Florida HS First-Round Possibilies...

Today is the first-round of the 2010 NFL Draft and Florida will be well represented again.

Definite First Rounders:

C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson (Union County)
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida (Deerfield Beach)
Maurkice Pouncey, OG/OC, Florida (Lakeland)

Possible First Rounders:

Tim Tebow, QB, Florida (Nease)
Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina (Alachua Santa Fe)
Patrick Robinson, CB, FSU (Gulliver Prep)
Nate Allen, S, South Florida (Cape Coral)

Good luck to all!

Florida vs. USA = Big Winner

I have to give a lot of credit to Gridiron Promotions own Billy Fleming. He has worked and worked and dreamed and been rejected. But he never got discouraged and recently he was rewarded with Florida vs. USA.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1074405

First of all, the facility at Daytona has a new field turf installed and a million-dollar overhaul so it's a wonderful facility for this event.

The schedule is as such

8/27 Mainland vs. West Point (MS), 7 p.m.

8/28 Glades Central vs. Dallas Skyline (TX), noon

8/28 Glades Day vs. Twiggs County (Jeffersonville, GA), 3:30 p.m.

8/28 Cocoa vs. Olive Branch (MS), 7 p.m.

You got eight quality programs with the Florida teams each having fairly solid fan bases that will travel. I'm just extremely proud of and happy for Billy. A lot of guys have talked the talk and he's walking the walk.

I expect he'll have some television information to come soon. If he needs another endorsement, I'll be in line to offer one.

This event will only get bigger and better.

Boone Chooses LSU

In the case of "last visit" wins out, Kadron Boone officially drops Texas Tech and will sign his letter of intent with the LSU Tigers.

Originally I thought (and predicted) that Boone would land at Louisville but in actuality it appears that his final decision came down to LSU and Georgia.

Good luck to Kadron and I look forward to seeing him on Saturdays in the fall.

Sunshine State Scarlet Fever

Rutgers strikes in Florida again.

As part of a strong close the Scarlet Knights picked up three solid commitments from the state of Florida.

-- Jacksonville Trinity Christian cornerback Rashad Knight, a top 50 player in the state, picked Rutgers over Michigan. As big a gain as this was for the Scarlet Knights it was another strikeout in the Sunshine State for Michigan. Knight was thought to be a heavy lean to the Wolverines at one point.

-- Earlier this evening Tampa Leto athlete Jeremy Deering chose Rutgers over Florida State during his live local announcement. Deering will play wide receiver for the Scarlet Knights and stated that he "wanted to stand out rather than blend in" as his reasons for picking Rutgers.

-- And yesterday Rutgers received a commitment from Tampa Jefferson linebacker Fred Overstreet. Overstreet had offers from Minnesota and Syracuse among others.

Congratulations to the Scarlet Knights as they continue to pull players from Florida.

Baker's Dozen Predictions

Here's my prediction on 13 state kids that remain uncommitted as of today:

I like FSU to close strong, they have the inside track on Jones, Christian Green, Lemonier, Dorsey and Smith. But I expect Smith to pull a minor surprise and go to 'Bama. Southern Cal always nabs a Florida player so it'll be Dorsey or Chaz Green. Texas Tech's lost with Boone will turn into Louisville's gain.

Christian Jones, LB, Lake Howell - Florida State (over Florida)
Corey Lemonier, DE. Hialeah - Florida State (over Auburn)
Ivan McCartney, WR, Miramar - West Virginia (over Miami, Pittsburgh)
Chaz Green, OL, Tampa Catholic - Southern Cal (over Florida, Ohio State)
Christian Green, WR, Tampa Catholic - Florida State (over Florida)
Demar Dorsey, DB, Boyd Anderson - Florida State (over Southern Cal)
Kadron Boone, WR, Trinity Catholic - Louisville (over LSU, Texas Tech)
Todd Chandler, DT, Miami Northwestern - Louisville (over USF, Syracuse)
Brion Carnes, QB, Manatee - Nebraska (over Western Kentucky)
Rashad Knight, DB, Jax Trinity Christian - Michigan (over Rutgers)
Darrin Kitchens, LB, Homestead - Florida (over Florida State)
Calvin Smith, DT, Hialeah - Alabama (over Florida State)
Jeremy Deering, ATH, Tampa Leto - Rutgers (over Florida State)

17 Florida Prep Alums in NFL Pro Bowl

AFC

Chris Johnson, Tennessee, Olympia
Andre Johnson, Houston, Miami High
Brandon Marshall, Denver, Lake Howell
Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati, Miami Beach
Vince Wilfork, New England, Santaluces
Elvis Dumervil, Denver, Miami Jackson
Ray Lewis, Baltimore, Kathleen
Brandon Meriweather, New England, Apopka
Brian Dawkins, Denver, Raines

NFC

Frank Gore, San Francisco, Coral Gables
Leonard Weaver, Philadelphia, Satellite
Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota, Coral Springs
Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans, Coral Gables
Asante Samuel, Philadelphia, Boyd Anderson
D. Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona, Lakewood Ranch
Mike Jenkins, Dallas, Southeast
Antrel Rolle, Arizona, South Dade

Playoff Predictions (Recap and Second Chance)

The good news is there have been upsets and my good friend Charles Fishbein is going to get his desire for some new teams.

The bad news is it's killing my brackets. So I'm going to do a quick recap and give myself a second chance to make it right.

