JesseWJohnson

Man, that stinks, but MBA will be okay.

Some of the better players or possible "Stars" in DII this year are: MUS- Defending champs QB. Barry Brunetti [major prospect] RB. Keith McBride [already has one major college offer] WR. Hank Hill RB/WR. Stephon Allmond LB. Harrison Martin DB. Mitchell Thompson Brentwood Academy RB. Victor Caro (Jr.) RB. Josh Tate WR. Josh Pleasant (Jr.) OL. Wesley Sherrill DL. Ishmael Lewis QB. Matthew Hemby (Jr.) MBA LB. Brad Bars LB/FB. Fitz Lassing QB. Luke Colbert WR. William Tanner WR. Holden Mobley DB. Jeff Nutkis OL. Jordan Stauffer K. Andrew Fletcher Ensworth RB. Orleans Opoku-Darkwa OL. Antonio Richardson (Jr.) DE/TE. Sam Cooper DB. Corey Sacks DB. Rodney Anderson (Jr.) LB. Myers Beaird Father Ryan QB. Trey McPhail WR/DB. Tyler Kincaid P. Nick Pollard BGA RB/DB. Kenny Bass RB. Michael Moore LB. Wes Johnson Christian Brothers LB. Jonathan Brown DB. Chris Bunkley RB. Ryan Eason (Jr.) K. Corey Acosta ECS TE. Harrison Jones DE. Steve Stafford OL. Austin Marshall OL. John Jordan Briarcrest RB. DJ McNeal WR/DB. Tray Becton (Jr.) OL. Hunter Long (Jr.) OL. Drew Kitchens (Jr.) St. Benedict WR. Trey Wilkins (Jr.) McCallie QB. Keenan Rush DL. Paden Gaines RB. John Burkus Baylor RB. Sam Williams Webb RB. Caleb Blance (Soph.) There's probably some others I'm leaving out.

Just to add a little fact about this, Brewer and Jenkins have worked out/played against each other during the offseason over the past couple of years. And Corey has singed his praises to people as well. Jenkins thinks the world of Brewer.

Webb is a D1-A prospect in my mind, and didn't really need the 7-on-7 to tell me that [he did have a good one though]. Maybe not the SEC, but Big East, CUSA, Sun Belt, I think definitely so. Be it linebacker or fullback.

Unfortunately East St.Louis and Hazelwood East had to pull out this week. Seems as though the change in dates [this tournament usually went on in June but changed so that in-state schools wouldn't be locked out due to TSSAA's dead period] clashed with HE's summer school while ESL got invited to the huge NIKE event out in Oregon..which also happens this weekend. So this year, it's going to be a major Tennessee based tournament. The only two out of state teams that will be playing now are Springdale Har-Ber from Arkansas and Plainfield North from Illinois. Both have quality D1-A and D1-AA prospects as well, so the Tennessee teams are not being cheated too much [though obviously it would've been great for in-state teams to go up against the guys from HE and ESL]. I do believe that Vanderbilt would like Mt.Pleasant to come actually as they would Pearl-Cohn. I know those are two schools they wanted to get into the pool as recently as Monday but now that they have 24 teams [23 schools overall], they might not expand it to 28. Still time perhaps but probably not. Anyways, here's the set lineup of the 23 schools who will definitely be there. - Hillsboro [defending champ] - Franklin [last year's runner-up] - David Lipscomb - MBA [will field 2 teams] - Brentwood Academy - Ravenwood - Independence - Maplewood - Stratford - Pope John Paul II - Page - Gallatin - Greenbrier - LaVergne - Middle Tennessee Christian - CPA - Clarksville - Cookeville - DeKalb County - Memphis Whitehaven - Memphis University School - Springdale Har-Ber (Arkansas) - Plainfield North (Illinois) Teams should be arriving by noon at Vanderbilt's John Rich Practice Facility on Friday. They should begin pool play at either 1 or 1:30 pm. They will use both Vanderbilt's main two practice fields as well as the field area of VU's track stadium and the field area in the soccer/lacrosse complex. They will also use the student rec field behind the track stadium. All teams should play a few games on each surface. Pool play be all Friday and the early part of Saturday. The actual tournament should start at about 3 pm or so on Saturday. Good luck to all teams in the field, I've really come to enjoy covering this tournament the past couple of summers and am looking forward to this event even more with such a heavy Tennessee field and some of the state's top players being involved.

