Sting Rays
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As we get closer to the start of Major League Baseball season, I will dedicate some time to the Tampa Bay Rays.
In a Major League Baseball season, assuming players do play and get through 60 games, and the playoffs are without cancellation, the Rays are set up as well as any other team in baseball for this unprecedented 60 game season.
Opening Day is scheduled for July 24 versus Toronto at the Tropicana Field.
Manager Kevin Cash stated, “in a normal setting, generally, the first month is, let’s see, where we’re at. Let’s not make too many irrational decisions, but that might change a little bit simply because we’re playing 60 games.”
The Rays have three outstanding starting pictures, who could feasibly be not only the best Rays pitcher this season but the Rays have 3 legitimate Cy Young contenders.
Blake Snell, the 2018 Cy Young Award winner, is looking to rebound from an injury-riddled 2019 season. So far in workouts, Snell’s fastball appeared lively during simulated games with his velocity reaching 96 mph.
Kevin Cash named Charlie Morton the Opening Day starter. Morton established career bests in wins (16), ERA (3.05), strikeouts (240), and innings pitched (194 ⅔) in 2019 and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting.
Tyler Glasnow, to me, looks like an ace in the making. He is a lanky 6 foot 8 and throws an upper 90’s fastball toward the plate. Glasnow might be the best bet to the Cy Young in 2020.
That’s three reasons to pick the Rays to make a run in the short 2020 season.
Then there’s the bullpen; one of the best bullpens in baseball.
There’s lefty Jose Alvardo, who slings a 98-mph sinker and a wipeout slider.
There’s Diego Castillo, who throws 100 mph fastball.
There’s Nick Anderson who throws a 97 mph like soft toss and Chaz Roe, who throws a slider that moves like a frisbee.
There’s no question, the Rays built baseball’s nastiest pitching staff in today’s game and I believe their dominant pitchers will give them a chance in each and every game in 2020.
Position players to watch: Kevin Kiermaier, the speedy center fielder who won his third Gold Glove last season. He is the main defensive star in the Rays’ outfield.
Ji-Man Choi is a left-handed hitting first baseman who hit .261 with 107 hits, 63 RBIs, and 19 home runs. He cut down his strikeout rate to a respectable 22% last season.
Two new additions to the Rays roster this season: Yoshi Tsutsugo and Hunter Renfroe. They seem to be ready to make an impact.
Tsutsugo smashed 139 home runs over the past four seasons with the Yokoham DeNA BayStars in Japan.
Hunter Renfroe hit a career best 33 home runs in 2019 with the San Diego Padres.
Excellent depth seems to be the recipe for success this MLB season. The Rays have an excellent farm system, with great MLB-ready middle infielders and outfielders ready to step up.
Making comparisons in pitching, no team in baseball boasts the depth the Rays have right now.
Look at the last three World Series champs, who’ve all had a strong trio of starters: 2019 Nationals; Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin, 2018 Red Sox; Sales, Price and Eovaldi and 2017 Astros; Verlander, Keuchel and Morton.
The Rays can win it all in 2020. Let’s just pray they get the opportunity to do it.
Be-Deviled
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Last year was great for Marietta. The Blue Devils (14-2) won the 7A state championship. It was their first state title since 1967. They were loaded with talent. The team had 9 seniors ranked in the top 100 prospects in Georgia.
This program is an anomaly because we normally see the same top programs winning championships repeatedly. Marietta is not known as a football powerhouse.
Also, when a school has a talented class, they typically turn that into multiple championships. The Blue Devils were just as talented in 2018 and they were the top team in Georgia in the preseason. They finished the year 5-6 and unranked.
Their 2020 class was led by five-star tight end Arik Gilbert. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, first-team All-American and named Player of the Year for class AAAAAAA. Gilbert committed to LSU. He posted the second-greatest single-season mark for receiving yards in state history with 101 catches for 1,760 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Quarterback Harrison Bailey, defensive lineman B.J. Ojulari, tackle Jake Wray and defensive back Rashad Torrence were four-star prospects.
They don’t have any players ranked in the top 100 state prospects in 2021. After losing so much talent the Blue Devils will come crashing back to earth in 2020.
