The Athlete 251 Issue1 by The Athlete 251

The Athlete Volume 1

251

JACK WEST

THE ARM-SLINGER

Jack received his 1st college offer in 8th grade, Now as a Junior, Jack goes WEST.

The Starting Lineup -----------------------4.

WATCH OUT ATHLETE

COACHING WITH A PURPOSE

Senior Darius Bracy Stepping up when its time

Blount Defensive Coordinator Lee Smith How to push players to their true potential

12. THE ATHLETE Saraland QB Jack West

The Pressure of College Potential “West” is more than his last name

17. Playoff Predictions Which teams look Playoff ready?

18. C. A. R. Choose Another Route

College Degrees To Choose Physical Therapy Sports Journalism

22. WDE War Damn Eagle

23. ROLL TIDE Roll MF Tide

THE WATCH OUT ATHLETE

Baker’s Darius Bracy

Baker’s Darius Bracy has been having one of the Best years of any Baker player in History.

arius senior season couldn’t be off to a better start. Bracy is putting on Heisman type of plays and numbers. But the season didn’t really start like that. In the offseason and during the first game of the season verses Saraland he shared playing time with Jack Samsel, but right after the loss Jack transferred to Spanish Fort, giving the job all to Bracy. What a blessing that was for Darius and the Baker Hornets program. The Hornets won at Vigor in Week 2 and then outlasted Theodore in a 41-34 thriller the following week. He run for 430 yards and four touchdowns on 56 carries, including at least 100 yards in each game. He also has completed 14-of-29 passes for 214 yards

and a score and caught two passes for 54 yards. And let’s not forget the thriller against Murphy when Darius finished with 347 yards of total offense as Baker edged Murphy 32-29. Bracy rushed for 174 and four touchdowns and passed for 173 yards. Baker backfield gives defensive coordinators both grey hairs as well as sleepless nights, and the reason for this is because as good as Bracy is, his running back is a tad bit better. Yes, I know what you’re thinking.... HOW....... well just google the name Tre McMillian and there’s your answer. The way Bracy is playing, he will need to go to Walmart and purchase a rubber tub for all the college letters 4

that’s on the way. Grambling is the only school to officially offer him at this point, but you can please believe me when I tell you that all SEC schools will be in contact with Bracy before the season is over. Bracy comes from a family of 10 siblings and he could/will be the 1st of them to go to college. Darius is the type of player who could play at any position on the field including in the secondary. Running a 4.4 / 4.5 in the 40yrd dash, my advice is for the coach to just put him on the field and watch him work.

MORE STARS *******

DIG DEEP

Coaching With A Purpose

Blount Leopards Defensive Coordinator Lee Smith Demands Greatness

Blounts Defensive Coordinator Lee Smith demands the best out of his players.

f you don’t have passion for your craft, then playing for Blount High School Defensive Coordinator Lee Smith is the wrong coach for you. This is a coach that not only coach with a chip on his shoulder, but also played the game the same way. Coach Smith had a very successful collegiate career at Tuskegee University where he almost followed that career up with an NFL spot but was cut short. But don’t think that stopped Smith, no, he started coaching right after his NFL shot and has been successful for 9 years at every program he set foot in. The reason head coaches love coach smith is because he brings the best out of the defense. Defense is the Gladiator side of football and Smith believes you must play with a chip on your shoulders. Smith coached at Vigor high school a couple years ago and he is now coaching at their rival Blount high school. We asked coach how did the players react to you coming to coach them knowing where you used to coach? “The main focus going into the Blount job was to get the players to buy into my style of coaching and expectations and once they see the results of my vision I knew it wouldn’t be any problems or concerns”, says Smith. Smith has one of the top defenses in 6A (if not the #1 defense). Leading up to week 6, Smith defense allowed just 47 pints in 5 games and held 4 of the 5 opponents to 10 points or less. “That comes from all 11 players taking care of their jobs and all 11 getting to the ball”, says Smith. That defense was put to the test in week 6, when they face the #1 team in 7A in the State of Alabama, the McGill Yellow Jackets. The Clash of #1 in 6A and #1 in 7A didn’t go as plan for coach Smith and his defense. We just had a ton of mental errors early in the game and you can’t have that when you face a great program like the Yellow Jackets, says Smith. Blount bounced back like a true champion would in week 7 and you can be sure to see them go deep into the playoff with the leading candidate roll of 2016-17 Class 6A State Champions behind a stingy and aggressive defense under the leadership of coach Lee Smith. 8