Class 6A

Upset: DeLand over Orange Park (Correct)
Bracket Sleeper: Miramar (Still Alive)
Elite Eight: 3 of 8 (Not so Good)
Championship Game: Miami Northwestern 27, DeLand 17 (Dead when Central beat Northwestern)
New Championship Game: Miami Central 27, DeLand 17

Class 5A

Upset: First Coast over Fleming Island (Wrong)
Bracket Sleeper: Bayside (Still Alive)
Elite Eight: 5 of 8 (Better)
Championship Game: St. Thomas Aquinas 31, Lakeland 14 (Still Alive)

Class 4A

Upset: Leon over Columbia (Wrong)
Bracket Sleeper: Tarpon Springs
Elite Eight: 7 of 8 (Lake Gibson...I believed in you)
Championship Game: Dwyer 28, Niceville 10 (Still Alive)

Class 3A

Upset: Lake Wales over Southeast (Ding!)
Bracket Sleeper: Merritt Island (Not quite, lost in second round)
Elite Eight: 2 of 8 (Awful)
Championship Game: Jefferson 21, Winter Haven 14 (Winter Haven choked in the first round...Again)
New Championship Game: Jefferson 28, Lake Wales 27

Class 2A

Upset: Ribault over Godby (Wrong)
Bracket Sleeper: Hardee (Made it as far as predicted)
Final Four: 3 of 4 (Madison wasn't as strong as usual)
Championship Game: Glades Central 24, Madison County 9 (See above RE: Madison)
New Championship Game: Glades Central 31, Cocoa 15

Class 2B

Upset: Gulliver Prep over North Broward Prep (Wrong)
Bracket Sleeper: Pensacola Catholic (This was a gimme)
Final Four: 3 of 4 (Can you fault me for taking Pahokee?)
Championship Game: Pahokee 14, Bolles 10 (Nope)
New Championship Game: Chaminade 20, Bolles 14

Class 1A

Upset: Berkeley Prep over Dixie County (Nope)
Bracket Sleeper: Parkway Academy (Ughhh)
Final Four: 2 of 4 (NFC loses early and Parkway loses to the FHSAA)
Championship Game: Trinity Christian 31, Fort Meade 28 (Still Alive)

Class 1B

Upset: Glades Day over MacArthur North (Money!)
Bracket Sleeper: Out-of-Door Academy (Oh Yeah!)
Final Four: 2 of 4 (FAMU loss seems predictable in hindsight but not Jupiter Christian)
Championship Game: Jupiter Christian 38, FAMU DRS 24 (Wrong, wrong, a thousand times wrong)
NEW Championship Game: Glades Day 35, Hawthorne 12

Let's see what happens.

Playoff Predictions: Quick -N- Dirty

Time for some quick and easy playoff predictions. This isn't done blind but rather on a first look at the bracket, the matchups and checking in with the current health of the participating programs. Next week I'll go more in depth with few games.

Class 6A

First-Round Upset: DeLand over Orange Park

Bracket Sleeper: Miramar

Elite Eight: DeLand, Sanford Seminole, Dr. Phillips, Treasure Coast, Miramar, Carol City, Miami Northwestern and Miami Southridge

Championship Game: DeLand vs. Northwestern

Final Score: Northwestern 27, DeLand 17


Class 5A

First-Round Upset: First Coast over Fleming Island

Bracket Sleeper: Bayside

Elite Eight: First Coast, Lakeland, Plant, Tampa Bay Tech, Venice, Bayside, Ely, St. Thomas Aquinas

Championship Game: St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Lakeland

Final Score: St. Thomas Aquinas 31, Lakeland 14


Class 4A

First-Round Upset: Leon over Columbia

Bracket Sleeper: Tarpon Springs

Elite Eight: Niceville, Lincoln, Tarpon Springs, Lake Gibson, Armwood, Charlotte, New Smyrna Beach, Dwyer

Championship Game: Dwyer vs. Niceville

Final Score: Dwyer 28, Niceville 10


Class 3A

First-Round Upset: Lake Wales over Southeast

Bracket Sleeper: Merritt Island

Elite Eight: Andrew Jackson, St. Augustine, Nature Coast, Jefferson, Winter Haven, Riverdale, Merritt Island, Booker T. Washington

Championship Game: Jefferson vs. Winter Haven

Final Score: Jefferson 21, Winter Haven 14


Class 2A

First-Round Upset: Ribault over Godby

Bracket Sleeper: Hardee

Final Four: Madison County, Cocoa, Robinson, Glades Central

Championship Game: Madison County vs. Glades Central

Final Score: Glades Central 24, Madison County 9


Class 2B

First-Round Upset: Gulliver Prep over North Broward Prep

Bracket Sleeper: Pensacola Catholic

Final Four: Pensacola Catholic, Bolles, Tampa Catholic, Pahokee

Championship Game: Bolles vs. Pahokee

Final Score: Pahokee 14, Bolles 10


Class 1A

First-Round Upset: Berkeley Prep over Dixie County

Bracket Sleeper: Parkway Academy

Final Four: Liberty County, Trinity Christian, Fort Meade, Parkway Academy

Championship Game: Trinity Christian vs. Fort Meade

Final Score: Trinity Christian 31, Fort Meade 28


Class 1B

First-Round Upset: Glades Day over MacArthur North

Bracket Sleeper: Out-of-Door Academy

Final Four: FAMU DRS, Warner Christian, Out-of-Door Academy, Jupiter Christian

Championship Game: Jupiter Christian vs. FAMU DRS

Final Score: Jupiter Christian 38, FAMU DRS 24