The season opener is home versus Colquitt County. The Packers were 9-3 last season and they will be a top 10 team this year. Wide receiver Lemeke Brockington is rated as the No. 39 prospect in the state and he’s a three-star recruit. Colquitt will win big.
The second game of the year is against Armwood (FL). They were a semifinalist last season in Florida’s highest classification. This game is probably cancelled because the GHSA announced the season will be pushed back and start September 4th. This game was going to be played August 28th.
Week 3 is at archrival McEachern. The Indians won last year’s meeting and they were the region champs. Star quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson transferred to Grayson but they still have other good players on the team.
Their best player is inside linebacker Ese Dubre, the 68th ranked player in Georgia and a three-star recruit. I expect mighty McEachern to win.
The first road game is a long drive to Camden County. The Wildcats were 8-3 last season and lost in the playoffs to Marietta, 41 – 13.
Tackle Micah Morris is the No. 6 prospect in state and a four-star recruit. He committed to Georgia. Camden also has three-star wide receiver and Nebraska commit Shawn Hardy. The Wildcats will get revenge in a blowout win.
Week 5 is a second consecutive road game at Parkview. The Panthers were 12-2 in 2019 and lost to Marietta 42 – 31 in the semifinals.
Their led by four-star running back Cody Brown. Brown is rated as the No. 14 Georgia prospect and he’s committed to Tennessee. The Panthers will roll.
After a bye week the second half of the season begins with North Paulding at home. This will be the first win of the season.
Hillgrove is the next game. The Hawkss (yes, double s) should win this game.
Harrison has moved up to 7A and they’re in the same region. They were undefeated and won the 6A state championship last year. The Hoyas will win this game.
The final two games are against North Cobb and Walton. They should win one of those games, probably the North Cobb game.
I think Marietta will win two, potentially three games this season. Not very good for defending state champs.
Draft Options
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the NBA season is on the brink of resuming for many teams, for organizations like Atlanta, which has seen their season already come to an end, it’s time to look forward to possible free agent signings and the NBA Draft.
It’s difficult to get too specific about what Atlanta’s draft may look like since that event is still roughly three months away and a lot can happen between now and then.
The muddy waters should become a little bit clearer on August 25 when the NBA holds their draft lottery and the Hawks will find out exactly what their draft position is; their first-round pick could range anywhere from the first pick to the seventh overall.
If Atlanta is fortunate enough to wind up with either the first or second pick, I think the choices are obvious, it’s going to be James Wiseman or Anthony Edwards.
Personally, if Atlanta were to receive the number one overall pick, they should go with Wiseman. The former Memphis Tiger- and I use that in the loosest sense of the term since he only played three games there- is the better of the two players and fills a deeper need for the Hawks.
That’s not to say Atlanta wouldn’t be as happy as a college student making a late-night run to the Waffle House if they wound up with Edwards, my preference just happens to be Wiseman.
Like with most drafts, it only gets interesting after those initial picks. Depending on which mock draft you choose to look at the Hawks, currently slotted in the fourth spot until the lottery takes place because of their record, seem to have more possibilities than Brad Pitt at a bar during Ladies Night.
Of all the names associated with that pick, there are three I could see the Hawks leaning towards; Obi Toppin, Isaac Okoro, and LaMelo Ball.
Toppin, the power forward from Dayton, probably has the highest ceiling of the three and is arguably the most NBA ready, which in a draft bereft of franchise changing talent, can be difficult to pass up.
On the downside he is 22, which in our bizarro world makes him the elder statesman of the draft- and likely has the lowest ceiling of the three. That combination can be a tough sell when you’re drafting that high.
Okoro, freshman out of Auburn, is an athletic wing that thrives on the defensive end but has a very limited skillset on the offensive end.
Players like Okoro are high risk/high reward and I have a feeling if Atlanta decides to go this route it will be indicative of their feelings towards De’Andre Hunter or Cam Reddish.
If I had to choose between one of the three, Ball, who spent the last few seasons playing overseas, would be the choice.
LaMelo’s game translates well to the NBA and I would love to see how Trae Young would play with him in the backcourt. Even though the level of competition he faced overseas may not have been as high as it would’ve been at a major conference program, from all accounts he took his experience over there very seriously and should be prepared for the rigors of an NBA season.
Atlanta may not be ready for the playoffs yet, but who they choose in this year’s draft, paired with an already young and talented roster, could go a long way in getting them there.
