Wiregrass OL/DL Edmond Boateng receives offers, will sign Thursday

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 05:36 PM

Wiregrass Ranch OL/DL Edmond Boateng has been offered a full-ride to Arkansas Pine-Bluff and New Mexico Military Institute, plus is expected to receive an offer from Butler Community College, Bulls coach Jeremy Shobe said Tuesday afternoon.

Boateng, standing at an impressive 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, was part of the unfortunate 0-10 Bulls this past season, but had 24 tackles and three sacks.

Shobe added that the Butler offer is expected in the next day, however, Boateng is more than likely to sign with New Mexico Military on Thursday at 1:05 p.m. in the Student-Services conference room at Wiregrass.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Land O’ Lakes’ Josh Davis to sign with Saint Leo University

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 01:42 PM

Just a few days after his high-school soccer career came to a close, Land O’ Lakes senior forward Josh Davis made his collegiate plans and will sign a soccer scholarship to play for Saint Leo University, Gators coach Mark Pearson told the Tampa Tribune on Tuesday afternoon.

Davis, a speedy forward, had a team- and county-high 33 goals for Land O’ Lakes, which lost 3-1 in the 3A state final Saturday to Plantation American Heritage. In two seasons, Davis had 51 goals for the Gators, while he was also garnering interest from the University of Tampa, where he would have rejoined former teammate, keeper Kody Parker.

Davis joins his two teammates — Jake Frahm (North Florida) and Andy Garcia (Palm Beach Atlantic) — in signing letters of intent this recruiting season.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Football: Land O’ Lakes LB Williams signs JuCo Letter of Intent

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Bart O'Connell

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 12:23 PM

Coach Brian Wachtel announced this morning that Senior Shadow Williams has signed to play football for Phoenix College, a Community College in Arizona that has a long list of transfers to Division I schools.

Williams played through injury this season to still establish himself as one of the best linebackers in Pasco County. He had 62 tackles, three sacks and two fumble recoveries in 2011.

Phoenix College sent 21 football players to four-year institutions in 2010, including First-team All-American Alonzo Highsmith (Arkansas)

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Jesuit’s Ruff picks up offer from FIU

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 11:18 AM

Tampa Jesuit junior Cameron Ruff picked up his third scholarship offer this week when Florida International University made a pitch for the 6-foot-4, 277 offensive guard, Tigers coach James Harrel said Tuesday.

Ruff, who recorded 14 pancake blocks last season as a starter, also has offers from Iowa State and Purdue. He was part of a Tigers line that averaged more than 338 yards of offense and 33 points a game in 2011, including 153 yards rushing per contest.

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Hillsborough’s Harris receives USF offer

Posted Feb 14, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 14, 2012 at 07:17 PM

Hillsborough junior linebacker Nigel Harris received his first scholarship offer from one of the state’s top Division I football programs Tuesday when the University of South Florida made a pitch for the versatile Terriers athlete, coach Earl Garcia said.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Harris was Hillsborough’s No. 2 tackler last season with 89 and also recorded one sack and two fumble recoveries. He also saw regular action at running back and was the Terriers’ punter, averaging a solid 37.15 yards per kick.

Harris, an honors student at Hillsborough, also have offers from Purdue, Alabama-Birmigham and Vanderbilt. He suffered a broken collar bone in Hillsborough’s final game of the 2011 campaign, a playoff loss to Armwood, but has made a complete recovery.

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USF makes offer to TC’s Martinez

Posted Feb 13, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 13, 2012 at 03:14 PM

Tampa Catholic sophomore offensive lineman Corey Martinez, who is already a two-year starter for the Crusaders, received his first scholarship offer this weekend with a pitch from the local Division-I school, the University of South Florida.

Crusaders coach Bob Henriquez says offers to sophomores are relatively unofficial due to the fact the player’s senior year is so distant. But the offer from USF is significant for the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Martinez is significant in that it’s his first.

Martinez has received interest from several other major programs, including Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Mississippi State and Stanford.

