Da Haven

[dannyq]

2 hours ago, kwc said:

I don't know. @dannyq or @coach10ac, can one of you answer that?

 

yes

[coach10ac]

yep!! you got it

[kwc]

Tigers of the week for the Cordova game.

 

 

[kwc]

The Commercial Appeal: Whitehaven LBs Eason, French, McDonald talk Tennessee visit

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/10/12/tennessee-football-recruiting-whitehaven-lbs-talk-ut-vols-visit/3897563002/

Whitehaven linebackers Bryson Eason, Martavius French and Tamarion McDonald said Friday they came away impressed over their official visit with the Tennessee Vols in Knoxville last weekend.

French, an Arkansas commitment, said that the Volunteers are now a close second on his list.

"I had a great time down there," French said after Whitehaven beat White Station 17-0. "I got to see some old players that I used to play against like (former Lausanne star) Eric Gray. I was just chopping it up with him.

"I'm still committed to Arkansas, but I want to make sure I pick the best school. Arkansas is the best school, but Tennessee is making a major impact coming in so they might be able to change it around."

Eason, who is uncommitted, said that he had a great time in Knoxville and that the experience was "hard to top."

McDonald, a Mississippi State commitment, getting Tennessee and Arkansas offers made Eason's decision-making process more complicated.  Eason said that Arkansas and Tennessee are rated evenly at the top of his list.

"Martavius committed to Arkansas when I was liking Tennessee. Then Tennessee made that move (offer) when we were liking them together. Then Arkansas made that move (offer) and made it a lot more difficult for us," Eason said.

Eason also said that he was impressed with the attention Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt has shown over the past two weeks, both on the visit and when Pruitt came to Memphis during Tennessee's bye week.

"It just shows that he’s really interested in us and not just one. It shows that he really wants us and really needs us. He’s just showing that he cares and that it's genuine," Eason said.

McDonald said that he enjoyed the trip to Knoxville and that the coaches made him feel comfortable. The three plan to take a visit to Starkville later in the season.

"It was fun. I had a good time. I like everything. I was chilling with my boys from Memphis. It was real comfortable. The coaches made sure we were straight, so it was real good," McDonald said.

The trio is set to visit Arkansas next weekend when the Razorbacks host Auburn. Arkansas offered McDonald on Monday, days after Tennessee made its offer. Ensuring that all three players have offers from the same school has been important to French.

"If a team hasn’t offered all three of us, then we just won’t be at their school because Tamarion is a baller and we need him with us as a trio package," French said. "We need all three of us just to work on our scheme. We can play with anybody but with the three of us together you can have a good upside on your defense."

Whitehaven (6-1, 1-0 8-6A) posted its fourth shutout of the season against White Station (5-3, 1-1). It's also the second shutout in a row as the Tigers shut out Cordova before their bye week.

 

[kwc]

Congrats to DT, Richard Ellis on the offer.

 

 

[kwc]

 

Special K!!!

[BlackHavenSenator]

On 10/16/2019 at 4:20 PM, kwc said:

 

Special K!!!

Great run by him... They cheated the Tigers out of  that victory!

[BlackHavenSenator]

Meet Aliou Bah, the next 'big thing' at Whitehaven who already has a college offer from Tennessee

 

Khari Thompson, Memphis Commercial AppealPublished 5:00 a.m. CT Oct. 18, 2019

     

The CUTZ Barbershop

 

CONNECTTWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE

When Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt came to Memphis three weeks ago to see the Whitehaven linebacker trio of Bryson Eason, Martavius French and Tamarion McDonald, another player caught his eye. 

Aliou Bah, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound sophomore, is Whitehaven's starting left tackle.

Bah has long arms and broad shoulders. He's light on his feet for a person his size. After seeing him play, Pruitt offered him a scholarship.

It was Bah's first offer.

Four days later, Arkansas offered him a scholarship as well.

Bah is a newcomer to football. He hadn't played the sport until a year ago as a freshman. He was unsure whether he wanted to continue playing.

