Jaylin Simpson

Jason Bishop Show May 2 2024

Jason Bishop Show May 2 2024
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War Eagles Soar

By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Of all the second-year coaches in the SEC, Auburn skipper Bryan Harsin is probably the most intriguing.

His first season at the helm of the Tigers saw the team go 6-7, almost upsetting Alabama in the Iron Bowl with a team that was more M*A*S*H unit than football team, then wrapping up the year with a final-minutes loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.

After that, the real drama happened – assistant coaches resigning, multiple players diving into the transfer portal, and power-player Auburn boosters basically attempting a coup to remove Harsin for cause. The head coach survived, so now comes the real hard part.

Surviving the 2022 season.

Some elements are in place for this to be a much better season.

Tank Bigsby leads a stable of running backs that is easily top-3 in the conference. The receiver corps is solid if not exciting. T.J. Finley’s arrest means that it’ll be a smaller group of combatants for the starting QB nod.

On defense, the front four should be stout and once the offseason dings & dents get worked out, the secondary should be fine.

The secondary, by the way, includes Jaylin Simpson.

Simpson was the QB for the 2018 State Champion Frederica Knights team. This might be his final year on the plains and should be a showcase for him. Way-too-early speculation says he should be a second-day selection with an outside chance of being a first-day pick in next year’s NFL draft, should he declare.

Keeping in mind that, this is the SEC we’re talking about. Here’s our best estimation of what Auburn is going to do on the field this year.

WEEK 1 – vs. Mercer – I kinda wish this was at Mercer so Jaylin Simpson could re-live some 2018 memories. Maybe the score will be nostalgic enough. Auburn opens with a 48-0 win.

WEEK 2 – vs, San Jose State – Another cupcake, another easy win. The Plainsmen are going to need as many of these as possible as the season goes on. The Spartans are conquered 45-10.

WEEK 3 – vs. Penn State – The Nittany Lions took a close one at Happy Valley last year. Home field advantage makes the difference this year, too. Tigers take it 35-28.

WEEK 4 – vs. Missouri – The SEC schedule starts with a Tigers vs. Tigers match up. The actual southeastern team beats the out-of-their-league Midwesterners, 31-10.

WEEK 5 – vs. LSU – The last of the 5-game home stand to start the season sees another Tigers vs. Tigers matchup. This one will be the toughest so far, but we’ll say the home cookin’ makes the difference. Auburn victorious in a 21-17 scrap.

WEEK 6 – @ UGA – The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry gets renewed for the 127th time. This is a tough game even on off years, but the reigning champs will easily hand the orange & blue their first L of the year, 35-17.

WEEK 7 – @ Ole Miss – While it’s always fun to see Lane Kiffin on the ropes, I don’t see him getting out coached at home this time around. Consecutive losses for AU, this one to the tune of 34-14.

WEEK 8 – vs. Arkansas – As the season grows nearer, mentions of Arkansas being the SEC dark horse get more frequent. While I like Sam Pittman, I don’t see him walking out of Jordan-Hare victorious. Auburn gets back on track 24-13.

WEEK 9 – @ Mississippi State – Another close matchup in the thick of the conference schedule. Low scoring affair that the Tigers let slip 13-6.

WEEK 10 – vs. Texas A&M – More than likely, this will be two teams battling for 2nd place in the west with an outside chance of them battling for first. Here’s hoping for a brawl for the ages with Auburn taking the shootout in OT, 43-42.

WEEK 11 – vs. Western Kentucky – a “get healthy” game in the leadup to the Iron Bowl. Easy 45-6 win for War Eagle nation.

WEEK 12 – @ Alabama – were it not for Tank Bigsby going out of bounds last year, this one might be the Tigers looking for 2 in a row. Stranger things have happened in the Iron Bowl, but I just can’t give them the upset (though I REALLY wish I could). BAMA rolls, 51-21.

FINAL RECORD – 8-4, 2nd Place in the SEC West.

Local Star Wars

By: Alex Mathis

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Signing day is quickly approaching and several of Glynn County’s football players are looking for a college home.

