2008 Magazine In The Final Run

The 2008 Tennessee Football magazine is in the final run before dashing off to the printer.

I’m very excited about this year’s magazine. There’s more stories, more information and an overall better product for those in Tennessee to enjoy.

In the 2008 edition meet the top Tennessee Volunteer players returning and get a close up look at sophomore sensation Eric Berry by reading the cover story.

In addition, check out the in-depth reporting by Tennessee Vols beat writer John Brice as he takes fans behind the scenes for information you will only find in the Tennessee Football magazine.

The NFL section is packed with a preview of the Tennessee Titans as Coach Jeff Fisher attempts to return his team to the playoffs.

Will the return of defensive end Javon Kearse, or the addition of tight end Alge Crumpler make a big difference in the Titans?

Of course, Tennessee Football magazine is the leader in delivering the best prep information and feature stories to the readers.

Find out the best teams in Tennessee in the Top 25 All-classification poll and read about the Top 10 match-ups that you don’t want to miss in 2008.

Don’t miss picking up a copy to read about the Reebok Phenoms, a collection of the elite prep football players in the state.

The 2009 Tennessee signing crop is already growing with players across the state making commitments to SEC and other Division I schools.

The Tennessee Football magazine Power 279 provides information on the best talent the Volunteer State has to offer.

See who from your area is in the top players’ lists and read about your favorite high school in the 2008 previews.

I can’t wait to get the first issue in my hand and I know what’s coming.

I can only imagine your anticipation.

A special thanks to those who have worked with the Tennessee Football magazine staff to make this edition the best ever.

Oops, I almost let the cat out of the bag.

That’s right; the magazine will announce the best back and best lineman to play football in Tennessee and a list of others who were so close.

Adarius Bowman Not Drafted

What went wrong with Adarius Bowman?

The former Notre Dame School star is the best high school wide receiver I've ever seen play.

In fact, he’s one of the top five prep football players I’ve seen on the gridiron.

I deemed him a can’t miss.

He had it all.

Adarius had the size, speed, hands and athletic ability to go along with the most pleasant, yet competitive dispositions I can remember.

Don't take my word for it. Just check out his credentials on his website http://www.bowman12.com/.

In my business, I have dealt with thousands of youngsters. Evaluating those youngsters as people and athletes is what I do best.

Therefore, when I say Adarius Bowman is one the finest I ever dealt with I think I know what I’m talking about.

He had a $million dollar smile and was always polite and mannerly in high school.

When he would visit the Stump On Sports television show he was always a pleasure to work with.

Even those who competed against the former SuperPrep All-America prep player pulled for him to succeed.

Saturday I watched the National Football League Draft and checked my Blackberry all day to see who to drafted Adarius.

Sunday, I followed the same pattern.

Nevertheless, with my wife waiting to go to dinner I waited until the final pick to see if the two-time Tennessee Mr. Football would be selected.

That moment didn’t come.

Adarius Bowman is 6-foot-4 and his playing weight is around 220 pounds.

The USA Today ran a story last fall that ranked Bowman in the top 15 seniors in the nation regardless of position. A test to determine his body fat came back at zero.

NFL analyst projected Adarius as a low first round pick last fall.

I said on the ESPN Radio Show, The Drive, prior to the 2007 NFL Draft that I hoped the Dallas Cowboys would take him this year to team with Terrell Owens.

So, what went wrong?

It could have been the 4.74 seconds 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine back in February.

On the other hand, it could have been what was described by scouts as bad routes or too many dropped passes at the Senior Bowl workouts.

Those factors alone might have dropped Adarius some in the draft. However, not from the 15th best senior in the nation last fall to out of the top 252 this weekend.

Marijuana likely cost Adarius millions of dollars.

He was arrested April 1 in McMinn County where he was charged with possession of the controlled substance.

This was the second time marijuana cast a dark shadow on his athletic career.

As a freshman at North Carolina, Adarius was removed from the football team following a marijuana possession charge.

Somebody will give Adarius an opportunity to play in the NFL. He’s a good kid who made two, too many mistakes.

There’s still a chance that he can be an NFL star.

Adarius has the tools and hard work will get his speed numbers back in line.

His agent was quoted last week as saying that nobody ever ran Adarius down from behind in the Big 12.

It’s time for Adarius Bowman to prove to all the people out there that he’s a champion on and off the field.

I still think I was right about him.

He has it all.

It’s now time to show all of it off.

