Kipp Branch
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender August 18
The Time Is Now
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let me go ahead and get my next statement out of the way.
The Georgia Bulldogs are a big, fast, talented, well coached, and most of all a hungry football team.
Kirby Smart has built the program into a national powerhouse. Who knows if UGA will win a Natty in 2021? That seems to be the measuring stick the national media has placed upon Kirby.
I never recall that same measuring stick applied to Dabo Swinney at Clemson. Swinney’s Clemson program didn’t play for a national title until his 8th season at Clemson, and didn’t win one until his 9th season at the school.
Smart’s UGA program played for one in only his second year with the program. The better question for UGA is can it beat Alabama when it matters the most?
By my reasoning Alabama has cost UGA three national championships over the past nine years in 2012, 2017, and 2018. Smart enters year six at UGA with a 52-14 record.
UGA is loaded across the board. Let’s look at the position groups:
QB: JT Daniels could be the best returning QB in the SEC along with Matt Corral at Ole Miss.
Daniels does not turn the ball over that much, and throws the deep ball well. Daniels is the best pure passer that Kirby Smart has had during his tenure at UGA.
RB: UGA has the best RB back room in the SEC. Zamir White, James Cook, Kendall Milton, Kenny McIntosh, and Daijun Edwards. I don’t think I need to comment further here.
OL: UGA has recruited well in this position group. Jamaree Salyer leads a talented group that includes former Brunswick High Pirate Warren McClendon, who will start at Right Tackle for the second straight season.
WR/TE: Another deep group that will be led by Kearis Jackson, and Jermaine Burton.
Arik Gilbert came in from LSU and may dominate at whatever position he lines up at. What if George Pickens returns from his ACL injury by late season?
DL: Jordan Davis will be a first team All- American. Another deep position group that includes Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt. Maybe the most underrated position group on the roster from a fan standpoint.
LB: Adam Anderson, Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith. Five Stars everywhere.
DB: Talented but untested. Many say the weakest link for UGA this is the group. Tykee Smith, a transfer from West Virginia, will play the Star position, and Derion Kendrick, a transfer from Clemson, will start at one of the corners. Kelee Ringo could end up being great at corner but must get some game experience.
P/K: Former Glynn Academy PK Jack Podlesny and P Jake Carmada give UGA maybe the best kicker combo in the SEC or maybe the country.
Schedule:
9/4 vs Clemson in Charlotte: Clemson does not strike fear in UGA. The Tigers lost their best QB and RB in school history to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Their best WR Justyn Ross missed all of 2020 with a spinal condition. Question to the masses is how will Clemson be better in 2021 than they were in 2020? They won’t and UGA will win that game 31-21.
Wins over UAB, South Carolina, Vandy, and Arkansas.
10/9 @ Auburn: A game UGA fans always worry about. Auburn plays great when they have no expectations. 2021 is one of those years under a new coach when many pick the Tigers as low as 5th in the SEC West. I’m worried. UGA 23-20 in a war.
10/16 vs. Kentucky: Don’t get caught thinking about Florida, Dawgs. UGA wins 34-21.
10/30 vs Florida in Jax: No Kyle Trask, no Kyle Pitts, no Kadarius Toney, and no Trevon Grimes. How will UF be better on offense in 2021? Quick answer is they won’t and UGA will be much improved on offense. UGA wins this game by two TD’s 31-17.
11/6 vs Missouri: Upset alert, upset alert, and upset alert. UGA has one of these types of games every season.
JT Daniels leads UGA from behind in the 4th quarter for a 35-31 win over a very good Missouri squad that will finish second in the SEC East.
Wins over Tennessee, Charleston Southern, and GT.
Regular season record 12-0. Plays the winner of Texas A&M and Alabama in the SEC Title game.
Rocky Bottom
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
To say the Tennessee Volunteer football program has struggled recently is being kind. The program is downright awful at the moment.
Tennessee has not won the SEC East since 2007, and have not won an SEC Title since 1998. Since 2007, Florida and Georgia have won the SEC East five times each, Missouri twice, and South Carolina once.
Since 2007, Tennessee has gone through five head football coaches. Jeremy Pruitt was hired in 2018 and fired in 2020 and that experiment was a disaster.
Pruitt was fired for cause due to committing serious NCAA recruiting violations. The NCAA is in a current investigation of the Tennessee. Major NCAA sanctions are looming over the horizon. Nine other coaches and staff were fired as well after the internal investigation.
