The East Lake Eagle’s edged out the Pasco Pirates to win the first ever BCP Bull in the Ring Big Man Challenge. East Lake’s Head Coach Bob Hudson was ecstatic about his team’s victory and stated, “I loved the whole experience. The big guy’s usually get overshadowed in the off-season because 7-on-7 events focus on skill players. It’s awesome that BCP started this event to highlight the lineman because teams could not win games without them.”
What makes East Lake’s victory even more impressive is that they did it without Mason Cole. Cole is committed to Michigan and was in Ann Arbor to watch the Wolverines Spring Game. Hudson said, “I was thrilled to see my boys overcome missing our top offensive lineman. I think it shows how much depth we have built at the position to be able to win the event without number one guy.” The Eagle’s exhibited tremendous depth at every event resulting in them having eight top ten performances in the six individual events.
Hudson said that his offensive lineman, “Were thrilled to finally be able to compete after so much time off” and that they loved, “The opportunity to show their abilities in both individual and team events.” His kids were huge fans of the tire flips and pass rush drills; however, the hardest event for them had to be the cone course. This is ironic seeing how the East Lake squad thrived at the event placing three athletes in the top ten times.
Overall Hudson was very pleased with the camp and said, “Coming in I did not know what to expect from Bull in the Ring because it was a brand new event. It definitely met all my expectations and I was impressed how smoothly it ran considering it is brand new.”
Some athletes to watch out for on next year’s East Lake squad include:
** WR Artavis Scott (SR)- The 5’11 175lb senior is rated third in BCP Winter Fire 79 and has offers from every major college around the country. Scott caught 64 passes last year for 995 yards and looks to improve upon those numbers this year. He recently destroyed the competition at Nike’s Camp in Orlando.
** OL Mason Cole (SR)- The 6’5 280 lbs Michigan commitment is rated sixth in the BCP Winter Fire 79. He is considered by numerous recruiting services to be one of the ten best offensive linemen in the country.
** S Devin Abraham (SR)- Abraham is rated the thirty-seventh best player in the Bay area according to the BCP Winter Fire 79. The 5’9 175lb safety had 5 interceptions last season and 15 pass break-ups.
** LB Brendan Goettel (SR)- Goettel is a tackling machine and accounted for 118 solo tackles and 171 total tackles in 2012. The 6’1 200lb middle linebacker looks to improve on those remarkable numbers this year.
**RB Weston Fordham (SR)- Fordham ran for over 600 yards in 2012 and 9 touchdowns. He accounted for nearly 6 yards every time he ran the ball.
** WR George Campbell (JR)- The 6’3 184lb wide receiver is a man among boys and dominated competition at the Underclassman Under Armour Combine in St. Petersburg. He is ranked second in the BCP Winter 79 and is considered one of the top players in the country for 2015.
** Other seniors to watch out for include DB Keon Brown, OL Jared Gleason, OL/TE Drew Stryjewski, DL Hunter Snyder, and DL Leo Jeter.
** Rising underclassmen for East Lake include DL Christian Panduro, K/P Daniel Lacamera, QB Jake Hudson, Rb Drew Cuoto, DL Regis Steiner, WR Marshall Kozma, WR John Brunner, TE Trevor Okinowski, QB Brandon Leston, QB Brandon Swift and DB Blake Duckworth.
– Anthony Peace