Buy Photo

Aliou Bah, a sophomore offensive lineman at Whitehaven, already has an offer from Tennessee and Arkansas. (Photo: Ariel Cobbert, The Commercial Appeal )

 

"Last year, he had never played before, so it was like, ‘Just keep him around, keep him around,’ and he was like, ‘I don’t know if I like it,' " Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry said. "But we finally got him honed in, and in the springtime, the light bulb went off and he gravitated to one of our kids, (starting left guard) Taylor Williams.

"They’re really good friends, and the rest is history." 

Spotted in the hospital

Whitehaven assistant coach Danny Elliott works at an area hospital and saw Bah walk in a couple of years ago. 

"He just happened to be at work one day in the hospital and this big ol' kid just shows up in the hospital," Saulsberry said. "... He was an eighth-grader, and he didn’t play football. He played basketball. (Elliott) was taking pictures of him, calling me." 

When Bah got to Whitehaven, he tried out for the football team. People always had told him he could be good at it because of his size. And he saw the attention and scholarship offers that the older football players were getting.

"I liked seeing the rewards, and that if you work hard at it, you might be able to go to the next level and play and get an education and maybe even go pro," Bah said. 

 

Plus, he had an aggressive streak that he couldn't take full advantage of in basketball. 

"He was too aggressive for basketball," Whitehaven linebacker Evan McClary said. "He fouled out of every game. Flagrants, personal fouls, all that."

Learning the game

Bah's year on the freshman team was a learning experience. He hadn't figured out how to translate his size advantage into production. But offensive coordinator Clarence Dillard relished the opportunity to teach him and said that Bah has come a long way. 

"This is what you dream about as a coach, having a guy like this," Dillard said. "He’s such a sponge. He soaks up everything I teach him. You can’t give him everything at one time because there’s so much that goes into being an offensive lineman.

"I’m just giving him a little bit each week, and he’s soaking it up and retaining the information. You can see the development on film each week." 

Buy Photo

Sophomore Aliou Bah has been playing football only since his freshman year. (Photo: Ariel Cobbert, The Commercial Appeal )

 

Dillard said Bah is a good fit at left tackle because his size and length make it tough for defenders to get around him. And he can clear paths for running backs. 

"Right now, he’s a better run blocker because on the passing (technique), he’s still young. So I haven’t been able to teach him everything about pass protection," Dillard said. "We focus on running the ball so much at Whitehaven.

"But he's not bad at pass protection because he’s so big. It's not his technique right now; it's just his God-given frame."

Saulsberry said that Bah could be the next big recruit to come from Whitehaven as long as he stays focused. 

"He’s a large human being, and with this being his second year playing football and really first year touching the field, I get really excited about what he’s going to become," Saulsberry said. "He’ll be the next big thing. He just has to stick with it and stay focused the way he is."

[MidTennFootball]

9 minutes ago, BlackHavenSenator said:

Meet Aliou Bah, the next 'big thing' at Whitehaven who already has a college offer from Tennessee

 

Khari Thompson, Memphis Commercial AppealPublished 5:00 a.m. CT Oct. 18, 2019

     

The CUTZ Barbershop

 

CONNECTTWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE

When Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt came to Memphis three weeks ago to see the Whitehaven linebacker trio of Bryson Eason, Martavius French and Tamarion McDonald, another player caught his eye. 

Aliou Bah, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound sophomore, is Whitehaven's starting left tackle.

Bah has long arms and broad shoulders. He's light on his feet for a person his size. After seeing him play, Pruitt offered him a scholarship.

It was Bah's first offer.

Four days later, Arkansas offered him a scholarship as well.

Bah is a newcomer to football. He hadn't played the sport until a year ago as a freshman. He was unsure whether he wanted to continue playing.

Buy Photo

Aliou Bah, a sophomore offensive lineman at Whitehaven, already has an offer from Tennessee and Arkansas. (Photo: Ariel Cobbert, The Commercial Appeal )

 

"Last year, he had never played before, so it was like, ‘Just keep him around, keep him around,’ and he was like, ‘I don’t know if I like it,' " Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry said. "But we finally got him honed in, and in the springtime, the light bulb went off and he gravitated to one of our kids, (starting left guard) Taylor Williams.

