The Costs Of Long Term Success As A HSFB Super Power?

[HawgGoneIt]

http://www.moultrieobserver.com/sports/local_sports/it-s-not-deja-vu-packers-football-does-not-have/article_b38c9a0a-6dd2-11e8-b88e-9b1e0467795d.html

 

 

 

It's not deja vu: Packers football does not have fall scrimmage opponent

• By Matthew Brown
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  • 11 hrs ago
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MOULTRIE – This is not a rehashing of the spring football practice look ahead at Colquitt County High School.

The calendar flipped to June, spring drills were completed less than two weeks ago, but one development has occurred that is concerning to head coach Rush Propst. Just like in the spring, when Propst could not get a solid commitment on a spring scrimmage game against another school, he is looking at getting into the 2018 season without a similar type of fall contest to prepare for the Aug. 18 opener at the Corky Kell Classic.

The Packers will not be playing Coffee High – who has been their preseason foe at least the past two seasons – on Aug. 4; instead, that day will see another intrasquad scrimmage like the two Colquitt held during the spring. Propst said there was a deal in the works for a team from Florida to play the Packers in Moultrie on Aug. 11, but that fell through.

 

“Right now, the negative, we don’t have a fall game,” said Propst on Monday. “It’s very disturbing to me that I can’t find one. (Coffee) is playing somebody else. I’ve asked everybody. I’m trying every day to find somebody to play.

“I shutter at the notion that we are going to play McEachern on Aug. 18 without playing a ball game. That’s our first time to come together as a football team; that’s very scary to me. McEachern has a game on the 10th. I don’t know what else to do.”

This happens, Propst said, after four schools backed out on playing Colquitt in a spring scrimmage.

“On Aug. 18, it’s going to be a heck of a football game between us and McEachern,” he said. “Two heavyweights slugging it out. We’re going into it blind.”

THE SUMMER STARTS

The 7-on-7 schedule for Colquitt begins Thursday when the Packers play at Auburn. Then, on Friday, it’s the Corky Kell 7-on-7 at Roswell Area Parks. This will be the biggest field ever for the Kell 7-on-7 with 35 teams and prospects galore. Those familiar to the Packers in the last two playoff runs are linebacker Owen Pappoe of Grayson and receiver Dominick Blaylock of Walton. Colquitt won this event two years in a row (2015-16).

“It’s very good competition and well run,” said Propst. “It’s becoming an elite tournament.

“We will go to Hoover (Ala.) again in July. This will probably be the last year we go over there. I could see that starting to lose its grip. I think it will still be good this year, but it was alone as the No. 1 national tournament for years. I started it back in 2001, the first to start in the country. It grew to as many as 48; now I think they are down to 34. It’s going to take a monumental task to keep that going.”

Propst pointed out that Brandon Sheppard, who was the executive director of the National Select 7-on-7 Championships, is now associate director of football operations at the University of Tennessee.

“I think we need three,” said Propst about 7-on-7 participation. “A lot of teams go to five or six, one a week.”

The summer also includes two padded camps, or OTAs, the first being June 27-28.

SPRING RECAP

“Spring went good,” said Propst. “We got a little banged up in the end, but all healable stuff.”

Linemen Brian Merritt, Nathan Bell, Will Rykard and Kam Barnes all did not go through spring drills, but Propst had said they would be cleared for workouts that began Monday.

“We didn’t have any serious injuries through spring that a player can’t play through,” said Propst, noting cornerback Nyquann Washington was one who still may be sore from what he suffered. “We got some things done. We established some things. We’re still a raw material, and in my opinion we still got a long ways to go in a lot of different areas.

“Obviously, you have to be pleased with our run game. When we get Rykard and Barnes back, we’re going to be better in the run game. You have two elite backs (Daijun Edwards and Ty Leggett), then you have two more backs (including Mar’Kaybion Spradley).

“The quarterback spot is key.”

Propst said last year’s backup, rising junior Jaycee Harden, had the No. 1 spot going into spring. On Monday, he called the competition “wide open” and that the month of June – with the 7-on-7 tournaments and organized team activities (OTAs) – will give them more information on where to go with that position. Receiver Marvion McDonald, heading into his senior year, also took quarterback snaps in both practice and intrasquad action.