On the local front former Brunswick High School head football coach Larry Harold was one of the nine terminated after the Tennessee internal investigation.
Rumors of cash being handed out to players and recruits in fast food bags are some of the things you hear being tossed around in connection to the investigation.
Former head coach and AD Philip Fulmer was forced to resign as Athletic Director over the internal investigation and was not allowed to take part in the hiring of Pruitt’s replacement.
I know Tennessee legend Johnny Majors had to be smiling down from heaven on that one after then offensive coordinator Fulmer conspired to have Majors fired as head coach of the Vols back in 1992. Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve eventually.
Josh Heupel was hired away from Central Florida to clean up the mess of a rotten internal football culture at Tennessee. Heupel will need time to rebuild this program.
The transfer portal has gutted the depth of the program. Hendon Hooker transferred in from Virginia Tech and he and Harrison Bailey look to compete for the starting QB job. Joe Milton also transferred from Michigan and could also compete for the QB job.
Cade Mays leads an offensive line that was brutal in pass protection in 2020. Heupel runs a pass happy offense so pass protection is the key.
On defense the talent at LB transferred. The defensive talent level is lacking. Heupel must develop a defense at Tennessee, which could be a major challenge as his defensive units at UCF ranked among the worst in the nation. Poor defensive play will get you fired in the SEC.
The rebuild at Tennessee won’t be easy at all with Alabama and Georgia recruiting at elite levels and taking top Tennessee high school talent annually. Tennessee must recruit Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia well to return to glory.
It may take a decade after looming NCAA sanctions wear off for Vol fans to get back if ever to the standard they were used to in the 1990’s.
Schedule/My Predictions: Projected Wins: Bowling Green, Tennessee Tech, South Carolina, South Alabama, Vanderbilt.
Projected Losses: Pittsburgh, Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia
Projected record 5-7 and 2-6 in the SEC.
Tennessee football seasons hinge on outcomes of the Alabama, Florida and Georgia games.
Tennessee records against those three this century:
Alabama: 5-16 and currently on a 14-game losing streak.
Florida: 4-17 and a current 4 game losing streak
Georgia: 6-15 and a current 4 game losing streak
Combined: 15-48
Since Tennessee’s last SEC Championship game appearance in 2007 the Vols are 36-70 in SEC play.
Tennessee has gone from one of the best programs in the conference to one of the worst in 13 years.
It’s not going to get better overnight Tennessee fans. The worst still may be yet to come once the NCAA gets finished with you.
Returning Sting?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Wayne had a tough season in 2020 finishing with a 3-8 record. The Yellow Jackets ended up with the #4 seed in Region 1-AAAAA and pushed Jones County, a region champion, to the limit before falling 27-25 in the first round of the playoffs. Jones County made it to the final four last year.
One opposing coach this fall had this to say about Wayne “They won’t be decimated by injuries this year like last year and they are well coached. Wayne always has good talent”.
Another area coach had this to say “We have seen them over the summer and they have good skill people and they are big and physical like you always expect Wayne County to be”.
Ken Cribb enters his 5th season as head coach of Wayne County. The Yellow jackets have a 31-14 record during that time with a couple of region championships in 2017 and 2018.
Reclassification in 2020 put Wayne in a brutal AAAAA region that includes Coffee County, Ware County, Warner Robins, and Veterans High School.
Coffee, Ware and Warner Robins are three of the top AAAAA teams in the State and all 3 could be in the top 5 of the preseason rankings.
Improvement in 2021 has to begin on the defensive side of the ball where Wayne gave up 25 points per game last year and over 40 per game in two of their four region contests. If the defense can improve then the win totals will go up.
2021 Schedule/My Predictions:
8/21 @ Statesboro: The game will be played at Georgia Southern University as part of the Erk Russell Classic, I believe. Wayne has handled Statesboro over the past few years and will do so again in 2021. Jackets win a tight one.
8/27 vs Pierce: A defending state champion comes to Jaycee Stadium and gets beat by the home team. Do the power brokers in Jesup take notice or are they secretly flying in Nick Saban to resurrect the program? Jackets go to 2-0.
9/3 vs Richmond Hill: Wayne has beaten Richmond Hill recently and came close to doing so last year. Wayne goes to 3-0 with a big home win over the 7A playing in 6A Wildcats.
