Pasco WR Mike Larry to sign with junior college

Posted Feb 8, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 12:20 PM

Pasco receiver Mike Larry will sign with North Dakota State College of Science during a ceremony at Irvin Education Center on Thursday morning at 8:45, coach Tom McHugh said Wednesday.

Larry, a 6-foot-1 athlete who was part of the Class 5A state semifinalist Pirates, had 11 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, while on defense, he returned a fumble against Zephyrhills, plus had 14 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Larry will be the third Pirate football player to sign in the past week, as athlete Trey Dudley-Giles signed with UMass and Jon Baxter with Wayne State.

North Dakota State College of Science is a junior college located in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

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Former Wolfson head coach, Plant assistant Meyer joins Leto staff

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 11:59 AM

Leto football coach Matt Kitchie added another impressive name to his staff this week with the addition of former Jackonville Wolfson head coach and former Plant assistant Greg Meyer.

The 34-year-old Meyer will serve as Kitchie’s defensive coordinator. He joins another former Plant assistant, Mo Harris, who was hired as running backs coach two weeks ago. Harris was offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay Tech last season.

“I’m not going to hide the fact I want what Plant has. We want to win a state championship at Leto,” Kitchie said. “With guys like Greg and Mo here, I’m hoping a little of that magic coach Weiner has developed at Plant will rub off over here.”

Meyer was Wolfson’s head coach the last two seasons, where he compiled a record of 5-15. Kitchie said Meyer wanted to return to his native Tampa area for family reasons and has already landed a teaching position at Leto. Meyer, a former tight end and center for Plant, was a junior varsity defensive line coach and varsity assistant under Panthers head coach Robert Weiner during the Panthers’ 2006 and 2008 championship season.

“The best part of this is that our kids are going to benefit tremendously from Greg and Mo. They’re great teachers and great people and I’m very fortunate to have them coming on board here.”

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Freedom’s Schaller signs with Stetson

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 03:00 PM

Freedom offensive lineman Kurt Schaller, a three year starter for the Patriots and a team captain last fall, has signed a letter of intent with Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.

The 5-foot-10, 285-pound Schaller is one of several area players who will be part of a Stetson football program that is returning to action in 2013 after a 57-year hiatus.

The Hatters’ football program will be competing in the Pioneer Football League, where most of the schools are private. The league, however, will be played at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) as a non-scholarship program.

The Pioneer Football League consists of teams in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. Member schools range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The league includes Butler, Campbell, Davidson, Dayton, Jacksonville, Drake, Marist, Morehead State, the University of San Diego and Valparaiso University. Stetson and Mercer join in 2013. All incoming players at Stetson and Mercer will earn redshirt status this fall.

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Armwood’s Callahan—Kirk Callahan—lands UCF post

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 12:08 PM

At the end of the day, all Armwood football coach Sean Callahan says he really wants is to see his kids get an education, a good job and, of course, be happy.

So far, so good.

Callahan got some good news on that front late this week when his oldest son, 27-year-old Kirk, landed a job as a defensive backs coach at his alma mater, the University of Central Florida.

“There was no question he was going to get hired somewhere eventually,” Sean Callahan said. He’s very knowledgeable, he’s learned a lot from some outstanding coaches and is a good recruiter.

“I’m just very, very proud of him.”

After finishing his playing career at UCF, Kirk worked one season as an intern there under head coach George O’Leary. He then spent two years as an intern at the University of North Carolina, then landed a job as a graduate assistant at Florida. He coached one year under Urban Meyer and one under current coach Will Muschamp.

Sean Callahan said Kirk got a call from O’Leary late this week, drove to Orlando for an interview and was offered the job. Kirk then had to drive back to his home in Gainesville, gather his basic necessities to start the job today. Besides working with the defensive secondary, Kirk will likely be the recruiting coordinator for UCF in the Tampa Bay area.

“It’s a great opportunity for Kirk and a good-paying job,” Sean Callahan said. “He’s going to do well there and I think he’s going to be able to pull a lot of kids from this area.”

Meanwhile, Callahan’s daughter, Kristin, recently landed a good-paying job in the business sector of the Southwest Florida area and his youngest son, Casey, is playing linebacker at Stony Brook (N.Y.) University.

Photo: A 2002 photo of Armwood football coach Sean Callahan and his son, Kirk, who was a senior that year for the Hawks. Friday, Kirk began his job as an assistant at UCF.

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Nation’s fastest high schooler: Bracy

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 11:32 PM

With the indoor track season already underway and the outdoor season set to begin in just 10 days for Class 1A and 2A schools and the larger divisions starting Feb. 20, it’s time to ask, who’s the fastest?

Well, when it comes to local sprinters, the guys to beat are Alonso’s Brandon Holloway and Hillsborough’s Anthony Brown. Both are state medalists, with Holloway owning 100/200 PRs of clocking 10.54/21.28 and Brown clocking 10.58/21.60.

That’s fast, but Orlando Boone senior and Florida State signee Marvin Bracy threw down the challenge to all comers at last week’s indoor meet in Gainesville when he smashed the national record for 55 meters with his time of 6.08. Watch this video of his race and see his reaction time to the gun, his drive phase, finish and margin of victory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv51o6DJmuQ

And these are not slugs he is racing. He isn’t even technically perfect yet, but he is already posting times close to current University of Florida star Jeff Demps and eclipsing prep records held by Olympian Justin Gatlin (2004 gold medalist, Athens).

If the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Bracy can stay healthy, he could wind up in this summer’s Olympic track trials in Eugene, Ore. Bracy is already the winner of a USA Track and Field Junior Championships title after winning the 100 last summer in the second-fastest time in Florida high school history, 10.05. Only Demps, co-holder of the junior world record (10.01), has run faster. Demps did that the summer after graduating high school at the 2008 Olympic trials.