KEEP THE VISION IN FRONT OF YOU!

News

Mobile Alabama top recruits for the Class of 2017

Davidson QB Cephus Johnson and Blounts QB Kadarius Toney has been part of a high profile recruiting class of quarterbacks. The class of 2017 promises to include some of the Best Athletes to ever come from Mobile Alabama. You may have heard of these players: Ryan Johnson of St. Paul’s, Thomas Johnston of Spanish Fort, Marlon Williams of McGill-Toolen, Neil Farrell of Murphy and Kadarius Toney of Blount. Here are a couple more top athletes in the Mobile area:

Troy Young, ATH, Mobile

Christian (6-foot-1, 196 pounds) Committed to: Arizona. The Rundown: The hard nose running back will be a great fit for Arizona. Young plays tailback for

Ronnie Cottrell’s Leopards but in college he could also see action on the other side of the ball. In my opinion I think RB is his true position but time will tell.

Cephus Johnson, QB, Davidson (6-foot-3, 198 pounds)

Committed to: South Alabama. The Rundown: Johnson started the last half of the season for the Warriors last year and has impressed his coaches. He also had a late growth spurt, blossoming from 6-foot, 165 points to his current height and weight. Johnson runs a 4.65 40 and already has scored a 20 on his ACT.

Jack West, QB, Saraland (6foot-4, 210 pounds) 10

Committed to: Stanford. The Rundown: West received his 1st offer as an 8th grader from Tulane.... YES, an 8th grader. lol. Jack is probably the most college ready QB in mobile, and by the time he graduates that will be a sure thing. Remember he’s only a Jr. But football isn’t the only reason he decided to take his talent to the West Coast. Jack plans to go into politics after football and feels this is the best place to set him up for life after football.

Charles Crawford, ATH, Vigor (5-foot-10, 185 pounds)

News

the filed and he will be the best player there. It’s that simple. C4 has a ton of offers and interests from colleges around the nation but hasn’t committed yet. His natural position is DB, but C4 has seen playing time at just about every skill position on the field, I think he even kicked an extra point before. C4 is a 4.4 40yd dash guy and bench press close to 300lbs.

Chris Sullivan, Wr, Theodore (6-foot-2, 160 pounds) Committed to: N/A The Rundown: Chris has some of the purest hands I have ever seen, and he showed that against Baker earlier this year. In that game the senior caught 9 passes for 210 yds and had TD receptions of 62, 7, and 11. But let’s not forget that he also had about 3 catches for over 40yds each that was wiped out by penalties. Chris isn’t a lighting fast guy but Jerry Rice wasn’t either. This guy will be on the next level and possible playing on Sundays.

Tre McMillian, RB, Baker (5-foot-8, 190 pounds)

Brandon Hinton, Wr, McGill (5-foot-8, 175 pounds)

Committed to: Air Force Academy The Rundown: He is the Wes Welker of McGill. This kid can take a screen pass 99 yards. He has great hands, explosiveness and is tough mentally and physically. He’s not only that good on the field but most importantly, Brandon is a 3.5 GPA guy, who scored a 25 on the ACT and let’s not forget, he’s a back to back State Champion.

