Bishop Media Sports Network
Running Into The Future
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Despite the playoff appearance last season, the Camden County Wildcats are looking to put last season and the past few years behind them.
Camden finished 5-6 last year and had head coach Bob Sphire resign in the offseason. This left the Wildcat program looking for answers and trying to rebuild the mystique and tradition of the program.
To accomplish this the Wildcats hired former Camden coach Jeff Herron. Herron is a legend in Camden, mostly due to him bringing home three state titles in his original tenure. He has a won a total of five.
With the return of Herron, this also means the return of the Wing-T offense to Chris Gilman Stadium. No one is expected to benefit more from that offense than returning RB Jamie Felix.
Felix is a great athlete and he exploded onto the national scene his sophomore year, especially when he rushed for over 200 yards in a playoff loss to eventual state champ, Marietta.
Felix did not see much playing time last season due to injury; a nagging hamstring kept the Camden star sidelined for a bulk of the season.
When Felix did return, he was still not 100% but even playing injured in the Tift and Lowndes games you could see just how talented this kid is.
Felix, almost single handedly, kept Camden in the Lowndes game, gathering big first down after big first down late in that game. Camden eventually fell by a touchdown in that game.
The next week, in the playoffs, Jamie Felix broke a huge, long, late game run to tie the game against Parkview. Camden eventually fell in that game as well in overtime.
Felix will be a monster in the Wing-T and will not have to carry the entire rushing load by himself as the Wing-T’s design. Plus, Camden looks to be deep at running back.
Felix has offers from every school under the sun but is looking at Penn State, Florida State, Miami and Florida.
Whichever school lands Jamie Felix, they will not only be getting a 5-star RB, but will also be getting a 5-star centerfielder and shortstop. That’s right, Jamie Felix is also one of the best baseball players in the country as well.
Felix has a bright future in front of him and has the temperament and personality to grab ahold of his opportunities and complete whatever dreams he may wish to attain.
In short, Jamie Felix is a great football player and athlete, but even more important is a great student and person.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 22
Loaded Ship
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is only May but football is in the air.
I went out and observed the Brunswick High Blue and Gold game this past week and here are my 15 instant observations:
1)Brunswick will run the football on anyone they line up against this fall.
The running game looked special in the game. Kobe Hill, Ree Simmons, and Leon Charlton are a special group of running backs.
2)Jayden Drayton has a burst that I haven’t seen in a while on Altama Avenue.
Drayton played QB, WR, DB, and returned punts yesterday. This kid has the “It” factor and a different kind of football speed you don’t see a lot these days on the high school level.
3)Kobe Hill is back to 100%. Hill sprained his knee in the season opener last season, and just didn’t have his normal speed last year as he recovered.
Hill had a couple of TDs in the game, with one being a long TD run off of a screen pass where he ran away from a fast secondary. Chuckobe Hill is back folks.
4)Brunswick’s offensive line looked very good. LT Kanaya Charlton is a big-time player and Charlton and RT Jamal Meriweather look like human skyscrapers. This offensive line is huge folks.
5)Brunswick has size and depth on the defensive line. Kashawn Thomas should have a big season this fall.
Defensive line looked good at times. Defensive front put good pressure on the QB most of the day.
6)Leon Charlton has slimmed down and has gained some quickness. For some reason I feel like this kid is going to have a very good season this fall. Hill and Simmons get the headlines at RB, but there is just something about this kid. He makes plays.
7)Deep passing game struggled. It was very windy and some balls were overthrown. Short passing game and screen package looked good.
8)Jeffery Waye looked like an experienced QB yesterday. I see a lot of potential at the QB position.
Sutton Ellis led a couple of scoring drives, and Jayden Drayton looked good running the ball out of the QB position.
9)There is a lot of speed and depth in the BHS secondary. I like what I see on the backend of this defense.
10)There is talent at LB, but I want to see more consistent play from the group. BHS lost a ton of experience in this group to graduation. Size, speed, and numbers are there just need more consistency.
11)Kicking game could be a strength. Anthony Elvine boomed a couple of punts with the wind at his back. McClain Fineran looked solid on extra points.
12)BHS has some tall kids at WR. I like Kevin Thomas. He has bulked up and can run. Look for him to have a solid season.
13)Game was well attended. There seems to be a buzz about this team. You can sort of feel it in the air.
14)Don’t be surprised if BHS plays 2 QB’s this fall, and don’t be surprised if Sean Pender rotates them in and out on every play like Steve Spurrier did some while he was at Florida.
15)Long snapping is a big concern.
Sean Pender told me after the game that he thought BHS could have played a lot better especially in the passing game, but said we’ll fix that over the summer.
