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Mr. Florida Football Antone Smith to visit tOSU??
 
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...orts-headlines
Quote:
Mr. Football now opens recruiting
By Buddy Collings | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 12, 2004
Mr. Football award winner Antone Smith of Class 2B champ Pahokee (11-1) finished the season with 2,813 yards on 238 attempts, an 11.8 yard-per-carry average. He is academically qualified and hotly recruited, but said he slow-played that process while focusing on a repeat championship.
Smith takes his first recruiting visit to Auburn next weekend and said he will pick his other four trips from a long list that includes Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, FSU, Miami and UF.
Smith made tiny Pahokee the first school with two Florida Mr. Football award winners. Current NFL wideout Anquan Boldin won the honor as a prep quarterback in 1998.
"It's all we do down there in Pahokee is football. What can you expect," Smith said with a smile.
This year's voting marked the first time three players garnered the same number of first-place votes. Smith, Lake Gibson quarterback Matt Grothe and Nease junior quarterback Tim Tebow all got five first-place votes from a panel of media and coaches. That trio, Miami Carol City safety Kenny Phillips and Sarasota running back Mike Ford were separated by only 29 ballot points.
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/highsch...more_1212.html
Quote:
Entire community backs Blue Devils
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 12, 2004
GAINESVILLE — A whole town — and then some — transplanted itself. More than 8,000 people sat behind Pahokee High School's bench during Saturday's Class 2B state championship game at Florida Field, assistant principal Eddie Rhodes estimated.
To get an idea what that means, consider that the entire population of Pahokee was 5,985 in the most recent census.
What a whole town drove for more than four hours to see represented a new high-water mark in the sports history of Pahokee High School. On the same day, the Blue Devils won a second straight state football championship and became the first school in Florida ever to produce multiple Mr. Footballs, honoring the state's best overall player.
Even the band uniforms, bought with $65,000 in donations from the public, arrived for this game after months of delay.
"It's the best moment for the town itself, really," Rhodes said.
Pahokee has proved a fertile nursery for NFL players from Rickey Jackson to Anquan Boldin, and the Blue Devils won back-to-back state basketball titles in the 1980s. But Rhodes, a former coach and athletic director who saw plenty of glory days himself, could not remember any day quite like this.
Antone Smith ran 25 times for 276 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-9 rout of Pensacola Catholic, and he could have run for 400 if the Blue Devils did not take occasional breaks to highlight the skills of other players. He left no question he deserved the Mr. Football trophy, which Boldin won before him, along with the fevered recruiting attention of the nation's best schools.
The Pahokee band played in crisp red, white and blue uniforms that were supposed to arrive at the start of the season, but made it just in time for this game.
"I was about to cry I was so happy," senior clarinetist Lawrena Govan said.
Smith tried to explain to reporters from other parts of the state what Pahokee is like.
"It's a small city," he said. "We have limited resources. All we have is crops. We're all we got."
Smith flashed gold teeth as he uttered the phrase "limited resources." The topic soon turned to how well he ran in The Swamp, and whether he would consider Florida.
"I think Urban Meyer's going to turn things around," Smith said. " It should be interesting. (Outgoing coach Ron) Zook brought in a lot of good players."
For now, though, Auburn is his only scheduled visit, he said. He has more than 30 offers. Schools he mentioned that he is considering include Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU.
In running style, Smith sees himself in the tradition of Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee (the comparisons alone probably will make Miami recruiters happy). At 5-9, 192 pounds, Smith probably is the fastest major prospect in the country this year with 4.28 speed.
Smith reminds Dwight Thomas of a running back he coached in high school in the Florida Panhandle — Emmitt Smith. At the time, a lot of people said Emmitt was a little too short and squat to make it big in college or the pros.