At least they’ve got three months to think about it.
Terrorizing
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2020 edition of the Glynn Academy Red Terrors will be a blueprint of what they have been known for in these parts since 2014, which is a consistent winner.
Since Rocky Hidalgo took over on the south end of Brunswick in 2014, The Terrors have gone 55-22 and have appeared in a state title game, won 4 outright region championships, made deep runs in the state playoffs, and have beat rival Brunswick in six straight meetings.
2019 was not up to the standards of Glynn Academy football which has three goals every season and they are the City Championship, Region Championship, and State Championship.
The 2019 Terrors were City Champions, but fell short in the Region to Richmond Hill after winning four straight region championships. Did you know that before Rocky Hidalgo arrived at Glynn Academy that the Red Terrors went 43 years without a region football title?
The win total in 2019 was 6 for a program that is used to winning 8-12 games per season since 2014.
The 2020 Terrors have a chip on their shoulder to regain the region title and make a deep playoff run. The talent is there.
TJ Lewis returns at QB and has some good offers to play college football. Caden Hutchinson will be the featured running back. Some Glynn folks are telling me that Hutchinson will be the best running back in the region that is stacked with quality running backs.
On defense Miles Smith returns at LB. Does it not always seem that Glynn has a linebacker that tackles everything that moves? Jayden Drayton could be the most dynamic play maker in coastal Georgia this fall. This is a talented roster.
Schedule/My Prediction/* Region Contest:
8/21 At Islands: The Red Terrors travel to Savannah to play Islands in what they are calling the I-95 classic. Well Glynn is rolling into Savannah and will whip Islands 35-17 to go 1-0 on the season.
8/28 At Camden County: Glynn will be good but not Camden good, as the Wildcats have 9 or 10 division one football prospects on the roster. Cats beat GA 28-10. GA drops to 1-1.
9/04 At Winder-Barrow: The Bulldogs went 3-7 in 2019. Glynn should take care of business 28-13. GA goes to 2-1 on the season.
9/18 At Coffee: Many chalk this up as a loss, but not me. Glynn will always play good team defense, and Glynn wins these types of games when nobody gives them a shot. Terrors win 17-14 at Coffee to go to 3-1.
9/25 At Brunswick*: Talent is pretty much even, but mentally Glynn owns this series and until Brunswick gets over this mental hump its 7 straight for GA with a 25-22 win over the rival Pirates. GA goes to 4-1.
10/02 Bradwell Institute *: GA owns Bradwell. Terrors go to 5-1 with a 42-14 win.
10/09 At South Effingham*: The Mustangs will be no match for Glynn even home in “The Corral “. Glynn wins 38-17 to go to 6-1 and 3-0 in the region.
10/16 Effingham County*: Effingham is in rebuild mode and that is never a good thing when you play Glynn in a region contest. GA wins at home 42-14 over Effingham. GA goes to 7-1 and 4-0.
10/23 Richmond Hill*: I have gone back and forth with this one. 7A Richmond Hill playing in 6A has more talent on paper, but Glynn has Rocky Hidalgo and everyone is anointing the Wildcats as Region Champions. If Glynn comes into this game with no region losses they won’t lose to the Wildcats. Terrors clinch the region title at home with a 28-24 win over Richmond Hill. GA goes to 8-1 and 5-0
11/06 At Statesboro*: Trap game in Statesboro. I’m putting Glynn on upset alert here. After clinching the region Glynn comes out flat and drops a tough contest to Statesboro at historic Womack Field 24-17 to finish the regular season at 8-2 and 5-1
The Red Terrors will enter the playoffs as the number 1 seed from Region 2-AAAAAA, and makes it to the third round in a huge bounce back season.
Ramming Down the Door
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Grayson is one of the elite programs in Georgia’s largest classification, AAAAAAA.
The Rams won state championships in 2011 and 2016. They hope to return to the top of the GHSA mountain in 2020.
Last season Grayson was expected to compete for the state championship. They beat Marietta by two touchdowns during the regular season. The Blue Devils were the most talented team in Georgia and they went on to win the 7A championship.
The Rams finished 2019 with a 10 – 2 record. They lost in the quarterfinals to Lowndes, 28 – 20. Lowndes advanced to the state championship game.