Personally, I thought they looked good. My blood runs Blue and Gold but folks that know me understand that.
Get ready Pirate fans this fall could be fun.
Knighting Up
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Gus Malzahn has a reputation for being one of college football’s top recruiters. Since he arrived in Orlando, Malzahn has been able to capitalize by landing several top transfers to UCF.
Malzahn emphasized recruiting is very important to play with the Power 5 programs. Since his arrival on February 15th, “The Gus Bus” hasn’t slowed down.
Linebacker Bryson Armstrong, an All American from Kennesaw State, is the latest player to commit to Malzahn and UCF. Armstrong was the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.
Wide receiver Jordan Johnson transferred to UCF. Johnson was one of the most talented players in the country in the class of 2020 according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. He ranked as the number 37 overall player and the number 6 receiver in the country. Johnson makes the fourth former Notre Dame product to transfer to UCF since 2017.
Former Western Kentucky redshirt freshman defensive tackle Ricky Barber has transferred to The Knights. Barber was a 2020 Freshman All American by Football Writers Association of America this past season.
Big Kat Bryant announced he was transferring to UCF over Tennessee. During his time at Auburn, Bryant recorded 56 tackles, 10 sacks, seven passes defended, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for the Tigers. SEC coaches named Bryant a Second Team All-SEC selection.
The defensive lineman became the third former Tiger to follow Malzahn to Orlando as running back Mark Anthony Richards and receiver Nate Craig Meyers each made the decision to continue their college careers at UCF.
Running back Isaiah Bower (Northwestern) kicker Ryker Casey (App State) and linebacker Hirkley Latu (BYU) round out the new Knights.
The transfer portal can be a double-edged sword. While it can help provide teams with much needed depth and experience, some worry that coaches are signing free agents rather than developing younger talent from high school recruiting.
Unlike former UCF coaches, Malzahn has been offering 4-star and 5-star recruits to UCF. He said it’s about building relationships and UCF is working on changing the narrative with recruits vs transfers.
Malzahn’s sites are set to get these talented players to UCF and be part of building something special. The best way to create franchise energy is to get plugged into the establishment and its actions.
Malzahn will inherit a program that went 6-4 this past season and quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel, one of the top returning sign callers in the country, should mean the Knights program start Malzahn’s tenure with a high floor.
Non-Conference games against Boise State and Louisville in September will give Coach Malzahn a chance to shine early against big names.
The Gus Bus is creating major synergy, so buckle up Knight fans it is going to be UCFast.
Raising The Level
By: Buck Blanz
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As a fan of the NBA, I often get caught in conversation about how NBA Coaches are much less valuable than the infamous coaches of college basketball.
However, unlike college, the NBA coaches also have to fit into the culture of a ballclub just as much as their players do because they are the messengers between players in the locker room and executives.
Therefore, anyone still doubting the significance of NBA coaches should take a look at what Nate McMillan has done in Atlanta since taking over for Lloyd Pierce earlier this season.
Since Nate McMillan took over as Interim head coach for Atlanta, the Hawks are 25-11 and currently sitting with the fifth seed in the Eastern conference; clinching their first playoff berth since the 2016-2017 season.
Usually when teams turn things around midway through the season it is because they were aggressive in trades before the deadline. However, Atlanta has largely had the same roster since the beginning of the season with the exception of trading Rajon Rondo for Sixth Man Lou Williams. Clearly, allowing the numbers show that McMillan has turned this Hawks organization around and it seems to have the future looking bright for the next few seasons.
McMillan is not new to this; he has been coaching in the NBA since 1998 when he was with the Seattle SuperSonics and later became the Head Coach of the organization in 2000.
Since then, McMillan has since been named Head Coach for the Portland Trailblazers as well as the Indiana Pacers before becoming the interim Head Coach for Atlanta following Pierce’s departure.
McMillan’s most recent stint prior to Atlanta was with the Indiana Pacers, where he spent the past four seasons and had agreed to a two-year extension before getting fired after getting swept by the Miami Heat in the opening round of the playoffs a season ago.
The decision to fire McMillan came after being swept in three of the four playoff appearances and never being able to get to the second round during his time in Indiana.
However, McMillan ended his tenure with the Pacers with a 183-186 overall record involving many devastating injuries, like their All-Star Victor Oladipo.
Before McMillan became Interim Head Coach, the Hawks never seemed to have an organized offense and were just out there to have fun, often resulting in losing late in games and/or losing to teams that they should beat.
Since McMillan was given the promotion, the Hawks have seemingly been much better being consistent in late game situations as well as winning the winnable games that are needed to reach the playoffs.
