2012 USF Sling and Shoot Day 1 Notes
When playing Armwood and their offense has the ball…
BACK UP! BACK UP EVEN MORE! BAIL AND GET DEEP! Unless you have been under a rock, Armwood is a vertical team in pads or not. They have the speed on the outside. Their QB has one of the biggest arms in the state. BACK UP! Darryl Richardson is going to “Sling and Shoot” it.
Hint: Attempt to make Armwood dink and dunk down the field. If they beat you dinking and dunking, 5 yards here, 10 yards there…fine. But don’t let them line up at the 45 yard line and sling it to one of five streaking receivers for a TD on the first or second snap of any given procession. They are the Big Show!
Plant Plant Plant
Its just fun to watch the Panthers operate in a 7 on 7 setting. 2013 QB Aaron Banks put on a clinic today. Rarely missed and if he did miss, it was where the defender could not get to the ball. If there is a weakness in the defense, The Panthers will find it and keep pounding on it until it is corrected.
Locate Him Please…
Too many times today Eric Moate, Spoto ATH got behind the defense. There is no excuse for not knowing where the best player on the purple team is. Moate lined up on the right in the slot = Moate ending up in the end zone, deep left. This happened over and over again as Spoto looked liked geniuses running the same play which many teams had trouble stopping.
Good Looking Bunch of Kids
Dunedin. The boys from Pinellas County came to South Florida with an impressive group of prospects. Lots of athleticism and a foundation to build on.
Double Duty
Dunedin head coach, Max Smith and Spoto head coach, Dale Caparaso called the offensive and defensive plays today. “Friday, Friday or Tuesday, Tuesday” – Coach Cap calling defensive plays. Both teams may have had one other assistant coach. However none were very visible.
3 Tent Rule
USF should incorporate the “Three tent max rule” next year. The Plant traveling show set up a small village at Sling and Shoot today. There was a medical center, cafe, lounge, coffee shop, game room and coaches meeting room under about nine white tents. Good Lord the Panthers come in style. Armwood had one tent.
Parents Screaming
“Stop Him” talking about Alvin Bailey. Didn’t happen!
“Noooo” after Chamberlain LB Rodney McSwain intercepted a few passes.
“What’s the score now” When Andy Embody got in the end zone.
Killed Sling and Shoot today
Austin Gallon, Armwood WR – Arguably the biggest surprise of the tourney. Over shadowed by national prospect Alvin Bailey, Gallon made play, after play, after play. He showed tons of athleticism, ball skills and balance. When the ball was in the air, he usually came down with it.
Mazzi Wilkins, Plant 2014 CB – Where did he come from? I can’t tell you. What I can tell you is that he was one of the most impressive kids on the three fields today. He was all over the place. Intercepted passed, broke up passes, covered plenty of ground and showed some fire!
Andrew Beck, Plant 2014 LB – 4 or 5 interceptions on the day. Caught the eye of every USF coach that watched Plant play.
Did What They Do Best
Robert Davis, Carrollwood Day RB – Fastest man on the field at all times. Each time he was lined up in the slot, it was a mismatch. A few times Davis caught a short pass and turned it into a large gain evading tacklers or flat out running pass them.
Alvin Bailey, Armwood WR – Playmaker #1. The national prospect didn’t disappoint with his Sling and Shoot day 1 performance. Caught the ball extremely well, high pointed the football on deep routes and adjusted well to passes that seemed out of reach.
Leon McQuay, Armwood S – Early in the day, McQuay’s area was a “No Fly Zone”. He stole balls out the air and batted a few down. He excelled at reading the QB and anticipating routes.
Ronnie Scott, Chamberlain DB – All over the place today. Scott played every position in the secondary and was around the ball on every other defensive snap.
Small Names, Big Results
Dereck Mann, Plant Slot – Play maker in ever sense of the word. Had a spectacular day!
Andy Embody, Carrollwood Day ATH – Starting to emerge as one of those players who can do just about anything.
Solid Day from…
Jermaine Gilyard, Chamberlain CB
Darryl Richardson, Armwood QB
Kyle Ploucher, Plant QB
Colby Brown, Plant QB
Eric Moate, Spoto RB
Tristan Cooper, Plant WR
Dominiq Sircardo, CDS QB