Grayson has produced a lot of talent. Most notably, Robert Nkemdiche was a five-star recruit and the top player in the class of 2012.
This season is no different. Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds is the 19th ranked player in the state and a four-star recruit. He’s committed to Florida. He’s 6’2 and 190 pounds so he has good size. Reynolds played at Central Gwinnett last season and he had 88 catches for 1,534 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett’s wide receiver of the year for the 2019 season.
Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is also a four-star recruit and the 20th ranked player in Georgia. He will join Reynolds in Gainesville. He transferred from McEachern and this is his first season at Grayson. Del Rio-Wilson is 6’3, 205 pounds and he’s a dual threat. He’s in the 2020 Elite 11.
Running back Phil Mafah is the 27th ranked player in the state and another four-star recruit. The 6’1, 220-pound back is committed to Clemson. He missed several games at the beginning of the season due to a broken collarbone. He ran for 676 yards and 9 TD’s.
Defensive end Victoine Brown is a three-star recruit and the 34th ranked player in state. He’s committed to Louisville.
The season begins August 21st versus Creekside. The Seminoles are a 5A team and they were 7 – 5 in 2019. This will be an easy win.
Week 2 is at McEachern. The Indians were 12 – 1 last year and they are a very good team. This will be a close win.
Stephenson comes to town next. The Jaguars were 10 – 2 last season and they were one of the best 4A teams. They can’t compete with 7A talent though and Grayson wins big.
The Rams travel to Archer in Week 4. Last year’s game was very close, a 34 – 31 Grayson win. The Tigers are looking to build off of their momentum from 2019 after finishing 9 – 4. This will be another close game but I give the edge to Grayson.
Paul Bryant high school from Alabama comes to town. I don’t know much about the Stampede but I know they can’t compete with Grayson.
Mill Creek is next on the schedule. The Hawks are a very good team and were 10 – 3 in 2019. This will be a battle, but the Rams will win.
Grayson travels to South Gwinnett for the sixth game. The Comets are a bad team and they’ll lose by 30.
After a bye week Parkview is the next game. The Panthers were 12 – 2 last season and they are led by four-star running back Cody Brown. I think Parkview will win.
The final two games are at Brookwood and Newton. They’ll win both games. I think Grayson will make it to the state championship game in 2020. They are the most talented team in Georgia.
The Triumvirate
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s always difficult talking about anyone or anything being the greatest when it comes to sports.
Everyone has different criteria they go by and comparing players or teams from different eras almost never ends well.
So, while I’m sure there will be baseball purists that will disagree with me, or to be honest just fans of a different team, my vote for the greatest starting pitching rotation has to be the 1995 Atlanta Braves.
Now, full disclosure I was a teenager at the time who thought Face/Off was the greatest movie ever made, so there’s a good possibility those baseball purists would be right.
Of course, when I mention the pitching rotation for the ‘95 Braves I’m really referring to three pitchers, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
You could argue, and I would probably make the argument, that Maddux was the best pitcher during the 90’s, with the ‘95 season being his best of the decade. Besides winning his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young award, Maddux’s 19-2 record was the best winning percentage of his career and his 1.63 ERA was bested only by the 1.56 he posted the year before.
Those stats, along with his ten complete games and three shutouts, were why I remember feeling Atlanta was going to win every time he took the mound.
I mean Maddux was so dominant that his 3-1 record and 2.62 ERA that postseason, a performance most pitchers would dream of, was actually a letdown compared to his regular season.
1995 may not have been Glavine’s most productive season, although he did finish 3rd in the Cy Young voting, but he was Atlanta’s best pitcher during the playoff run.
The Braves never lost a game that he started and he infamously told his teammates heading into Game 6 of the World Series all they had to do was give him one run and he would take care of the rest; they did and he threw eight innings of one hit, shutout baseball.
Maddux and Glavine may not have been the best one-two punch in baseball history, but if Rush is considered rock n’ roll’s holy triumvirate, then the Braves were baseball’s version with the addition of John Smoltz.
On most teams Smoltz would’ve been the number one starter, or number two, at the very least. Only on this Braves team would you have a pitcher that at that point was a three time All-Star, in the prime of his career, as the third man in the rotation.
Finishing out the rotation was Steve Avery, who was on the same trajectory as Tom Glavine before his career was derailed by injury, and Kent Merker, who was to this Braves team what Pete Best was to the Beatles.