So how fast is 55 meters indoors compared to the 100 outdoors? Well, there’s so many factors that make the two races totally different—like wind and endurance over the final 40 meters of a 100—that it’s almost useless to make comparisons. But according to the splits from the past world records, it would take a 60 meter split of approximately 6.47 to 6.53 to run the entire 100 meters distance under 10 flat. Bracy’s 55 meter time equates to about a 6.62 for the 60, so he’s probably close to running 10.10.

One thing is for sure: Bracy is the fastest prep sprinter in Florida right now. And probably in the nation, too.

Photo: Orlando Boone’s Marvin Bracy wears one of the two gold medals he won at last year’s Class 4A state track championships. Photo by Bill Ward.

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Hillsborough’s Sherit picks up offers from Arizona, Illinois

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 10:15 PM

Hillsborough defensive end Jordan Sherit, a first team, all-Hillsborough County selection last fall by the Tampa Tribune, has landed two more scholarship offers, including his first from west of the Mississippi.

Thursday, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Sherit picked up Arizona and Illinois. He now has a 13 offers. Along with his latest two, Sherit also has Georgia Tech, Purdue, Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Purdue, Duke, Miami, Vanderbilt and the University of South Florida who have made Sherit offers.

Last season, Sherit, an honors student enrolled in Hillsborough’s International Baccalaureate program, recorded team-highs in tackles (110) and sacks (9), both of which were among the top numbers in the county.

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Jon Gruden: always good for a sound bite

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 03:48 PM

Even at the crack of dawn, Jon Gruden is good for a quote or sound bite.

It was no different Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning, when his son, Deuce Gruden of Carrollwood Day School, signed his National Letter of Intent to play football for Lafayette College. As Deuce posed for the cameras and the small group of family and school administrators gathered for the event, his famous dad, ex-Bucs coach coach and Monday Night Football color analyst couldn’t help but toss in a funny line.

To hear what Jon Gruden said, please follow this video link: http://www2.tbo.com/sports/prep-sports/2012/feb/02/signing-day-gruden-style-05737-vi-25891/

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Plant’s unexpected package deal: Few, Tate to Cornell

Posted Feb 1, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 1, 2012 at 09:15 PM

Earlier this month, Plant High teammates James Few and Mike Tate made separate trips to Cornell University and had even managed to have a day together on the campus of the Ivy League school in Ithaca, N.Y.

But until mid-morning Wednesday—National Signing Day—neither knew the other had made a verbal commitment to Cornell. Now, the two Panthers stars can be teammates for another four years—maybe even roommates.

“I knew that he liked the campus and the football facilities but I also knew he had other offers and could go somewhere else,” said Few, the Panthers’ starter at quarterback who threw for 2,513 yards and 29 touchdowns during this championship season. “We were both trying pretty hard to keep it a secret from everyone so we literally didn’t know we were both going there until today.”

“He (Few) decided what was best for him and I decided what was best for me and we only heard about it through the grapevine,” said Tate, who finished the 2011 season with a state-leading 210 tackles. “It’s pretty cool it worked out this way.”

Few, who carries a weighted grade point average over 6.0, and Tate, also a standout honors student, made their decision official at the Panthers’ ceremony held in the school’s media center.

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Pasco’s Dudley-Giles signs with UMass over eight other offers

Posted Feb 1, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 1, 2012 at 04:47 PM

Pasco senior receiver Trey Dudley-Giles ended up making a decision Wednesday.

Despite coach Tom McHugh saying Dudley-Giles wouldn’t sign on National Signing Day, the 5-foot-11, 170 pound athlete signed with the University of Massachusetts, according to the team’s athletic Web site. Pasco has a signing ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, but Dudley-Giles isn’t expected to attend.

Dudley-Giles, a Pasco Tribune All Pasco County first team selection, also had offers from Middle Tennessee State, Rutgers, Ball State, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Ohio and South Alabama. Dudely-Giles helped the Pirates (13-1) reached their second state semifinal appearance in the past four seasons with 1,066 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.

Dudley-Giles also had five interceptions and four return touchdowns, as the Minutemen recruited him as a cornerback.

Dudley-Giles will be part of new head coach Charley Molnar’s first recruiting class that includes 24 players. Last season, UMass went 5-6.

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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Armwood’s Bailey lands two more SEC offers: South Carolina, Arkansas

Posted Jan 31, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 31, 2012 at 01:58 PM

Do-everything Armwood junior Alvin Bailey, who accounted for more than 2,000 yards of total offense and 18 touchdowns last season, has landed two more scholarship offers from Southeastern Conference schools, Hawks offensive coordinator Evan Davis said Tuesday.

The two latest SEC teams to make Bailey a pitch are South Carolina and, just Tuesday afternoon, Arkansas. Last fall, he was offered by Vanderbilt, where former Hawks quarterback Josh Grady is attending and the school current Armwood offensive lineman Kevin McCoy will sign a letter of intent with Wednesday. South Carolina will sign Hawks offensive lineman Cody Waldrop on National Signing Day.

Bailey also has an offer from the University of South Florida, where Armwood defensive back Jarvis McColl is headed.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Bailey was arguably the Hawks’ most valuable player on offense during last fall’s run to the Class 6A state title. He played quarterback, receiver and running back and, as one of Armwood’s top sprinters on the track team, was a breakaway threat whenever he got the ball. He had an 85-yard TD running the ball and a 67-yard score as a receiver.

Photo: Armwood junior Alvin Bailey sticks the nose of the ball over the goal line for a third-quarter touchdown against Miami Central in last season’s Class 6A state championship game in the Citrus Bowl. Staff photo by Bill Ward/The Tampa Tribune.

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