“We will reassess on (June 29),” said Propst. “We’ll meet before the Cam Erving Camp and discuss the quarterback situation, where we are at the end of June.

“Personally, I would like Jaycee to win the job. I think it hurts us receiver wise with Marvion being that experienced receiver. But obviously, we have to do what we have to do. Who will our team rally around and who can push the buttons to make our team go? Who will manage the game and not get us beat? To me, it’s about game management. We have some weapons.”

Propst went on to rave about senior tight end/H-back Josh Hadley, who caught the touchdown that gave Colquitt the lead in the 2017 Class 7A finals with 49 seconds to play. The coach said Hadley, who is following a long line of college players like John Samuel Shenker and Shaun Bonner, may have the best athletic ability at that position with making the catch and then the turn and run to the end zone.

 

“The two things he needs to do is get better in are his blocking and getting faster in his speed work,” said Propst. “We’re spending a lot of time on that this summer.”

The Packers have one other experienced receiver in KT Wilson, a senior. There’s also senior Ja’Naz Graves, then everyone else is young and has not yet seen the varsity game field. Inside receivers are senior Tyrique Williams and junior Tyler Walker.

“There’s two types of H-backs,” said Propst. “There’s H-back in space we call H, and then that guy who’s in our backfield … it’s more of a pure fullback, whatever you want to call him. That’s Hadley. Carter Boatwright’s stepped up, and Remon Young and Mac English.”

So depth may be the real word to put as the ID tag on the 2018 Packers in football, especially on offense. Even up front, Colquitt had players to get work in with the injury issues. Propst said he can’t remember this much depth up front.

“There’s probably three, four other kids on our No. 2 line who will end up being solid players but not starters,” said Propst. “That’s the first time we’ve ever had that. We’ve struggled to find five. Now we have seven to eight, which is a good problem to have.”

Washington and Jay Ward give Colquitt a cornerstone at cornerback, both with SEC offers (Ward a senior and Washington a junior). Propst said Kam Woods is as athletic a safety as they’ve had. Kendrick Neloms made play after play in the intrasquads at linebacker, and he will man the middle with senior prospect Marcus Anderson and leading tackler Rashad Revels.

“They’re backups are outstanding, too,” said Propst. “Zy Brockington will play linebacker and also D-line. We have eight linebackers to play three slots.”

Two positions on the Packer defense are called nickel and dog, and four guys are in that mix. The most experienced are seniors Camari ‘Juicy’ Louis and Akeem McKiever. Propst said a backup like Samari ’Smoke’ Louis would be a starter anywhere else.

“There are times we may play with extra DBs because of their abilities,” said Propst. “Really, our backup safety is our biggest issue. If we had to start tomorrow it would be JuJuan Williams or McKiever.”

Propst has known what he can get from Merritt up front on defense for two seasons now. For three spots, Propst said each one could be three deep on varsity.

It seemed to be an interesting bit of humor that Colquitt’s No. 1 issue in the offseason would be to replace the long snapper. Noah Hightower handled that so well – and that was his one job – that he has a chance to play at Shorter University. The All-Everything kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, though, needs good snaps for field goals and punts, and Propst feels they solved the mystery with Kaleb Spradley and Max Parker. He said Spradley, who missed last season to injury, might be the main snapper moving away from his original position on the line.

“We have not decided on a punt returner yet,” said Propst, a spot vacated by college-bound Cam Singletary. It could be either Leggett or Graves, both of whom will go back for kickoffs.

“I’m not calling it an Achilles heel yet, but the quarterback spot’s got to develop,” said Propst. “That and finding a legit punt returner are the only two issues we have right now. Everything else is settled for the most part. A few things could change, but that’s where we are. Going into summer, this is day 1 and I didn’t see anything different.”

[HawgGoneIt]

Colquitt couldn't get a spring opponent for a scrimmage, and now, it's looking likely that a fall opponent may not happen either. 

 

Pussies! 