9/10 @ South Effingham: Jackets roll over the Mustangs. Wayne goes to 4-0.
9/16 @ Benedictine: Give me Benedictine at home in this one. Folks who know High School football in these parts understand why. Jackets drop to 4-1.
9/24 @ Appling: Rivalry game in Baxley. Appling is breaking in a new head coach and this one could go either way. Give me the Jackets in a tight one. Wayne goes to 5-1.
10/8 vs Veterans: Jackets at home should win this one. Wayne goes to 6-1 and clinches a playoff berth.
10/15 vs. Coffee: Coffee is coming off a huge home game with Ware the week before. Could they overlook the Jackets? I’m putting Coffee on upset alert, but they get it done over Wayne. Wayne serves notice around the state that they will not be an easy out come playoff time. Jackets drop to 6-2.
10/22 @ Warner Robins: Jackets are not ready for prime time on the road here. Drop to 6-3
11/5 @ Ware County: Ware is elite. Wayne finds that out in Memorial Stadium in Waycross. Jackets drop to 6-4 and enter the playoffs as a dangerous #4 seed from region 1-AAAAA.
Interesting Wayne County football facts. Wayne has 2 State Titles in 1954 and 1959.
John Donaldson is viewed as the best coach in Wayne County history with two state titles and five region titles in 18 seasons.
When Ken Cribb won back-to-back region titles in 2017 and 2018 the last Wayne County coach to accomplish that feat was Donaldson in 1976.
From 2017-19 Ken Cribb won 28 games. That is the best three year run in Wayne County football history. Wayne County plays in the best AAAAA region in the state of Georgia. Put that in perspective.
Gator Roll
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Ware County Gators finished the 2020 season with a 10-2 record. Those two losses came to Warner Robins and Cartersville each by 3 points. Those teams played for the 5A State Championship last fall.
Head Coach Jason Strickland begins his third season at Ware this fall with an overall record of 18-6 in his first two seasons.
When asked about what he likes about his 2021 football team the Head Gator offered “With the close calls last year against those two teams that beat us that ended up playing for the title showed our kids how close we are to being at that championship level. This team just feels different. I think we are one of the best 4-5 teams out there. Our kids have developed a culture of accountability and that has been a tone setter leading up this this season. Our kids feel like we are good enough to win it.”
On offense it all revolves around QB Thomas Castellanos who his coach calls a “Special, special kid”. “He can do anything on the football field. His best intangible is that he plays QB for us. He calls about 50% of the plays on Friday night, makes all of our protection calls, and he is just a natural leader.” Castellanos will play his college football at Central Florida next year.
Running back Cartevious Norton is set to have a banner senior season. “He is a kid I’m pulling hard for. By the end of the season, I think everyone will know who he is”.
Cameron Gonzalves is the lone returner on the offensive line, but Strickland thinks they will be bigger, stronger and more athletic than last year.
At WR James Daniels is an excellent route runner with great hands. Jarvis Hayes is the guy who can blow the top off a defense.
Malik Mitchell and Demetrius Baldwin will lead a defensive line that will rotate 7 players. “They will have to carry us until our linebacker group gets some game experience”.
Trey Hargrove returns at LB and will move to Mike. LJ Hall and Teshawn Norton will start in the secondary. Strickland says “We have good talent back there but we may need to simplify things to gain experience. I want these kids to play fast”.
Henry Bates a 4.0 student returns at kicker. “He is a great character kid who looks to kick at the next level”.
Strickland says the region is “brutal”. “Warner Robins won state. Coffee was a final four team last year, and Veterans really punched us in the mouth when we played them. Wayne has good talent and an excellent staff and was a team that was really decimated by injuries last year that should be much better this year.”
The schedule is difficult. “They might want to run that guy off around here who set that up” Strickland joked. “It will create some exciting Friday nights for us this fall”
Ware Schedule/My Predictions:
8/20 @ Cook: Gators win big on the road.
8/27 vs Bartram Trail (FL): Higher classification program from Florida comes to the Swamp. Bartram Trail is a good program but they go down to Ware.
9/3 vs Baldwin: Baldwin not physical enough in the trenches, Gators big.
9/10 vs Thomson: Proud program coming in for a beat down. Ware big once again.