I'll be at the event covering it once again this year [third year in a row]. The directors of the event had a few teams from out of state pull out and they would really like to get some of the local teams that have participated once or twice before to return to the event as well this year like Whites Creek. Maplewood would also be a welcomed addition as would be Pearl Cohn, I believe Vanderbilt's trying to get all three of those schools to come if possible. Anyways, teams that were believed to be involved at last check: Hillsboro- defending champ as state above. MBA Brentwood Academy David Lipscomb Whitehaven from Memphis Independence Ravenwood Franklin Memphis University School Page Pope John Paul 2 CPA Cookeville As said, there's a few others that are either coming as well or that Vanderbilt is trying to get to come as well. Out of state programs East St.Louis, Illinois [though they may not come do the national NIKE 7-on-7 in Oregon] Hazelwood East, St.Louis, Missouri Springdale Har-Ber, Arkansas Roswell, Ga. There were a few other out of state programs that are expected but I don't have a full list on them. The director of the event is trying to make this a qualifying event for the huge Southeast Select 7-on-7 in Hoover, Alabama every year...but as of yet there's no word if the winner of this year's event would qualify. Hope this information is helpful, Jesse Johnson VandySports.com (Unapproved Website network)

I just saw Mark Young at a Vanderbilt camp. If he isn't Maryville's starting QB this year, then they are truly loaded at QB haha. He showed a real good arm, good ball placement and touch, a strong follow through, his feet/form were solid, he even got a hi-five from a Vanderbilt coach after a particular ball he threw, it was that solid a throw. If he's Maryville's QB this year, I think they'll do fine and if there are guys better than him, well then Maryville's going to probably continue to dominate. Justin Smith also did very well at the camp, Maryville fans.

That was a pretty pathetic ending to a otherwise exciting high school basketball game. Adding 3.1 seconds when they didn't even lose half of that time....is absurd and anyone who says that wasn't poor is just blind to their fan loyalties. Also, that was not a 3-pointer so regardless of missed FT's, bad passes or even pathetic clock adjustment decision, that still should've only tied the game, not won it. Congrats to Dyer County and CPA for playing a fun game but those officials and the TSSAA themselves should be extremely embarassed by how they had a hand in deciding the game. And the TSSAA better give anyone that wants a refund to anyone that wants one after that pathetic finish to a game. And btw, some on here need to understand what a player control foul is. When you play out of control for most of the game, those fouls will occasionally be called on you. There were a lot other control fouls that could've been called that weren't either. Either way though, hard to watch that full game and say one got an advantage over another...especially with the underlining reality that those officials extended the game longer than it should've been and awarded an extra point.

What's the ticket prices for today's sessions? As per usual, it's impossible to find them on TSSAA's site.

"Anything can happen in a game(UT/Memphis & UT/Vandy)" Yes, those were such huge upsets...a 1 vs. 2 and a 1 going into a Top 20 rival's Gym where they hadn't lost all year. Yep, anything can happen /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

What was all of that about "big boys".

Yes McNine, you are correct, I was referring to when Coach Anderson left for Overton, I am a class of 96 graduate. There was a great deal of people who felt Smith or Coach Jones should've gotten the job..and there were people who talked about Aydelot as well. I interviewed Coach Brown three times while I was the sports editor for the paper at AHS. It's nothing personal about him and no, he never snubbed me coachsmith81. Just my opinion that he was a weak choice at the time and I was never impressed with him. Maybe my expectations weren't realistic to some but that's my opinion and will always feel that Antioch couldve done better. But that was also the case of AHS at the time..the administration [as you also pointed out about Anthony] seemed to make a number of weak choices while I was there so it wasn't against the norm. Again, nothing personal against Brown the man, I just feel he was a weak coach for AHS..especially on gameday.