Honoring One Of The Vol Greats

Those who had the fortune of watching the late Jackie Walker play linebacker for the Tennessee Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference from 1969-1971 will not forget how he played.

Walker had a higher gear that gave him the acceleration to always be around the football.

Coaches today talk about squeezing the green by waiting until the last second to strike on a tackle. Nobody did that any better than Walker.

He struck opposing runners with the quickness of a snake and the impact of a stampeding bull.

There’s some things about Walker I did know from being around the Knoxville scene in the early 1970’s while participating as an athlete at nearby Carson-Newman College.

However, when I read the story printed in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/sports/ncaafootball/18tennessee.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=ncaafootball&pagewanted=all Friday I learned more about him.

I didn’t know that he was the the first African-American football player in the Southeastern Conference to be named an all-American and the first of his race to captain an SEC team.

I learned in the story that he averaged more than 23 tackles a game as a senior at Knoxville Fulton.

However, I did know he was a two-time All-America linebacker for the Vols, and to this day he was one of the most fun-to-watch defensive players I’ve ever seen.

I said recently on my Chattanooga ESPN Radio 1370 show, “The Drive,” that Walker was Leonard Little years before there was a Leonard Little.

And yes, by hanging out with some of the Tennessee football players in some of the Knoxville hot spots of the early 1970s many of us heard that Walker was gay.

Although in that era, the word most used wasn’t gay.

I’m not sure how many of us understood homosexuality at that time.

I was happy to read that Walker would likely be one of the names on the induction list for the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame when it is released tomorrow.

On the gridiron the word great defined his play very well.

Jackie Walker photo courtesy of Tennessee Sports Information

Independence Wins!

ALCOA --- Jeanne McGrath cast the final vote for Independence High School at 11:52 Central Daylight Time this morning to get the ballot in eight minutes before Uncle Sam had to have his tax return.

However, this wasn’t about the taxman.

In a battle to the wire between a pair of Middle Tennessee rivals, Independence High wins the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine cover contest.

The final vote tally revealed Independence High from 1776 Declaration Way, Thompson's Station, Tennessee with 734 votes and Antioch with 359.

Independence would have won the contest even if the many who voted for Independance High, and few who typed in Independent High, were tossed out.

Brentwood Academy, Knox Fulton, Tyner, Bolton, Ooltewah, Union City, Ravenwood, Soddy-Daisy, Silverdale and Howard all received votes to bring the overall total to more than 1200 votes in the contest.

Independence displayed the school spirit that helped ignite the Eagles to a 5-A TSSAA state finals appearance in 2007.

The students of Independence were very impressive cheering for the Eagles in a loss to Smyrna that day at Middle Tennessee State.

The battle between the Bears of Antioch and the Eagles of Independence doesn’t come as a surprise.

The Eagles eliminated the Bears in the TSSAA playoffs 44-12 last November 16.

Independence wins 500 free copies of the 2008 Varsity Sports Media’s Tennessee Football magazine with the Eagles custom cover.

This will make for a great fundraiser and a cool keepsake for the Independence football team.

Way to go Eagles!

Vols Open 2008 At UCLA On ESPN

John Brice of Volsquest.com reports this morning that Tennessee has changed its 2008 football schedule to play UCLA on ESPN during a Monday Night Football time slot on September 1.

The story says that ESPN was in negotiations with Tennessee and other schools to get a premier Labor Day prime-time game.

Volquest.com reports that the game will now be five days before Tennessee was scheduled to visit Los Angeles and 48 hours after it was to open Phil Fulmer's 16th full season against UAB.

Tennessee moved the UAB game to Sept. 13 in Knoxville and Sept. 6 will now be an open date.

UCLA moved the Bruins opening day game with Fresno State to Sept. 27.

UAB moved the home game with Alabama State scheduled for Sept. 13 to Sept. 20.

Independence Clicks By Antioch

ALCOA --- Click … click … click … the inbox at StumpOnSports.com began to sound-off shortly after noon on Wednesday March 27.

The morning began with a few votes for Antioch as the Bears extended their lead in the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine’s Cover Contest.

Nonetheless, when Gerard Smith cast his vote for Independence High in Thompson’s Station at 12:01 p.m. on Wednesday the clicking began to increase.

One after the other the votes clicked in throughout the day until more than 150 votes were cast for the Independence Eagles that day.

That was only the start.