"They’re really good friends, and the rest is history." 

Spotted in the hospital

Whitehaven assistant coach Danny Elliott works at an area hospital and saw Bah walk in a couple of years ago. 

"He just happened to be at work one day in the hospital and this big ol' kid just shows up in the hospital," Saulsberry said. "... He was an eighth-grader, and he didn’t play football. He played basketball. (Elliott) was taking pictures of him, calling me." 

When Bah got to Whitehaven, he tried out for the football team. People always had told him he could be good at it because of his size. And he saw the attention and scholarship offers that the older football players were getting.

"I liked seeing the rewards, and that if you work hard at it, you might be able to go to the next level and play and get an education and maybe even go pro," Bah said. 

 

Plus, he had an aggressive streak that he couldn't take full advantage of in basketball. 

"He was too aggressive for basketball," Whitehaven linebacker Evan McClary said. "He fouled out of every game. Flagrants, personal fouls, all that."

Learning the game

Bah's year on the freshman team was a learning experience. He hadn't figured out how to translate his size advantage into production. But offensive coordinator Clarence Dillard relished the opportunity to teach him and said that Bah has come a long way. 

"This is what you dream about as a coach, having a guy like this," Dillard said. "He’s such a sponge. He soaks up everything I teach him. You can’t give him everything at one time because there’s so much that goes into being an offensive lineman.

"I’m just giving him a little bit each week, and he’s soaking it up and retaining the information. You can see the development on film each week." 

Buy Photo

Sophomore Aliou Bah has been playing football only since his freshman year. (Photo: Ariel Cobbert, The Commercial Appeal )

 

Dillard said Bah is a good fit at left tackle because his size and length make it tough for defenders to get around him. And he can clear paths for running backs. 

"Right now, he’s a better run blocker because on the passing (technique), he’s still young. So I haven’t been able to teach him everything about pass protection," Dillard said. "We focus on running the ball so much at Whitehaven.

"But he's not bad at pass protection because he’s so big. It's not his technique right now; it's just his God-given frame."

Saulsberry said that Bah could be the next big recruit to come from Whitehaven as long as he stays focused. 

"He’s a large human being, and with this being his second year playing football and really first year touching the field, I get really excited about what he’s going to become," Saulsberry said. "He’ll be the next big thing. He just has to stick with it and stay focused the way he is."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is he the first OL with FBS offers you guys have had in awhile?

[kwc]

26 minutes ago, MidTennFootball said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is he the first OL with FBS offers you guys have had in awhile?

Last year we had an OL go to UT. Melvin McBride.

Edited October 18, 2019 by kwc

[MidTennFootball]

3 minutes ago, kwc said:

Last year we had an OL go to UT. Melvin McBride.

Shows how much attention I paid. Thanks

[kwc]

1 hour ago, BlackHavenSenator said:

 

 

Plus, he had an aggressive streak that he couldn't take full advantage of in basketball. 

"He was too aggressive for basketball," Whitehaven linebacker Evan McClary said. "He fouled out of every game. Flagrants, personal fouls, all that."

Dillard said Bah is a good fit at left tackle because his size and length make it tough for defenders to get around him. And he can clear paths for running backs. 

"Right now, he’s a better run blocker because on the passing (technique), he’s still young. So I haven’t been able to teach him everything about pass protection," Dillard said. "We focus on running the ball so much at Whitehaven.

"But he's not bad at pass protection because he’s so big. It's not his technique right now; it's just his God-given frame."

I have to admit that I thought he was too nice. I'm going to take that as him being young. You can tell by looking at how easily he moves for a person his size that he can dominate. 

Two more years of weight training, hitting the football camps in the spring and summers to come, and playing with other D-1 caliber student athletes will benefit him greatly. He got a chance to watch Melvin last season. By the time he's a graduating senior, he will have been well prepared and well exposed. This up and coming spring and summer are going to be huge for him. He's going to see more camps then he can shake a stick at!

Edited October 18, 2019 by kwc