11 because they believe whole heartedly the player across from them isn't better. And if they are they will not be on that night. With that being said coalfield doesn't stand a chance. The East has just hit a wall.. Also the west has better 1A and 2A schools throughout usually with the exception of the East having one or two powerhouse teams. I think the competition level in the region of UC is the best in the state. I don't think coalfield would have gotten out of the first round here. UC puts the game away in the first quarter and gives everyone valuable playing time.

All of the awards are pretty much a joke unless they come from your team or district.. Every other award is a speculation by people who read stats and listen to hype. It's all about what team you're on and how much pull your coach has.. I've seen players not even make all district or even the newspaper and get an all state award.. I've seen great players get much less recognition than they deserve because their team lost ball games and in turn not get rewards.. I've seen coaches pad stats and send them in to the paper and into all the programs and everything.. I've seen players with the exact same stats on each side of the spectrum and players with better stats get nothing at all.. And the truth is none of it matters.. The win column is and will always be the great divider

Depth may definitely be a factor in this one.. It is definitely hard to have consistently at this level. I understand your players have grown and matured and increased their level of skill and play from last year to this year but so has UC.. They lost a minimal amount from a team who was clearly better across the board and just as deep. They have also grown and matured from last season and were the champs in Cookeville. I don't believe many if any underclassmen provide any advantage in this game due to the magnitude and skill levels.. However I just do not see this game being as close as last year based on my own analysis of last years game that could have and should have been UC winning by at least 21 had they not plagued themselves with fumbles and also stopped attacking and try to coast. No disrespect. I'm from neither area but believe UC may be the best 1A team ever from top to bottom.. Good luck to both teams I hope it's better than my prediction