After overtaking the Bears of Antioch for the honor of having their own Tennessee Football magazine cover specially designed for the school, Independence continued on voting.

As of noon Sunday March 30, Independence had 329 votes compared to Antioch’s 51.

Brentwood Academy, Knox Fulton, Tyner, Bolton, Ooltewah, Union City, Ravenwood and Howard all have received votes.

However, something tells me that this race isn’t over.

Independence is displaying the school spirit that helped ignite the Eagles to a 5-A TSSAA state finals appearance in 2007.

The students of Independence were very impressive cheering for the Eagles in a loss to Smyrna that day at Middle Tennessee State.

There probably is a tad of animosity between Independence and Antioch. The Eagles eliminated the Bears in the TSSAA playoffs 44-12 last November 16.

Your team can still be the winner of the Tennessee Football magazine cover contest.

With the deadline set for midnight on April 15 the sprint by Independence may not be enough.

Have your coaches, players, faculty, band, boosters, and sponsors go to the TennFB.com site and place a vote to win a custom designed cover from Varsity Sports Media.

The winning school will receive 500 copies of the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine with your custom cover at no charge.

Sell the magazines with the custom cover for $10 each and your school has a $5,000 fundraiser and a lot of spirit for the school.

Just click on the link at the bottom of this story and vote for you favorite team.

Now, here’s a tip that might lead to your school becoming the ultimate winner.

Spread the word to everyone you know in your community who will go to the website and vote.

In addition, photocopy this sheet many times and pass it out to as many people as you know.

Get your booster club, church, civic organizations and everybody you can reach out to vote for your team.

Contact the local radio and television stations, as well as newspapers in your area, and ask them to direct people to the site to make your goal come true.

Utilize your school website to spread the word.

It’s obvious that Independence is following these tips.

Vote Here

Cumberland Is Coming To Chattanooga

The first thought when I heard Chattanooga had added Cumberland College to its football schedule for 2008 was, “Isn’t that the school that lost 222-0 to Georgia Tech back in 1916?"

Sure enough, same Cumberland College, that has improved the Bulldogs football program 1,000 percent since that day in 1916.

Last year the Mocs lost to D-II power Carson-Newman.

Personally, I would have loved to see a rematch with the Eagles at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.

Nevertheless, on Sept. 6 the Cumberland Bulldogs from the NAIA roll into Chattanooga for game with the Mocs.

The small Lebanon, Tenn. school is getting $30,000 for the game.

Chattanooga’s schedule will now be Oklahoma (Aug 30), Cumberland (Sept. 6) and Florida State (Sept. 13).

Have you heard the story on Cumberland’s 222-0 loss to John Heisman’s Georgia Tech squad in Atlanta?

The Bulldogs had done away with the football program prior to the season. However, Cumberland had an agreement with Georgia Tech that would force them to pay $3,000 if the team didn’t play.

The story goes that Heisman was upset that Cumberland had beaten his baseball team 22-0 earlier that year. In fact, Cumberland had been accused of playing professionals against Georgia Tech in baseball.

A student manager for the baseball team named George Allen assembled a scrub football team of 14 players, including fraternity brothers, to go play Tech.

I like the odds for this Cumberland team against Chattanooga better than the 1916 squad that lost 222-0 and trailed 63-0 at the end of the first quarter.

However, the game does come between Oklahoma and Florida State.

Ouch!

Cumberland plays in the Mid-South Conference with University of the Cumberlands, Georgetown, Campbellsville, Union, Pikeville, University of Virginia College at Wise, West Virginia University, Bellhaven, Bethel, Lambuth and Shorter.

Cumberland has some quality players. Greg "Greenmile" Smith, who played at Auburn after winning many accolades at Tyner, is scheduled to play this season.

Dewayne Alexander’s Bulldogs were 4-6 for the 2007 campaign.

Walker/Stewart Make A Difference

My friends Riley Walker and Efrin Stewart have spent a lot of time over the years coaching little guys football players in the Chattanooga area.

The two have been outstanding leaders of the Tyner Bills and now Brainerd Bills organization.

This week I was moving some files around to get more room to start on stories for the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine. During my shuffling I ran across a document listing players who came through that organization and went on to play college and pro football.

I have been told that this is not a complete list. However, this is impressive.

I just wanted to take time on a rainy day to recognize Walker and Stewart for the efforts they have made that have changed lives.