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TBT’s Sampson commits to Jacksonville

Posted Feb 13, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 13, 2012 at 02:58 PM

Tampa Bay Tech defensive back Armani Sampson, who led the Titans in interceptions last season with six, has made a commitment to Jacksonville University, TBT coach Jayson Roberts announced Monday.

Six of Sampson’s interceptions were returned for touchdowns, including an 88-yard pick six against Newsome during the regular season. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Sampson was an honorable mention selection on the Tampa Tribune’s All-Hillsborough County football team and is the fifth Titans player to earn a college scholarship from this season’s senior class, Roberts said.

In other TBT news, Roberts said highly-recruited defensive back/receiver Richard Benjamin is headed to Gainesville this weekend to participate in Florida’s annual Junior Day camp. The Gators are just one of 22 Division I college football programs to have made an offer to the 6-0, 180-pound Benjamin.

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Ignite Elite combine draws crowd, talent

Posted Feb 13, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 13, 2012 at 10:06 AM

It was a tad chilly but more than 250 of the area’s top football players turned up for Saturday evening’s 2012 Bright House Sports Networks Ignite Elite Showcase presented by Big County Preps at the Larry Sanders Sports in Progress Village, Tampa.

According to BCP founder and event organizer Preston Jackson, here are the
MVPs from this year’s combine:

Quarterback: Pete Dinovo, East Lake, sophomore
Running back - Robert Davis, Carrollwood Day School, junior
Defensive lineman - Jodan Sherit, Hillsborough, junior
Offensive lineman - Logan McNeil, Lakewood, junior
Defensive back - Maurice Hall, Gibbs, sophomore
Linebacker - Isaac Tanner, Freedom, junior
Tight end - Troy Olmo, Clearwater Central Catholic, sophomore
Wide receiver - Artavious Scott, East Lake, sophomore

The U.S. Army 2014 MVPs, who earned automatic entry into the U.S. Army All-American Bowl combine, were Lakewood’s Isaiah Wynn, an offensive lineman, and Ocala West Port’s Anthony Davis, a defensive back.

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Hillsborough’s Sherit lands offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 09:31 PM

Two more scholarship offers have landed in the big hands of Hillsborough defensive end Jordan Sherit, including his first from the Big 12.

Seven-time national champions Oklahoma has made an official pitch for the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Sherit, Terriers coach Earl Garcia said Friday. Later that day, Garcia said Sherit picked up Ole Miss, his fourth Southeastern Conference school.

That brings his Division I total to 16 offers. And it’s still only the winter of his junior season.

Rivals.com recently rated Sherit the nation’s No. 76 player and the No. 5 defensive end. And with his frame, speed, tackling ability (a team-high 110 tackles and nine sacks) and grades (he’s in Hillsborough’s International Baccalaureate program), there’s a good reason why Garcia says Sherit “has all the parts.”

Sherit also owns offers from Arizona, Illinois, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Purdue, Duke, Miami, Vanderbilt and the University of South Florida.

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Jesuit QB Tommy Eveld accepts USF walk-on offer, joins brother

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 09:40 AM

Jesuit quarterback Tommy Eveld, who last season threw for 2,326 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards and another three TDs, has accepted a preferred walk-on spot at the University of South Florida.

Despite his impressive statistics last fall, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Eveld only had scholarship offers from several smaller schools, including Division II Fairmont State and Division III John Carroll and Marietta. He also had a grayshirt offer from Western Kentucky.

Jesuit coach James Harrell put it down to the fact Eveld came on strong as a senior when most Division I programs begin seeking quarterbacks in their junior season or earlier. But after a recent visit to the USF campus and considering his options, Tommy chose to stay close to home.

Tommy Eveld said USF was his dream school all along and is glad he will be a Bull.

“It didn’t turn out exactly like what I wanted it to but I’m happy with my decision. And with the quarterback situation there at USF, I think I will eventually have a shot at playing,” Tommy said. “I’ve been talking to a lot of coaches and spending a lot of time on this. Now I can concentrate on school and my studies. It’s a big relief.”

At South Florida, Eveld will join his brother, Bobby, who is a sophomore. He, too, was a recruited walk-on out of Jesuit in 2010. That season, he went on to appear in six games and started in the Bulls’ season finale against Cincinnati.

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