Freshman Safety Flashes in Spring Jamboree
6 feet 2 inches tall and 180 pounds would describe a solid build for a senior safety prospect. Well, in this case, those numbers describe a big-time player who is still a freshman, for a few more days at least. South Sumter 2025 Safety Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson followed up a strong freshman season with an outstanding spring. He helped the Raider defense secure two shut-outs in two halves of play at the spring jamboree at West Port High School. South Sumter blanked Forest 30-0 in the first half, and then gave Belleview the same treatment in the second half, 28-0. He is a long, fluid athlete who covers ground quickly and strikes ball-carriers aggressively. We will be hearing his name quite a bit over the next few years.
Spring Film and Twitter
Pleuss Shines in his First Action with the Dreadnaughts
In one of the state’s best spring matchups last week, Lakeland topped Venice by a final score of 34-21. Ridge Community transfer Zachary Pleuss put on quite a show in his first appearance in orange and black. He completed 14 of 21 passing attempts for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lakeland’s big-time 2023 receiving duo of Daidren Zipperer (2 TDs) and Tyler Williams (1 TD) were the benefactors of Pleuss’ efforts. Pleuss looked like he has been throwing to the Lakeland receivers since he was a freshman. He was comfortable and poised in the pocket and while making clean, accurate throws to his targets. The 6’ 185 pound pocket passer sees the field well and has a strong arm that can make all of the throws. If this was a sneak preview of what to expect this fall, Lakeland will be have a field day through the air and could develop into a serious title contender with the state’s new classifications.