9/17 @ Bainbridge: If the Gators drop a non-region game this could be it. I think this one is a classic and Ware wins a huge road game late say 34-30.
9/24 @ Benedictine: Only way Ware drops this is, if the Savannah Zebras are a factor in the game. Ware stays undefeated.
10/8 @ Coffee: Ware lost by two TD’s on their last journey to Jardine Stadium. Ware has Castellanos and Coffee does not. Ware in a war.
10/15 vs Warner Robins: Gators back home after traveling a combined 600 miles over South Georgia highways over the previous 3 weeks. These teams could meet again in the playoffs. Gators get revenge at home.
The Gators finish the regular season undefeated after beating Veterans and Wayne.
Look out for this football team. They are well coached, talented, athletic and most of all hungry. These Gators are dangerous folks.
Loaded Ship
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Sean Pender is confident about his 2021 football team this fall. “We are involved in a culture change here. We are evolving from a winning program into a championship program. Our kids realize that and our coaches see that every day”.
QB: Senior Jeffery Waye looks like the starter going into the season. Waye played well in the back-up role last season. Sutton Ellis has played his way into the mix this summer, and Jayden Drayton, who is a special athlete will have some designed packages to use his talents. If BHS gets solid play from this group, then look out.
OL: Kanaya Charlton will move to guard this fall and Pender says “Kanaya Charlton is as good as they’ve had there and that says a lot”. Charlton committed to play at Florida State.
Jaquan Gibson and Jamal Meriweather make this a deep group. “For the first time since I have been here, we have good depth at the position” says Pender.
WR: The position is very deep in talent, Kevin Thomas, Pat Leggett and Jayden Drayton could make it the best WR unit in the region.
DL: Kayshawn Thomas will be back for his junior season with offers pouring in. Thomas will lead a group that consists of River Creel, Jordan Jimerson, and Jameer Lang.
LB: The Pirates have Staffon Stanley, Adam Mweemba, and Lionel Twitty that all started games last year at the position.
DB: Jayden Drayton was All-Region in 2020. Derrick Smith and Keon Leggett were big contributors last fall. Ivan Johnson returns at safety. Na’verious Williams will get snaps also. Deep group.
Anthony Elvine returns as punter, and McClain Fineran will handle PAT/FG’s.
Finally, the “Wolfpack”, also known as the RB group. Ree Simmons and Kobe Hill have both had seasons with over 1,000 yards rushing and they return for their senior season. Leon Charlton has emerged as a third option at the position.
Schedule/My Predictions in key matchups:
Aug 20 vs Pierce County: Pierce was a doormat before Sean Pender arrived on the scene a decade ago.
He played a major role in the evolution of that football program winning region titles and state playoff games. The Bears took the next step and won a state title last season and drilled BHS 31-10 in the season opener last season.
That has eaten at the fabric of Sean Pender for a year. Pierce comes to Glynn County Stadium and will lose to BHS.
Sept 24 vs Glynn: BHS broke a long losing streak in the series last season. Folks around Glynn County say the Red Terrors will throw the football more in 2021.
Instead of 2-3 passes a game they may throw 10 per game, who knows. BHS wins for the second year in a row.
Oct 8 @ Statesboro: Be ready Pirates. This one has TRAP GAME written all over it. Don’t get caught looking ahead to Richmond Hill.
Oct 15 vs Richmond Hill: BHS has lost 3 straight to the Wildcats. Until they prove it again to me, I’m calling this a loss.
This school has 600-700 more students than anyone else in the region. Time to play up or build another high school in Bryan County.
Other Wins: MCA, New Hampstead, Islands, South Effingham, Bradwell, and Effingham.
Best Case 10-0 Region Champions.
Worst Case 8-2 with losses to Glynn and Richmond Hill and a #3 seed in state playoffs
My Guess: 9-1 with a loss to Richmond Hill and a #2 seed and home playoff game in First Round.
Sean Pender says “It is time for us to take the next step, and I believe we have the pieces in place to do just that”.
Expectations are high on Altama Avenue.
Pirates Passage
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Kanaya Charlton is going into his senior season at Brunswick High School.
Number 69 for the Blue and Gold stands at 6’5 and weighs in at around 335 pounds. At that size Charlton is a pretty good athlete. He has quick feet and plays multiple positions along the Pirate offensive line which he will anchor in 2021.