Matt Trehern, OL, Saraland (6-foot-3, 295 pounds)

Committed to: South Alabama The Rundown: The three-year starter chose South Alabama over Troy, Alcorn State and Central Florida. As of now he plays tackle but USA has talked to him about playing in the inside too which won’t be a problem for Trehern. With nice footwork and the combination of Power & Explosion, he will open up some nice holes for future teammate Tre McMillian.

Committed to: South Alabama The Rundown: Picture Barry Sanders shiftiness, and Adrian Peterson Power and you have Tre McMillian. Tre was injured in the 1st game last year and wasn’t the same Tre last year but this year he came back this year with a vengeance and seems to be unstoppable. Alone with teammate QB Darius Bracy, this backfield has been pure hell for defensive coordinators. Tre could play on any SEC team as their starting RB but chose South Alabama over everyone. What a steal for the jaguars. McMillian is a 4.4/4.5 speedster with great hands out the backfield. 11

The Athlete

Jack West

Mr. Arm-Slinger

Saraland quarterback Jack West had big-time colleges calling him before he even started a high school game. But forget the phone ringing, Jack had his 1st offer in the 8th grade. Yes, the 8th grade. From who you ask, well that came from a well-known school in Louisiana name Tulane. The offers continued to pile in once Jack took over for the Spartans, but it didn’t take West long to commit to his college family. Before the season started, Jack committed to Stanford. Through it all the 6-foot-3, 215-pound West didn’t get the bighead attitude that most high schoolers would get. Jack is Cool, Calm, and Collected.

West Jr season campaign started off with a nail-biting victory against 7A Baker Hornets, which Saraland won 24-21 off a 1-yard TD run by the Spartans Johnathon Perryman with 1:32 left in the game. West was 11-of-21 passing for 109 yards and an interception. Week 2 placed Jack and the Spartans against class 6A area opponent Leflore Rattlers. This games were also a tight one, and once again the Spartans was victorious. Off to a 2-0 start to the season, and committed to Stanford, the Jack West campaign is looking good. Having a running back like Perryman, it helps West out. Coming into the season everybody figured In his first year as a starter in 2015, West led the that West would have to take this team on his back, but Spartans to an 8-3 record. Saraland’s only losses came Perryman has taken that pressure off Jack with week to eventual Class 6A state champ Spanish Fort, Region in/week out great performances. This is only making 1 runner-up Blount and Class 6A semifinalist BenjaJack better which is dangerous for the Playoff. Look for min Russell (in the first round of the playoffs). Now the Spartans to go deep into the playoff with Jack drivin his Junior season, the critics wants to know how ing the train. And the train doesn’t stop in the playoff would Jack handle the pressure of not having some of or even after a possible championship trophy. No, you the talent playing with him as he had in past years as have to worry about Mr. West and the Spartans next well as the pressure of college and being what some say, year before he heads West. This could be 2 years of hell could be the best high school quarterback to ever play for defensive coordinators. in Mobile, AL. “I think pressure is the expectation someone else puts on you,” says Jack. “I have a certain level of expectation of myself and my team. I think this year will bring out the best of me as a player, and we have some younger kids who are really going to make a name for themselves as well.”

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

The Future

BLOCKING THE UN-BLOCKABLE

Four years of Pure-D-Hell. This is what Carlos Johnson Jr brings to all offensive linemen in the Mobile, AL area. The freshmen made his presence felt this spring with a Monster hit on B.C. Rain running back during a scrimmage drill. The hit was caught on video and made it way to social media, and became the talk of the offseason in Mobile, AL. He followed that up with a decent spring game and made his impact felt during the red raiders 1st couple of games this season. By week 5 the 14yr old Freshmen had 31 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 QB hurries. Not to mention he won defensive lineman of the week in week 3. In week 6 the red raiders faced a familiar team in the Williamson Lions, and CJ had 11 tackles and 3 sacks in a 19-0 victory earning him the Defensive Player of the Game by Maxpreps and his 2nd Defensive lineman of the week in the Mobile, AL area. The Question is, can anybody block the unblockable? Out of all this, if you asked CJ what has been the highlight of his career so far, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 99.9% sure he will say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when his mom and dad surprised him with a visit to idol Nick Fairly house. The former Williamson lion and WDE National Champion winner took a couple hours to chill with CJ. Being that they both dominate offensive linemen, there were a ton of highlighted conversations. Fairly gave CJ plenty of pointers to use against opponents (which is like giving a cheat code to a top Madden Player). If CJ season keep going this way, his mom and dad better get ready for the elite colleges around the country to be ringing their doorbell. CJ received even more great news right before week 7. The University of Alabama invited the 14yr old DL on an unofficial visit. This will only motivate CJ to dominate offensive linemen even more. 15