I know this wasn’t the only year this group was together (Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz all made the All-Star team the following year) but as a collective, this seemed to be their best year.
When you think about it, there’s just something that feels right about the Braves winning their lone World Series title, while in Atlanta, during this season.
I’m sure there are other teams that have had three 1st ballot Hall of Fame pitchers on their roster at one time, but I doubt they all were in their prime.
It’s been twenty-five years and unlike the Nic Cage/John Travolta 90’s action flick, this group’s legacy has actually held up.
Name Change
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After far too much resistance, the Washington Redskins are finally taking a name change into consideration.
It’s crazy that it’s 2020 and the process has just now begun (it feels inevitable at this point, no?), but better late than never.
In the same vein, the Cleveland Indians have apparently begun thinking about a change as well, and in fact Indians manager Terry Francona has even come out in favor of the shift.
As you might expect, the conversation then directed its’ attention to the Atlanta Braves, who were faced with a modicum of controversy during the playoffs last year regarding the now-beloved tomahawk chop (itself a tradition adopted from Florida State University).
The Braves responded by announcing that they are not planning to change the name of the team, but that they are reconsidering the use of the Chop.
I’ve written about this very topic before, and my views haven’t changed: if the Braves name is offensive or hurtful to anyone, then it should be changed. It’s the name of the team, not the legacy or moments that fans cherish – those will remain, regardless of what the Atlanta baseball team have on the front of their home jerseys.
The chop, which I have participated in enthusiastically thousands of times, should almost certainly be no more.
It’s cultural appropriation at its core: a facsimile of a stereotyped Native American war cry done while pantomiming the swinging a tomahawk, which perpetuates the stereotype of the “savage Indian;” and 50,000 non-Native Americans shouldn’t be doing it every night, given the grotesque history our nation has with the people that were here first.
That’s the short version of my take, but instead of rehashing all that, I am going to spend my remaining space not convincing you that the Braves should change their name and drop the chop, but pitching to you what they should change their name to – and how it will help us keep the chop. Sort of.
So, here’s the thing: the tomahawk chop is, as I’ve said, a beloved tradition in Atlanta. But I’ve also said that it needs to go. So how do we keep the spirit of the thing and unity it brings alive while casting out the problematic aspects of it?
First, we change the team from the Atlanta Braves to the Atlanta Vikings. Bear with me.
The Braves become the Vikings, but almost everything else stays the same: we keep the classic uniform design and color scheme; the script “A” on the ball cap; all the things that make our look our look.
We even keep the tomahawk under the team name, only it’s not a tomahawk anymore – under the word “Vikings” is a freakin’ battle ax.
But what about the chop? We can’t keep the chant as is, but there should still be some kind of vocal cry to go along with the chopping motion that we’ve always done, especially now that we have an awesome battle ax. Don’t worry, I’ve got this covered.
Imagine yourself at the ballpark. The Vikings are threatening to rally with two men on and Freddie Freeman at the plate. Normally, this is when you’d chop – but not anymore. Now there’s something better.
Suddenly, roaring through Truist Park’s sound system, comes the ferocious crunch of Jimmy Page’s guitar as the walls echo with the opening riff of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
The riff blasts four times (edited down from the studio version’s eight), before, along with Robert Plants legendary vocals, the whole stadium – chopping the same way they always have – erupts into the song’s opening battle cry: “AHHHH AHH AHHHHHHHHH AHH!”
The Valhalla Chop. Seriously. Do it right now, wherever you’re reading this. Chop and do the battle cry. You’re right. It’s freaking awesome. Problem solved.
Cats On The Hunt
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Camden County Wildcats, in my mind, are a blue blood program in South Georgia.
The Wildcats have won three State titles (2003, 2008, and 2009) this century.
Camden finished the 2019 season with an 8-3 record losing to eventual champion Marietta in the first round.
Bob Sphire is one of the better high school football head coaches in the business, and enters his 4th season as the head coach.
Sphire took over a football program in 2017 that had sunk pretty low from what Jeff Herron built at Camden.
Slowly Sphire has rebuilt this program the right way. His first two seasons he played a lot of young kids, who had to gain their experience in Region 1-AAAAAAA, which I refer to as the SEC of Georgia High School football. The roster has a lot of good quality players that can compete in the highest level in the State.