He currently holds 22 committable offers from some big-name schools. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech just to give you a sample size.
On the academic side Mr. Charlton has a 3.8 GPA and is fully qualified. He will graduate BHS early and will enroll in college in January 2022.
Things I noticed in the interview for this article was that Kanaya is a yes sir/no sir type of kid with a firm hand shake and he looks you in the eye when he talks to you.
Charlton’s head coach Sean Pender had to following to say about his highly recruited offensive line prospect: “Kanaya is a young man that wants to get better daily. He takes hard coaching very well, and he can play anywhere along the offensive line when we need him to do so. College coaches look for that versatility in kids they recruit plus he is a great student so we don’t worry about him producing in the classroom. He has gone from a shy kid when he arrived in 9th grade into a confident young man who now addresses the team in meetings in a leadership role. He is the type of kid that is going to show you every single day that he is up for any task we throw at him.”
I spoke with BHS Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Garrett Grady who is Charlton’s position coach and he offered the following comments: “Kanaya is a complete student-athlete. He cares about his academics as well as his performance on the field. He is a genuine person who truly cares about everyone around him. His development from his freshman year to now is amazing. He has made tremendous gains in the weight room becoming one of the strongest members of this team. Kanaya has stepped into a leadership role this year and has raised the level intensity & pride of this team. I am very proud of the young man he is becoming and looking forward to what the future holds for Kanaya Charlton. Expect Great things from him!”
I asked Kanaya a few questions regarding this season and his college plans:
What does this coaching staff at BHS mean to you? “My coaches have been there as role models for me. That is an amazing feeling. I feel like they are a huge reason why I’m in the position I am in today”.
What do you like about this 2021 BHS football team? “Since I have been here our team and coaching staff have gotten better every single season. Our goals this year are: City Championship, Region Championship, State Championship. Being put out in the second round the past two seasons has really left a bad taste in our mouth. We are going to change that in 2021. I want our group of seniors this fall to be known as the class that changed our program culture from just being a winning program into a championship program. That is a huge step for our program”
College choice, any thoughts on where you might go? “Today FSU is my #1 choice. I am going there on an official visit this month. I have been on many unofficial visits there so far. The coaches there make me feel the most at home. I will probably make my official commitment to the school I choose either the last week of June or the first week of July. I want to get this behind me so I can 100% focus on my senior season at BHS”. Charlton has indeed committed to go to Florida State.
What will you major in at college? “Life Sciences with a possible focus on Marine Biology”.
Any last comments? “Pirate Pride and remember it is “All about the Family” at Brunswick High School.
The Willis Way
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recently The Glynn County Board of Education approved the renaming of the BHS field house in honor of longtime BHS coach John Willis.
The “John Willis Field House” will be named after a man who roamed the sidelines at historic Lanier Field and Glynn County Stadium from 1980-2001.
For 22 seasons John Willis was the face of Pirate football and will always be the face of Pirate Football to me because John Willis is MY football coach.
I played on his first two football teams in 1980 and 1981. Pirate football is a passion to me to this day because of one man and one man only and his name is John Willis.
The situation at Brunswick High School in 1979/1980 was similar to what we see in our country currently which was a lot of racial division. Our program was coming off a horrible 0-10 season. Our head coach resigned and I was going into my junior year at BHS. Our school needed someone who could unite and bring us all together.
John Willis was named head football coach at BHS in the summer of 1980. I met John Willis for the first time on a hot steamy practice field behind the old BHS campus around 7AM in early August of that year.
Our first game in the 1980 season was a road game at Camden County. Keep in mind we had not won a football game in two years, and the first thing out of the mouth of our new coach was when we beat Camden. Not we are or we hope it was when we beat Camden.
Then we proceeded to run 21, yes 21, I’ll never forget, 100-yard gassers. Coach Willis said I want to find out who is going to quit on me because if you quit on this practice field then you will quit on me on Friday night.
Coach would chant “what kind of meat?” we would answer Wildcat meat. That became our preseason rally cry. We became a football team in three short weeks.
We loaded the bus and went down to Camden on a Friday afternoon for that season opener. John Willis had a way of making you want to run to run through a wall for him. We believed we were going to beat Camden that night and we did 6-2.
We were all jumping for joy on the field and the first person who hugged me when the horn went off was John Willis and his quote was “I told you so Kipp”.