Personally, I think Buddy Brown was a weak coach and frankly, he shouldn't have got the job...they should have gave it to assistant coach Scott Smith before they gave it to him..but whatever. Heck, they could've likely had Aydelot in all honesty. Anyways, as for this discussion, Antioch doesn't really have a problem so much right now with anything other than key possessions are young right now. The main key position being quarterback. Terrence Davis has a lot of room to grow and then getting suspended didn't help. I did feel that Pruitt did a good job last week at Hunters Lane considering the circumstances. They also don't have a real sufficient running game right now or the best offensive line. But, they do have a good defense and can make plays. As a AHS alum [96], I expect Antioch to give a fight because of their defense but being realistic, this will be a hard game to win cause Lavergne's got enough on both sides and I think Lavergne is a very seriously underrated team this year.

Don't underestimate Antioch's offense because of the new starters. A number of them played last year and they had a pretty good summer in Woodard's passing attack. The big question with the offense will be the running game. Antioch's defense should be pretty solid as they have McAdoo, two skilled LB's and two quality defensive backs as well. With Wadley possibly not playing this game, I wonder how effective Crum and others will be in shouldering the load in the running game. I'm not sure if MBA's defense is that strong to hold even a team with new starters off the scoreboard that much. Still, with it being at MBA, they should have an advantage, but the 80% picking for MBA in the Big One Picks...I don't agree with, I'd say MBA should only be about a 2 point favorite in this game

Barrett Jones of ECS will the lineman award, pretty sure of that. Back of the Year...well, could go to Massey, could go to Jordan but I wouldn't be surprised if Adam Currie from ECS won that one too.

7-on-7 tournaments are very good for further practice and developing your skill position players. If you don't think that, then check out half the other states in the SE and see how many of their skill position players are going to the SEC as opposed to those in this state. Seems like if something can in the slightest way help a certain aspect of the team as well as possibly help a individual player further develop and maybe have something open up for them in terms of a college education and maybe even more...seems like that's a good thing and not entirely a waste of time. This thing about the players not getting a chance to be themselves or what not, that's total bunk. Heck, half of them would just be playing AAU basketball and summer baseball if they weren't doing those camps/tournaments. I guess that'll be the next thing for the TSSAA to stick their nose into.

His name was Kyler Burke and he hasn't done too well in the lowest end of A ball since signing. He may have some pocket money but at this rate it may be another 3-4 years before he gets a real shot at getting the bigs. He would've been smarter to go to college because I saw him at the state tournament his senior year and didn't think he was really pro ball [even minors] ready yet. I think the Padres scout just wanted to get in their organization and use his potential later...bring him on slow..which is admirable. Problem is, they traded him to the Cubs organization this year so the Padres weren't that patient [getting Mike Barrett was good for them, but trading a high level pick just a year or so afterwards...kinda says something]. Anyways, as Sonny the football player goes, he's the best quarterback in the state but not the best QB college prospect in the state because of his size. It's the harsh reality...but, the door is also open for him to play football at Vanderbilt if he so choosed too as well. And yes, they would let him try to play both sports if he so choosed to..to those who don't believe they would.

Randall was pretty impressive at Vanderbilt's last senior camp..as a receiver. I think he'd fit in very well in Kentucky's system as a receiver....though I think he could work at QB as well..just depends on the system really.

ESPN really hasn't updated Rod's profile since mid-May. They haven't graded him yet either..though he's still on the 150 watch list.

Clay is a solid player and I know that some know of him pretty well. Good call.

My vote for strongest O goes to Hillsboro and Maryville. Vote for strongest D goes to Franklin and Wooddale out of Memphis.