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Who’s Who? 2016-17 Playoff Predictions If last year playoff was any indicator on this year playoff picture, then we should be in for a good one. With 4 teams returning over 80% of their starters, this is setting up as the SHOWDOWN in our town. Baker high school have one of the best Running Backs in the state of Alabama in Tre McMillian and with his counter partner Darius Bracy, look for the hornets to go deep into the 7A playoff season. But Baker isn’t alone with a team in 251 with tons of talent. The best looking team, not only in Mobile but in the State of Alabama has to be the 2015-16 7A State Champions McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets. The Jackets returned 7 starters on offense and 5 starters on Defense. McGill was put to the test in the opening game of the season against 2015-16 6A State Champions Spanish Fort. That test must’ve been an open book test because McGill had every answer for whatever the Toros tried to throw at them in a non-contest blowout game. Their next test came from the “Surprise” team of the season, Davidson Warriors. Davidson gave McGill everything and more and lost the game to McGill on a goal line fumble in the 3rd overtime. OK the critics

still doesn’t the Yellow Jackets are that good. Well no worries, their next test came against undefeated Blount Leopards. Blount returned 6 starters on offense, including Florida Gators Signee Quint Toney. Toney is one of the best athletes in the state of Alabama but on this night, he was going up against the #9 team in the nation and by halftime he understood why the Yellow Jackets are ranked in the nation. That game was over by halftime. So the question is, is this the best McGill team ever? Now don’t let that Blount lost fool you! Blount is hands down the best team in 6A. With Toney and RB Trajan Pugh, it will be hard to stop this offense. On the defense side of the ball the front 8 is the positive side of the defense. Here’s a list of other area teams that will make a playoff run: Davidson, B.C. Rain, UMS Wright, MGM, Vigor, Murphy, St. Pauls, Saraland, and a couple more, but let’s not put the cart ahead of the horse. Let’s watch the next couple weeks to make sure none of these teams have hiccups.

C.A.R. CHOOSE ANOTHER ROUTE.

PICKING THE RIGHT COLLEGE DEGREE!!! Physical Therapy What Physical Therapists Do: Physical therapists, sometimes called PTs, help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of the rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries. Work Environment: Physical therapists typically work in private offices and clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. They spend much of their time on their feet, actively working with patients.

Pay: The median annual wage for physical therapists was $84,020 in May 2015.

Sports Communication/Sports Journalism The Super Bowl, the World Cup, the U.S. Open. Start with a major in sports communication and you could find yourself where the action is, covering or promoting big-time sports events. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all glamour, though. You might pay your dues covering high school sports for the local paper. Keep in mind that sports reporting today is about much more than covering games and profiling athletes. Some investigators dig deep into steroid use, racism, and other tough topics.

Pay: The median annual wage for a Sports Journalist is about $44,000 a year. That pay can increase extremely if you get into Professional Sports.

ALSO:

With this degree you can create your own personal business such as; owning a magazine company, radio show, etc.