Micah Morris is the highest ranked recruit on the roster. The 4- star offensive tackle committed to the University of Georgia in April. Morris is 6-4 and 320 pounds and the future looks bright for Morris.
The schedule is brutal with not one cupcake to be found. Can Camden get back to that team that goes 3 rounds or deeper in the playoffs in 2020?
Region Game */ Schedule/My Predictions
8/21 Columbia: Long bus ride to Chris Gillman Stadium spells doom for the visitors historically. I don’t see Columbia pulling off an upset here. The Cats go to 1-0 on the season with a 44-18 win over Columbia.
8/28 Glynn Academy: The Terrors make the 30-minute ride down I-95 South and run into an angry bunch of Wildcats.
Glynn will be a good football team in 2020, but not Camden County good. Camden goes to 2-0 on the season with a 28-10 win over Glynn Academy.
9/04 @ Ribault High School (Florida): Ribault will always have dangerous athletes that could cause some problems, but they won’t have the depth to compete for 4 quarters.
Ribault hits a few big plays on offense, but they will lay a big egg on defense and get drilled by Camden 42-20. Camden goes to 3-0.
9/11 Marietta: Who scheduled this non-region game? This is about as brutal as they come.
The defending state champs travel to Chris Gillman Stadium, which could be factoring in Atlanta traffic a 7-hour bus ride.
Marietta lost a lot, and I’m banking on the bus trip taking its toll on the Blue Devils. Camden finds a way to win 28-24 to go to 4-0 on the season.
9/18 @ Oakleaf High School (Florida): Could this be a trap game? Maybe but if you beat Marietta you will not lose to Oakleaf. The Wildcats go to 5-0 with a 49-14 win.
9/25 Coffee: Remember the brutal schedule comment? Look at these next two games. Coffee drops to 5-A this year and should make some serious noise in football. They will not beat Camden in Kingsland, however. Cats go to 6-0 with a 21-13 win over Coffee.
10/02 @ Warner Robins: Playing at Warner Robins is no picnic. Warner Robins will compete for a state title in 5-A. I see Camden slipping by this one by the skin of their teeth 21-20 to go into region play at 7-0.
10/16 @ Colquitt County *: A win here would be considered an upset at the state level. This schedule takes its toll on the Wildcats and they fall to the Packers 27-20 to drop to 7-1 and 0-1
10/23 Tift County *: You never know what you are going to get with Tift County. Camden wins this region contest 33-21 to go 8-1 and 1-1.
10/30 @ Lowndes *: Can Camden win this one on the road to secure a home playoff game? You have to be special to win at Lowndes these days.
Camden falls short 28-16 to finish 8-2 and 1-2 for the regular season.
Solid playoff team battle tested by a brutal schedule gets them into the second or possibly third round of state playoffs.
Speak Of The Blue Devils
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It has been a decade since the Statesboro Blue Devils have been considered a state power on the football field, but the program’s ongoing trudge back from some dark times aims to take another step forward this fall.
Now four years removed from the only 0-10 season in school history, Statesboro head coach Jeff Kaiser – who was announced as head coach ahead of the 2017 season – has his team steadily improving.
The Devils have qualified for the state playoffs in each of the last two seasons and got back to the .500 mark last fall for the first time since 2014.
As has been the case for teams all around the country, this summer’s training has been significantly hindered by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
School was called off more than a month before the scheduled spring practices for Statesboro and simply getting students – football players or otherwise – through the academic year will be tough.
Kaiser and his staff continued to communicate to the team through texts, emails and phone calls, with players left to their own devices to continue to study playbooks and stay in shape.
When June rolled around, word came from both the GHSA and Bulloch County that there would be a slow roll-out of parameters for practices that will gradually include more football-related activities with more players allowed at each practice.
All of the virus-related restraints on team activities are just one facet of what will be a challenging 2020 for the Devils.
While they have made the state playoffs two years running, Statesboro played those seasons in a five-team Class-AAAAA region. With Ware County and Wayne County dominating the region, the Devils’ postseason prospect essentially boiled down to a two-game season with games against New Hampstead and South Effingham, with any of the teams able to clinch a playoff berth with as little as one region win.