Mine would be... LaMarcus Coker and Preston Brown at Antioch. As a poster said before, every time you saw the Bears play, you could almost feel the crowd ready to see either one of them break a near 80 yard TD. Gaston Miller at Riverdale. Being right down the street from Riverdale, I was able to see a number of his games and he was one of the most shifty runners this area has seen. Terrence Holt at Maplewood. He was a lot like Miller. Fun to watch. Golden Tate at PJP2. He was fun to watch due to the different ways he would be used in the offense. Others would be Tyler Maples from Maryville, Michael Swett from MBA [i still remember that MBA/BA game...pretty exciting], and Jamie Graham at Whites Creek [he was like Tate in the sense of wondering which way he'd be used and he had a pretty exciting senior year last year].

1. Riverdale- Even with Smyrna winning the state last year, Riverdale is still Riverdale and still won the region last year and their OL/DL is the best in the region, so I have to go with them even if their skill position guys are not quite what Smyrna has. 2. Smyrna- Only reason why they are No.2 is cause of what I just said about Riverdale. Gray and company will be solid again, though I do wonder how the running game is going to be. 3. Lavergne- I rank them here because of who they have coming back at key positions, though it is iffy cause they don't have much proven at QB so they could finish below this. 4. Oakland- I think some of those hardluck losses from last year will swing their way. 5. Lebanon- They could be ranked higher cause they've got the talent but at the moment I like Lavergne and Oakland's possibilities a bit more. 6. Siegel- I think they'll certainly be better but still think they come up short when compared to the others. 7. Blackman- I think they'll be better but still a way aways. 8. Wilson Central- Don't see this season being that much better for them.

I was there last year...Centennial did okay, but they barely beat Indy in that tournament so don't think it was that misleading a result. As a matter of fact, I believe it was the last play that Centennial won against Indy. No one is saying that 7on7's get you to the promise land but mostly every program that did well in it last year, did well in the fall. And fwiw, this years tournament featured over 15 something teams that were in the playoffs last year so yes, it might have little difference with this coming year. The team that won it though, was one win away from a state title last year...so if their lines are even half way decent, I think it's safe to say they will be in that same position next year. I think Crocker was the main guy working out for Lavergne, but I could be wrong cause Lavergne had small numbers on their backs so it was hard to tell half the time.

Well for one, Hillsboro didn't do that much passing to the running back for 2 yards..at least not in the 6 games I saw them play and certainly not against Pulaski or Franklin to win the thing. Most of their passes were for either 8 yards or more and a number of them were actually pretty good catches that were some what difficult to make so I do think it may have helped them get better. Plus it seemed to help create team work..which I think if you're getting extra events like this after spring practice is over, can only help you be better. Centennial did do well last year, but they didn't get that far in the tournament and even if they still ran the wishbone, that was by their choice. The majority of the teams in this tournament ran either a spread or proset. Not too many of them were wishbone or Wing-T. Independence did exceptionally well in the tournament last year and you could tell they were going to have a much better year. Stratford did well in the tournament..even knocked off a heavily favored Pulaski team and they rebounded from a 2-8 to a 6-5 season. Might not have been directly linked or anything, but I don't think it's overrated when a part of your team gets to work on things as well as do something as a team. Also, this year was a year where a number of teams were trying to find a quarterback. MBA, Brentwood Academy, Smith County, David Lipscomb, Lavergne, even Pulaski Academy...was looking for a quarterback. If throwing outs, running crossing patterns, fades, and a few slants is not a potential help to breaking in a new quarterback..or giving him confidence...then I guess it is pointless then. Anyways, to the poster that asked about Pulaski's quarterback, I believe his name was Spencer Keith. His Number was 3 either way. Good passer, not very big. He does seem to fit their system. Don't think he's at the level that Loucks was obviously, but he should be good enough with the players around him to be successful this season in Arkansas.