The Athlete 251 Male Hygiene Drive In this upside down world that we live in, where evil is at an all-time high, racism is the main topic of discussion and homeless human beings are getting looked at as helpless humans, there are still some good hearted people living in today’s society. The Athlete 251 CEO Anthony “Jack” Jackson started a great cause. It’s an Annual Male Hygiene Drive, where he asked the public to donate male hygiene products over a 3-week period. The products were separated and passed out to two local urban high school football programs. John L. Leflore and Lillie B. Williamson was this year 2 programs to get blessed by Mr. Jackson and his team. At first I didn’t know what type of response I would get from the public, says Mr. Jackson, but that wasn’t my main concern or fear. I think I was more afraid of the response I would get from the athletes themselves. You have to realize some of these kids deal with harsh living conditions, broken homes, and also deep pride within their own self. So the fear wasn’t of the athlete themselves, but more so if what I was doing would embarrass them in front of the public eye. The people who overlook them because of where they come from but could also be the perfect people to help them out. The response we got from the Athletes, Coaches, and Public was more than what we could ever imagine say’s Jackson. Mr. Jack Jackson and his team shared some of the moments with us via pictures. There’s a saying that states a picture can speak a thousand words, and the pictures below does exactly that. We look forward to next year Hygiene Drive and hope the turnout is even greater.

Little League Passion within youth football, is it good or bad? Where does passion for the game of football start? Does it come from hearing your dad and his friends debate on which quarterback in the NFL is the best? Does it come from waking up every Saturday to the smell of bbq grills smoking, college football game day on tv, and your pops on the phone with his friends about what time their headed to the tailgating festivities? How about watching your older brother open up a college recruitment letter? All these could be the driving force to the Passion in football. But in Mobile, Alabama, it’s clear that passion starts in Youth Football!!! It’s the 1st day of practice with full pads and the park is full with passionate dads and moms everywhere. Just standing at the concession stand waiting on a hotdog you can hear one parent tell another parent “my kid is about to lay somebody out today”. I know you’re thinking why are dads talking to each other like this with so much passion, I mean the kids are only 5yrs old on this team. But this didn’t come from a dad, this came from two mom’s conversation. Yes, sometimes it seems as if the moms are more passionate than the dads. This type of pressure coming from parents could be bad, but I think 95% of this type of passion is good for a kid. It teaches them to put in the work to be great at an early age, just as a teacher would put pressure on a student to learn his/ hers ABC’s and the pledge of allegiance. This is the exact same thing, just in another life lesson. It also teaches the kids teamwork and sticking together as a family. This passion only grows year after year especially if your team wins championships every year. Here’s a look at 2 great programs in Mobile, AL. Municipal vs Eight Mile:

#WDE

50% Of Offseason Questions Are Answered!!! Who will be the Starting Quarterback? Will Gus be fired within the first 3 games of the season? How good is John Franklin? Is Johnson an Every down RB? Can the LB corp cover up for the weak secondary? I can go on and on about offseason questions for the Auburn Tigers. By game 2 some of them questions remained and by LSU game, majority of those questions was answered. In the first game of the season it seemed as if Gus was as confused about the identity of his team as a teenager having to put down their cellphone and using aol.com. Right now at this very moment, 95% of teenagers reading this just asked what is aol.com. 50% of that 95 percent just used their cell phones to google aol.com Confusing Huh? Well that’s exactly the way it looked in the 1st game of the season when Gus used 3 different QB’s throughout the game. But one thing for sure was the Defense was better than the college football world thought, and John Franklin was a very electric athlete. But it was still holes going into the LSU game. This game might go down as the most confusing ending of a college football game ever. 1 thing for sure wasn’t confusing was, how to miss a FG. Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson made 6 FG’s against and now he’s 12-for-12 on the year. The talk of this Saturday was, which coach would get fired after the lost. Well Les Miles and the LSU took an L in this game and shortly after the lost, LSU university dismissed Miles from his coaching duties. At this point of the season, the Iron Bowl is start to look interesting.

#BAMA

Winners Win!!