Also, McMillan has done an outstanding job being able to coach around significant injuries to players with a big role by finding dependable production of Atlanta’s bench.
Throughout McMillan’s coaching career and into this season with the Hawks he has shown that he is able to win with just about any five guys on the floor proves that he should be in the Coach of the year race this season.
I know he has only been with the organization for a few months but the turn around the Hawks have seen since being 14-20 has been astonishing.
Even if McMillan isn’t a part of the discussion the least the Hawks organization could do is to hire him as Head Coach for the next few seasons and keep heading down this path he has forged for the young Hawks squad.
The Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 15
What Do They Look Like?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill for Florida college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness starting July 1, 2021.
Making Florida the first State with NIL (name, image & likeness), however California was the first state to implement an NIL bill.
The California bill won’t go into effect until January 1, 2023. The state of Florida was a leader on NIL, and the other states quickly tried to follow our model, college athletes in Florida have been able to position themselves to be ready to benefit starting July first.
The state has consistently been at the forefront for NIL legislation, with Governor DeSantis championing it over the last few years. Other states have already passed NIL laws Mississippi, Iowa, New York, Maryland, Alabama, New Mexico and Georgia to name a few.
While most of these NIL laws are exceedingly athlete friendly, some are more restrictive than others.
Mississippi allows the universities to impose limitations on the date and time which an athlete may participate in NIL events. Iowa places a cap on the number of hours per week a student can participate in athlete activity.
New Mexico prohibits schools from denying an athlete enrollment if they earned NIL compensation as a recruit. South Carolina compels schools to set aside $5,000 per year in a trust for each football and basketball player.
Alabama gives athletes the option to participate in NIL or receive $10,000 a year from the school.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the NIL bill during a ceremony at the University of Georgia. The law is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2021.
Georgia’s NIL law contains a unique feature: Colleges in Georgia can elect to require their players (on all their teams) to share up to 75% of compensation received for the use of their name, image and likeness.
The force sharing would occur pursuant to what Georgia House Bill 617 terms a “pooling arrangement,” with the shared compensation directed to a fund for the benefit of individuals previously enrolled as student athletes.
One year after graduation former players could draw pro rata shares of the fund’s pulled contributions.
Another crucial aspect of Georgia’s NIL law is that the decision to compel sharing is at the discretion of the school. University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and other colleges might decline to provide for pooling arrangements.
One obvious reason why a school would be reluctant to adopt a pooling arrangement is recruiting. If a high school athlete is recruited by Miami, Mississippi State and Georgia, he or she could keep all their post tax NIL compensation by attending one of the first two schools.
If a player instead attends UGA, and if UGA adopts a pooling arrangement, the player will lose some portion of his or her endorsement, sponsorship and influencing compensation.
In my opinion, this is just window dressing. Next month the Supreme Court may decide to make this federal law or defer to individual state laws.
Congress will take that opportunity to roll out a federal law and the state laws will be moot.
Increasing Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech head football coach Geoff Collins is going into his third season in Atlanta.
He currently has a record of 6 – 16. So far, he has recruited better than his predecessor Paul Johnson but it has not translated on the field.
Tech’s spring season included 15 practices over a 24-day span that began March 30th. The Spring game was at Bobby Dodd Stadium on a Friday night, April 23rd. Fans were able to attend.
Left tackle Devin Cochran is a grad transfer from Vanderbilt, and he looks like he will make a big contribution next season. He’s 6’7, 320-pounds and he can stop a pass rusher in his tracks.
Quarterback Jeff Sims has shown what he can do with some time to pass the ball so the offense can be explosive.
Another grad transfer tackle, Kenneth Kirby will come to campus in May when he graduates from Norfolk State. He was a three-year starter and two-time All-MEAC selection.
Sims accounted for 173 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns. He ran for a 48-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game and completed 9-of-10 passes for 125 yards and two scores in front of a large crowd of season-ticket holders and students.
Coach Collins reset the score occasionally to make it more entertaining. He did this in the waning minutes to set up an exciting finish.
First, an 11-yard touchdown run by true freshman quarterback Chayden Peery and subsequent two-point conversion by Ryan Lantz gave the “White” team a 25-24 lead with exactly two minutes to go in the third and final period of the game.
On the following series Sims led the “Gold” team on a four-play, 65-yard drive. He threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to grad transfer Kyric McGowan to win the game.
The Yellow Jackets signal callers played well in the game. Playing in his first game in nearly 18 months due to the cancellation of his senior season of high school football in his native California, Peery completed 7-of-10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown and ran four times for 26 yards and another score.
Redshirt freshman Jordan Yates connected on 6-of-10 passes for 99 yards and a score.