These student athletes are taking official visits (visits paid for by the college football program) and unofficial visits (prospect pays for visit out of their own pocket).

Glynn County has been a major hotspot for college coaches this past week. There have been over 30 colleges visit the 3 high schools in Glynn County. Brunswick High, Frederica Academy, and Glynn Academy have seen some of the biggest names in their hallways this week.

The most notable being the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Kirby Smart. Glynn County is Dawg country and you could not log onto any social media platform and not see a picture with Kirby Smart with a Glynn County resident.

Coach Pender’s Pirates have seen a lot of traffic as of late. The Pirates have one the largest senior classes in the school’s history.

That senior class is loaded with talent. Jaylen Jackson is committed to Georgia Tech and Kam Futch is committed to West Georgia.

Several other prospects are being heavily recruited as well. Djay Whitfield is coming off his official visit from Albany State. Aubrey Williams recently visited Rice University and has interest from other schools as well. Sharrod Frazier has several division 1 offers as well. He should start traveling soon for his official visits.

Brunswick High also has several others who could potentially go play college football next year.

Tevin Small, Jalen King, Alonzo Brown, Rudy Nixon, Ty Hinson, and John Cano should all suit up for a college football team next year.

Warren McClendon will be one of the biggest recruits in South Georgia next year. He has several Power 5 conference offers and he is completely open to all schools at this point in his recruiting process.

Glynn Academy Coach Rocky Hidalgo has also had a lot of visitors. Last year Glynn was able to send Deejay Dallas and Zalonte Hillary to the University of Miami.

Dallas made an immediate impact with the Hurricanes. Miami coaches expect Hillary to make an even bigger impact next year upfront.

Coach Rocky still has a lot of talent on his team that college coaches are coming by to see. Randon Jernigan was highly recruited but decided to sign and play baseball at the University of Georgia.

Marvin Dallas is a long and athletic corner that college coaches love on the outside. He is receiving a lot of attention from several schools.

Dynamic running back, Caine Crews, is a stud running back that will be a major contributor for whatever school he decides to suit up for.

Hunter Hall might be the most underrated recruit in South Georgia. This four-year starter has all the tools that will make him a successful college linebacker. All he needs is a chance.

Frederica Academy has been busy as well. The Knights have 3 seniors who are being recruited to potentially play football in college.

Santana Clark received and offer from the prestigious Rhodes College. He will travel next weekend to Memphis to check out the campus.

Tyler Pierce has received some attention from D3 and NAIA schools.

John Mitchell Brock could possibly kick at the next level of he chooses. There are some D3 schools that are interested in his services.

Jashawn Sheffield and Jaylin Simpson are going into their last year at Frederica. Power 5 schools have been coming in packs to check on this duo.

The 2019 class also has another potential D1 player. Harry Veal has found his way on the radar of college coaches as well. Veal finished the season with 120+ tackles and this has not gone unnoticed by college coaches.

Knights Early Journey

By: Alex Mathis

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

After two weeks, Brandon Derrick’s Knights are 1-1.

Their first game was in Montgomery, Alabama against Parklane Academy of Mississippi.

On top of first game jitters, the Knights faced extreme heat and a very big and talented Parklane team. The Knights kicked off at 230 central time. The on field temperature had to be close to 110 degrees. The Knights started off very sloppy.

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The Elite

By: Jason Bishop

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Football season is once again upon us and we have seen an explosion of talent grace our area high school football teams in the past few years.

The truth is the talent just didn’t one day show up. It has been here all along, the college coaches are just now beginning to look at the Golden Isles and southeast Georgia as a recruiting hotbed.

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SSE Minute March 23

SSE Minute March 23
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Frederica’s 2016 Quest

By: Rich Bontrager

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

In 2015 the Frederica Knights began the season with average expectations and to many people’s surprise they had a very solid season posting a 7-3 record; making it to the first round of the playoffs.

As the 2016 season gets underway, the Knights have great expectations and are favored by many to make it to the State Championship game. Head Coach Brandon Derrick and his coaching staff are seeing their young team meet and even surpass those lofty expectations early on.

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