Won't even play us for a scrimmage game. 

 

[Rufus69]

40 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

Colquitt couldn't get a spring opponent for a scrimmage, and now, it's looking likely that a fall opponent may not happen either. 

 

Pussies! 

Won't even play us for a scrimmage game. 

 

There is absolutely NO reason that Lowndes couldn't play Valdosta in a scrimmage on Friday night and then play us in a scrimmage on Saturday night.  They've got a big enough team.  No reason whatsoever.

As an aside...and a serious one at that....Lowndes just lost their 2nd player to drowning.  That's  just unbelievable.  Heartfelt condolences go out to Viking Nation.  And Yes Sir....that's for real.

 

 

Rufus>>

[HawgGoneIt]

Hadn't heard about the 2nd Lowndes player yet. I hate that. 

There has been a lot of drownings around south Georgia already this year. 

[RedZone]

1 minute ago, GardenStateBaller said:

That problem could have been easily solved. #PGL 

Got a lot of scrimmage clients, do you?

Your website much like you are legends in your mind.

Try going 45 minutes without mentioning both.

[HawgGoneIt]

It does seem like a distinct disadvantage to not have any tune ups against another team. 

The writing was on the wall for a while though. Last year the spring game was against Drew, so the quality of teams willing to step up even for a scrimmage went from low to zero. 

[RedZone]

13 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

It does seem like a distinct disadvantage to not have any tune ups against another team. 

The writing was on the wall for a while though. Last year the spring game was against Drew, so the quality of teams willing to step up even for a scrimmage went from low to zero. 

Lots of teams in South Ga. Seems odd.

Have you tried #PGL?

They have helped 9,874 teams across the nation with their scrimmaging needs.

 

#PGL Headquarters

PS-they dabble in milk futures also.

[CCBlackhatter]

6 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

It does seem like a distinct disadvantage to not have any tune ups against another team. 

The writing was on the wall for a while though. Last year the spring game was against Drew, so the quality of teams willing to step up even for a scrimmage went from low to zero. 

It's a shame really. There are teams like Lee Co, HoCo, NSWR, Ware, Bainbridge, etc who could step up and challenge themselves in a game that could help them later on in the season.

Rush shouldn't have boasted about the talent in the pipeline and these coaches wouldn't be running away like little bitches. Lol

[Columbiafan]

If only GA had kickoff classics the same week as FL 

 

We still need a kickoff classic last I heard 

[Rufus69]

54 minutes ago, CCBlackhatter said:

It's a shame really. There are teams like Lee Co, HoCo, NSWR, Ware, Bainbridge, etc who could step up and challenge themselves in a game that could help them later on in the season.

Rush shouldn't have boasted about the talent in the pipeline and these coaches wouldn't be running away like little bitches. Lol

See....my way is a LOT better !!!!!

Oh Woe Is Us !!!!!

 

 

Rufus>>

[sausmann9]

Problem might be how early that game is scheduled.  Don't many states start the 17/18 of Aug w/ scrimmages and then first games are around 24/25 of Aug???

 

on a sad note, I still think about James Eunice a lot especially when my niece and nephews go out hunting or salmon fishing.  

[LiberalDonaldTrump]

First off let’s not Throw around the word Super power comon now 

[Rufus69]

10 minutes ago, sausmann9 said:

Problem might be how early that game is scheduled.  Don't many states start the 17/18 of Aug w/ scrimmages and then first games are around 24/25 of Aug???

 

on a sad note, I still think about James Eunice a lot especially when my niece and nephews go out hunting or salmon fishing.  

Another fine kid from a great family.

 

 

Rufus>>

[Columbiafan]

30 minutes ago, sausmann9 said:

Problem might be how early that game is scheduled.  Don't many states start the 17/18 of Aug w/ scrimmages and then first games are around 24/25 of Aug???

 

on a sad note, I still think about James Eunice a lot especially when my niece and nephews go out hunting or salmon fishing.  

That's how FL does it

[DarterBlue]

2 hours ago, Rufus69 said:

There is absolutely NO reason that Lowndes couldn't play Valdosta in a scrimmage on Friday night and then play us in a scrimmage on Saturday night.  They've got a big enough team.  No reason whatsoever.