Outside of my own Father I can’t think of another man I respect more than John Willis in this world today. We went on to become a playoff team my senior season in 1981 and when I see my former team members there is always a special bond from that season when we became a winning football team.
John Willis made us into winners and the lessons he taught us on the practice field still hold true today. If you believe, work harder, and never give up then not many folks will beat you in life.
The ‘John Willis Way’ gave two decades of Pirate football letterman a solid foundation for life. I’m told the road from Habersham Street to the John Willis Field House will be called John Willis Way.
Former players have called Habersham Street John Willis Way for years because John Willis helped teach us how to become a man.
The ‘John Willis Way’ is the only way I know how to approach the game of football. Thank you coach for all you have done for Brunswick High School. Next stop for you should be The Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. You taught me Pirate Pride coach!
Program Pulse
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is now June and College Football is on the horizon. Time to start speculating about the SEC for 2020, but to do so let’s take a look at SEC won/loss records since 2015.
1.Alabama: 79-6 (.929): Alabama just does not lose many football games that is the bottom line. Nick Saban is the best in the business.
The defending national champions will be the team to beat again in 2021, and should be the team to beat as long as Saban is roaming the sidelines.
Alabama lost some skill people from 2020 so we will see who steps up this fall for the Tide.
- Georgia: 62-17 (.785): A friend calls yesterday and says it is now or never for Kirby and UGA. Really?
UGA is a team that has been winning a lot of football games. They just haven’t beaten Alabama when it matters most.
Does that mean UGA is a program that under produces? Nope it means that Kirby continues to build a monster in Athens.
Opposing fans insert your 1980 comebacks here. Critics say Kirby is not a good game coach and folks like Dan Mullen are better.
I know many Florida fans that would trade Mullen for Kirby if the opportunity arose. I don’t know a single UGA fan that would trade Kirby for Mullen. Think about that for a second.
- LSU: 56-19 (.747): 2019 National Champs. It feels like the Tigers are on the decline now under Coach O, doesn’t it? This program will always have elite talent, but 2021 is an unknown for LSU.
- Florida: 52-24 (.684): No championships since 2008. Try this on for size Florida fans:
2011 – With zero HC experience, Florida hires Will Muschamp for $2.7m/year.
2012 – Florida extends Will Muschamp (picked up option year) after going 7-6.
2014 – Florida buys out Will Muschamp for $6m and fires him.
2014 – Florida pays $7m to Colorado State to buy out and hire Jim McElwain for $3.5m/year.
June 2017 – After zero championships and one 10+ win season, Florida agrees to an extension and raise for Jim McElwain.
October 2017 – Florida buys out Jim McElwain for $7.5m and fires him.
2017 – Florida pays Mississippi State $500k to buy out and hire Dan Mullen (who had zero championships in Starkville) for around $6m/year
2021 – Still after zero championships, Florida agrees to an extension and raise for Dan Mullen to $7.6m per season after giving up 55 points in his last game coached against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Florida fans wonder out loud why their ticket prices are going thru the roof.
- Texas A&M: 49-26 (.653): $75 million dollar question is can Jimbo beat Alabama? So far, the answer is no.
- Auburn: 48-29 (.623): The Gus Bus has been retired, and now Auburn is starting over once again. Sound familiar Auburn fans?
- Kentucky: 42-33 (.560): This is a program that has exceeded expectations recently. Could surprise in 2021.
- Mississippi State: 42-34 (.553): Better than expected for this bottom feeder. In fishing circles, a Catfish is known as a bottom feeder. If you pulled a nice cat from the bottom of the Mississippi River today it may have a State logo stamped on it.
- Tennessee: 38-35 (.520): UT football is a dumpster fire. It may take years for this proud program to recover and the NCAA has not even dropped the hammer yet.
- Ole Miss: 35-36 (.493): Program on the rise. This could be an elite SEC program in a short period of time. Keep an eye on Ole Miss.
- Missouri: 35-37 (.486): Another program on the rise.
- South Carolina: 31-42 (.425): Carolina stays up at night obsessing over Clemson. Until they clear that hurdle, they will never be a factor in SEC Football.
- Arkansas: 26-46 (.361): The Pit Boss has Arkansas on the rise. This is a proud football program that is on the road to recovery.
- Vanderbilt: 24-47 (.338): Baseball school. Come on Vandy make another trip to Omaha in a couple of weeks.
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.