That will change this fall as Statesboro bumps up to Class-AAAAAA and will join a region with more teams that features plenty of old rivals.
South Effingham joins Statesboro in the move up and they will group in with Brunswick, Glynn Academy, Effingham County, Richmond Hill and Bradwell Institute.
The Devils have been region rivals with all of these teams at some point in their past, most notably with Brunswick, which traded region championships with SHS for three consecutive seasons at the turn of the last decade.
The Devils lose relatively little in total personnel from last year’s squad, but still have some big holes to fill.
Always a run-first team, Statesboro will have to fill the shoes of running backs Jaylin Roberson and Davardrian Lipsey.
Also departed is Corey McCullough, who anchored the linebacker corps and also served as a stellar blocker and short-yardage back on offense.
If Statesboro is to continue its track record of improvement, it will stem from both lines.
The Devils were forced to play with inexperienced and – at times – undersized linemen over the last few seasons. But a more veteran crew this season that has taken to Kaiser’s emphasis on growing in the weight room should now provide the Devils with a formidable presence up front whether attacking an opposing quarterback or paving a clean path for their own runners.
Statesboro is slated to kick off the season against former region rival Wayne County in the Erk Russell Classic at Georgia Southern’s Paulson Stadium.
The Devils will also take on Swainsboro, Houston County and Jenkins before spending all of October and November in their region slate.
Don’t Count Him Out
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
University of Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton, who suffered a devastating leg injury in November of 2018 and missed the entire 2019 season, says he will return to the field in 2020.
Will he attain that goal? I don’t know for sure. No one does, but Milton believes it will happen. Milton thinks there’s a 50/50 chance he will be cleared and declared full go for preseason camp.
Flashback to November 23, 2018, it was third and 7, Milton was tackled by South Florida Bull’s cornerback Mazzi Wilkens that resulted in the injury. Milton was rushed to Tampa General Hospital for immediate surgery.
The surgeons had to remove the vein from the left leg to make a new artery in the right one in order to restore blood flow and save the leg.
Milton was in surgery for the next 4-5 hours, doctors worked to restore blood flow to his leg to avoid amputation.
The quarterback, who won back-to-back American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year awards previously, has been through at least four surgeries and extensive rehabilitation as he pushes to play again.
Each step in the process continues to reaffirm that Milton will eventually return to the football field.
Josh Heupel, UCF Head Coach, said “Absolutely, there’s no doubt in my mind that Milton will be back on the football field at a really high level.”
In April 2020, prior to the NFL draft, video of Milton throwing to Gabriel Davis hit the internet. It had UCF and college football junkies excited.
In an interview with UCF Rivals’ reporter Brandon Helwig, Milton states, “Playing in 2020 is still my goal. The reason I set that goal is I wasn’t to approach rehab every day with the idea I’ll be ready to go to fall camp ready for North Carolina in our first game. If I’m not approaching it that way, I feel like I’d be missing a day in therapy not working as hard as I can. That’s why I set that goal. I hope to reach that. If I don’t, it is what it is. I’ll keep knocking it down block by block. Hopefully when I go to Minnesota at the end of June, I’ll get good news.”
Milton was one of the best quarterbacks in college football in 2017 and 2018. He was 265-for-395, passing for 4,037 yards, 37 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions.
He also rushed for 613 yards and 8 touchdowns as UCF went 13-0 in 2017 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
His stats declined during the 10 games he played as a junior in 2018 in coach Josh Heupel’s first year at UCF, but he still threw for 2663 yards and 25 touchdowns with just 6 picks.
He added another 9 touchdowns on the ground and rushed for 297 yards.
In 2019, Dillon Gabriel emerged as the starting quarterback at UCF. Gabriel led the Knights to a 10-3 record while throwing for 3653 yards, 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions as a true freshman.
Milton draws hope and optimism from people like Joe Theismann, Jaylon Smith and Teddy Bridgewater, people who have been through devastating injuries and gotten back on the field. “People have done it before and I definitely think I’ll be able to too.”
Milton suffered a catastrophic injury in 2018 while owning a personal 22-game win streak. Milton looks like he’s coming back to play. Do not doubt the heart of a Champion!
I, for one, can’t wait to see number 10 run onto the field. When Milton is able to return to the field, it will be one hell of a comeback story.