The defense forced two turnovers. There was a fumble recovery by senior defensive lineman Antonneous Clayton and an interception by senior Tariq Carpenter.
Carpenter’s INT came on a defense called by Georgia Tech men’s basketball head coach and honorary spring game defensive coach Josh Pastner.
The offensive line played well. They were not called for any false starts, which was a big problem in 2020.
Center Mikey Minihan accurately delivered snaps to the Sims, blocked effectively and had a handle on the defense’s pre-snap movements. Last season was his first-time playing center and he struggled at times.
Before the game team captains for offense and defense met at midfield. Three of the four were unsurprising selections – Sims and right guard Ryan Johnson (who was voted a permanent captain for the 2020 team at the end of the season) and safety Juanyeh Thomas. The fourth was grad-transfer linebacker Ayinde Eley, who joined the team in January from Maryland. They were voted by their teammates earlier in the week.
In his brief time at Tech, Eley “has made a tremendous impact to our program,” Collins said. “He is a great leader; he is a great teammate. He is a great worker within our program.”
Tech’s first game is September 4th at home against Northern Illinois. Hopefully this is the season where they can get back to a bowl game.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 5
Rank Em
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Spring Football is upon us for high school football in Southeast Georgia. So here we go with my GHSA Spring Top 10 Power Poll for this area:
1.Ware County: The Gators are loaded for 2021. Thomas Castellanos may be the best QB in all of South Georgia. The UCF commit can do it all.
Jason Strickland has done a fantastic job at Ware. You have to think if Ware doesn’t win a State Title in 2021, the question is ‘will they ever’ because Castellanos is the best QB the school has ever had. This team is loaded folks.
2.Camden County: The Wildcats have brought back Jeff Herron and the physical run the football and whip people along the line of scrimmage style of play will not be far behind.
The home schedule sets up nice this fall with Lowndes and Colquitt coming to Kingsland. Camden will be a pretty good football team in 2021.
3.Coffee County: The Trojans are consistently good every single season. They play in the best 5-A region in the state with Ware, Warner Robins, and Wayne County. Big, fast, and physical that is what you get with Coffee.
4.Pierce County: The Bears won a State Championship in 2020 and have a lot of pieces coming back. The only real question is who will step into the QB position. This team is good. The season opener at Brunswick should be a classic.
5.Richmond Hill: The Wildcats could take a step back in 2021. They lost some quality players on both sides of the ball.
Richmond Hill is well coached and they have 7-A numbers but play in a 6-A region due to the GHSA isolation waiver. The numbers alone make them one of the top teams in the area. Richmond Hill, Brunswick and Glynn are the preseason favorites to win Region 2-AAAAAA.
Glynn travels to the Wildcats and Richmond Hill travels to Brunswick. That will determine how the region shakes out.
6.Brunswick: Sean Pender is very excited about his football team and he should be. The Pirates have quality experience at RB, WR, OL, DL, and DB. QB and LB are the positions to watch on this team.
8-4 in 2020, and don’t be surprised if this team makes a run in 2021. Richmond Hill and Glynn Academy face the Pirates in Glynn County Stadium. Could Ree Simmons and Kobe Hill both rush for 1,000 yards this fall? Don’t bet against it.
7.Glynn Academy: We know this about Glynn Academy and this is they will be good along the line of scrimmage and will play above average defense.
Rocky Hidalgo has established that blueprint in his tenure at GA. This will be a good Glynn Academy football team. Tyler Devlin takes over at QB and Glynn looks to be much improved in the passing game. Will Glynn air it out more in 2021?
8.Appling County: Jordan Mullis was named new head coach in Baxley in February.
Appling went 9-2 with an elite 8 appearance in 2020. Expectations are high at Appling going into 2021.
How the team evolves under Mullis will be a key. He served as the DC under Rick Tomberlin in 2020.
Resources and athletes are in place at Appling to be a serious contender at the AAA level. Appling and Pierce County will battle for the region championship in 2021.
9.Vidalia: The Indians are pretty good most years. They will be good again in 2021. Consistent AA program in South East Georgia.
10.MCA: The McIntosh County Buccaneers will be a force in 1-A football.
Coach Bradley Warren is building something special in Darien. This is a football team on the rise and could make a postseason run this fall.
Will Metter be as good as they were in 2020? I don’t think so, and I’m calling a region championship for the Bucs in May. Yes, Trenton Johnson graduated, but MCA always has a RB coming through the pipeline.
Just missing out: Jeff Davis and Wayne County. I did not include Savannah schools in my rankings. Why you ask? Here is your answer, because I didn’t want to.