As an aside...and a serious one at that....Lowndes just lost their 2nd player to drowning.  That's  just unbelievable.  Heartfelt condolences go out to Viking Nation.  And Yes Sir....that's for real.

 

 

Rufus>>

Very sorry to hear that. My condolences to his family, teammates, and to the entire Lowndes community.

[BUFORDGAWOLVES]

Or maybe dealing with y’all is like trying to pet a venomous snake. 

Lookit the pretty colors on that one, Jethro. 

Then you get bit.

Regards,

C.A.

[ECHS05]

2 hours ago, HawgGoneIt said:

It does seem like a distinct disadvantage to not have any tune ups against another team. 

The writing was on the wall for a while though. Last year the spring game was against Drew, so the quality of teams willing to step up even for a scrimmage went from low to zero. 

Its odd that Colquitt can find absolutely NO ONE.  Theres a lot of teams out there. Youd think most teams would rather play Colquitt in a preseason scrimmage than in the regular season... Its a chance to see how you match up without the L attached to it.

[ECHS05]

1 hour ago, sausmann9 said:

Problem might be how early that game is scheduled.  Don't many states start the 17/18 of Aug w/ scrimmages and then first games are around 24/25 of Aug???

 

on a sad note, I still think about James Eunice a lot especially when my niece and nephews go out hunting or salmon fishing.  

Theres a lot of states in the Southeast that begin the weekend of the 17th... In fact theres more around the country starting the 17th than there was last year I noticed..... Last year not even half the states started that early...

Even CA has games the 17th. Chandler AZ @ Corona Centennial is that week. As is Timpview UT @ SJB.

I know South Carolina is starting the weekend of the 17th. Cedar Grove plays Summerville OOS that week. Fort Dorchester SC also plays Glynn Academy.

 

[Bormio]

People will usually schedule good teams for scrimmages.  Maybe the problem is dealing with Rush?

[Rufus69]

3 minutes ago, Bormio said:

People will usually schedule good teams for scrimmages.  Maybe the problem is dealing with Rush?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with demanding an "appearance fee".

 

 

Rufus>>

[HawgGoneIt]

1 hour ago, Bormio said:

People will usually schedule good teams for scrimmages.  Maybe the problem is dealing with Rush?

Or someone else.

Idk. Supposedly, there was as many as four different teams tentatively agree to a spring scrimmage, including Grayson, but in the end, none happened. 

I can't blame Grayson because we play them in a real game this season before the playoffs, so, depending on how everything pans out, they could have ended up playing us 3 times. 

Not sure who the Florida school was that was tentative for the fall scrimmage. We have played several north Fla. and Big Bend area schools through the years, but, now, no one wants to play. 

It is what it is. 

 

 

[FolsomPrisonBlues]

Is this insinuating that nobody will play Colquitt? LMFAO!

Do tell.

Serious question.

[Rufus69]

19 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

Or someone else.

Idk. Supposedly, there was as many as four different teams tentatively agree to a spring scrimmage, including Grayson, but in the end, none happened. 

I can't blame Grayson because we play them in a real game this season before the playoffs, so, depending on how everything pans out, they could have ended up playing us 3 times. 

Not sure who the Florida school was that was tentative for the fall scrimmage. We have played several north Fla. and Big Bend area schools through the years, but, now, no one wants to play. 

It is what it is. 

 

 

The Florida team was a big name South Florida school...and it was one that would have been televised...but...the logistics did not work out.  I say we call Maurice Freeman.   He brings the Hammer.

 

 

Rufus>>

[sausmann9]

2 hours ago, Rufus69 said:

Another fine kid from a great family.

 

 

Rufus>>

yes sir!!!  I have a little number 23 circled on the front of their canoes.  even 10 and 12 year old PA kids know who James was and what he was.

[sausmann9]

2 hours ago, Columbiafan said:

That's how FL does it

Florida sounds like a viable option and close proximity as well as opposed to a NJ or CA or TX team.