Brainerd/Tyner Bills College

Hixson
Daniel Bullocks (Nebraska and NFL Lions)*
Josh Bullocks (Nebraska and NFL Saints)*
Germon Spence (Carson Newman)

City High
Tony Brown (Memphis and NFL Tennessee Titans)
Labron Elder (Middle Tennessee State)
Stevland Sills (Tennessee Tech)

Brainerd
C.J. Black (basketball Tennessee)
Kenneth Henderson (Tuskegee and NFL Free Agent 06)*
Darrell Hinton (Tennessee State and NFL Europe)
Lurone Jennings Jr. (Lane College)
Labron Johnson Jr. (Tusculum) *
Rickey Maples (Carson Newman)
Cory Sanders ( Alabama State)
Damon Smith (Lane College and Arena League)
Riley Walker Jr (Tennessee State and now an assistant coach there) *

CSAS
Carlos Clark (basketball Holy Cross)
George Hudgins (basketball Drexell)

Red Bank
Jimmy Whisman (Chattanooga)

Southeast Whitfield, Ga
Marcus Jones (Duke)

South Pittsburgh
Antonio Robinson (Tennessee Tech)

Tyner
Daniel Dingler (Tennessee Tech)
Resinald Ellison (Albany State)
Quinton Hale ( MTSU and NFL Free agent 06)*
Rory Hinton ( George Mason)
Kevin Hughes ( Carson-Newman)
Josef Rutley (Chattanooga)
Winderak Stewart (GMC)
Shaun Strickland (Tusculum)

* On the same 10-under team

Other Players
Nick Tanner (Tuskegee)
Kevion Jones ( San Mateo Jr. College)

Tyner High Players
Anthony Jones (Vanderbilt)
Kelvin Hughley (Georgia Tech)
Jason Ball (Chattanooga)
Derrick Stinson (Tusculum)
Desmond Hendricks ( Rhodes College)
Greg Smith (Auburn/Cumberland)
DeMonte Bolden (Tennessee)

Maryville Goes Swoosh With Nike

The old saying that the rich get richer is true for the Maryville Rebels football program.

The 2007 Tennessee Football magazine Team of the Year will change its look for the upcoming football season.

The same old uniforms that the Rebels just kept on winning and winning in will be updated with new gridiron threads compliments of Nike.

For the first time since 1996, the Rebels will be stepping out in new duds.

Nike sought out Maryville in the continued effort to sign the top athletic programs in the nation.

The Rebels were offered a three-year deal to have the football team wear the famous swoosh, which has been approved by the Maryville City Schools Board.

Coach George Quarles record-breaking team enters the 2008 season on a 60-game win streak and four consecutive 4A state championships. The Rebels will be the first team in Tennessee and one of only 40 prep football squads nationwide who will be wearing Nike this year.

He said other major athletic manufactures had offered deals to get Maryville to change from the DeLong uniforms that they wore in 2007.

However, he said his team voted to go with Nike.

Quarles said the Rebels could play some of the other elite Nike teams across the nation as early as 2009.

The award-winning coach said Maryville has already had offers to go to Florida to play Miami-Northwestern, which was ranked No. 1 nationwide following the 2007 campaign.

However, that's not a game that the Rebels are expected to consider playing.

Quarles said the school will have to pay for the uniforms, but practice wear, shoes and other items would be available to the players.

Cover Contest

Your high school football team has the opportunity to be on the cover of the 2008 edition of the Tennessee Football magazine.

That’s right; you don’t have to read the last sentence again.

It’s true, but only one team can be the winner.

Just like playing for the Tennessee state championship, one team will win out across the state to be on the front cover.

Varsity Sports Media will custom design a cover especially for the winning school. Then the company will give your school 500 copies at no cost to sell, give away or to do whatever you want.

Just click on the link at the bottom of this story and vote for you favorite team.

Please note, your school may not be listed until it’s inserted in the voting area at the bottom of the ballot.

Now, here’s a tip that might lead to your school becoming the ultimate winner.

Spread the word to everyone you know in your community who will go to the website and vote.
In addition, photocopy this sheet many times and pass it out to as many people as you know.

Get your booster club, church, civic organizations and everybody you can reach out to vote for your team.

Contact the local radio and television stations, as well as newspapers in your area, and ask them to direct people to the site to make your goal come true.

Utilize your school website to get the word out.

The race is on and the deadline is tax day, April 15.

Check the VSM Message Boards for daily voting updates starting Monday, March 15.
Vote Here