"He has that same running style," said Thomas, now a recruiting specialist for an Illinois firm, LRS Sports Software. "This kid's faster than Emmitt was. Emmitt may have been a little bigger in the thighs, but they have some of the same moves — when they make that cut, it's decisive. They're getting up the field. "
Character and work ethic don't seem to be a problem, so the only question, in Thomas' judgment, is the level of competition he has faced week in and week out.
"He's definitely the No. 1 running back in Florida," he said.
And right now, Pahokee is feeling like the No. 1 place
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state champs
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The Pahokee senior tailback rushed for 276 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to their second straight Class 2B state championship with a 43-9 win against Pensacola Catholic at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. With his three touchdowns Saturday, Smith finished with 44, tying a single-season state record.
As he clutched the state championship trophy near midfield after the game, Smith also was informed that he had been voted winner of the Mr. Football award given annually to the state's best all-around player.
"This has been a beautiful day," Smith said.
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/highsch...foot_1212.html
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/h...hool-headlines
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/s...orts-headlines
Quote:
Smith a treat to watch
Posted December 12 2004
GAINESVILLE · Each ticket for Saturday's Class 2B state championship game should have mentioned that fans would receive a free gift.
What everyone got at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was quite the stocking stuffer. They got to see replays of Pahokee running back Antone Smith on the big screen. Yes, his runs were repeated just seconds after completion. They were shown in slow motion, they were shown at different angles.
You could see the shifts, see the cuts, see everything ... all over again. This was that one present that your parents let you open a few days before Christmas.
Smith ran for 276 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-9 victory over Pensacola Catholic. To really appreciate a player like him, you have to see the replays.
"I didn't get a chance to look up at the screen," Pahokee coach Leroy Foster said. "But I know I'll be watching when they show it on TV."
Smith's runs are often so spectacular, so fast, that sometimes you miss most of it. In high school football, there usually is no replay. If you miss the original, you can only listen to stories about what happened.
Saturday was different. This was a college stadium. The Sunshine Network cameras were rolling.
Miss a long run because of a conversation?
No problem, just glance up toward the monitor. Fans must have felt like they had TiVo.
"I really didn't pay attention to it," said Smith, who was named Florida's Mr. Football on Saturday. "That was for everyone else to watch."
And we did.
The replays showed so much more. A 30-yard run by Smith in the first quarter was spectacular the first time around. The replay showed him somehow elude five closing defenders, and then fight for 5 more yards. There was a 22-yard run that looked normal in live action. The replay showed a Pensacola Catholic defender left in the dust after a quick spin move by Smith.
"That boy did his thing today," Pensacola Catholic defensive back Jonathan White said. "I'm sure he's going to be doing that in the future."
As for trying to tackle Smith?
"He's not tough to tackle once you get to him," White continued.
That's the problem -- getting to him.
Smith runs the 40-yard dash in 4.2 seconds. His body is in constant motion once he takes the handoff. He changes direction like someone is moving him with a joystick.
"You can tell that the spin move is his favorite," Pahokee receiver Andre Powell said. "He loves that move."
He loves the end zone as well. Smith's 44 touchdowns this season tied the state record held by Gulliver Prep's Sean Taylor, who starred at the University of Miami and plays for the Washington Redskins.
"I think he sleeps in the end zone," Pahokee quarterback Robert Love said. "He's there so much."
Smith has not decided which college he'll attend. For all of the praise he's gotten on the field, the way he has handled the recruiting process is even more impressive.
Smith refused to let the Internet recruiting monster in his circle. He's never given anyone a list of top five schools. He's never said he was leaning toward Miami or favoring Florida State.
Smith simply says he's considering several schools, and won't make a decision until National Signing Day in February, although he may have hinted at where he'll land next year as he headed inside the locker room.
A fan told him how much he was impressed by the game, and Smith said, "You may get to see it next year here on the same field."
Wherever he plays, just remember the replay is always better.
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Last edited by Buckskin86; 12-12-2004 at 09:24 AM.
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10-21-2004, 09:26 PM
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