Ace Sanders goes to Jacksonville in fourth round

When he was debating whether to come out for this year’s draft Ace Sanders was informed by the NFL Draft Advisory Committee that he would likely be a fourth round pick.

The prediction turned out to be accurate Saturday when the South Carolina receiver/punt returner, who began his career at Manatee High, was the fourth player selected in the fourth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars traded the number one selection in the fourth round (98^th overall pick) to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 101^st pick and used it to choose Sanders.

The 5-8, 175 pounder was the SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the SEC last season and first team All-SEC punt return specialist.

Sanders was second in the nation last year in the FBS in total punt return yardage with 429 yards and ranked fourth with 15.32 yards per return. He led the Gamecocks with 45 receptions and nine receiving touchdowns and was second in receiving yards.

Ace’s dad Tracy Sanders went undrafted out of Florida State, but signed with the Buffalo Bills. An injury jettisoned his NFL career, but he had a successful pro career in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm.

Trevon Young earns All-State basketball honors

Trevon after signing with Florida

Trevon Young, Braden River’s basketball star turned Florida Gators football signee, has been named to the All-State boys basketball team announced by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches and Source Hoops.

The 6-6 Young, who finished his career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, was selected to the Class 7A third team. He is the first player from Braden River to earn all-state basketball honors.

Young finished his career with 1,465 points and 1,121 rebounds. Last season he averaged a double-double for the second year in a year putting up 17 points and 12 rebounds per game. He also averaged 1.5 blocks.

 

 

  

 

Southeast quarterback Braxton-Johnson headed for Georgetown

Southeast quarterback Myles Braxton-Johnson announced he will play for Georgetown University on Wednesday.

Braxton-Johnson will move to slot receiver for Georgetown, an FCS school (formerly I-AA), which plays football in the Patriot League along with Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh and Holy Cross.
The Hoyas were 5-6 overall and 2-3 in league play last season. The 2013 season includes two games against Ivy League teams. They will travel to Brown on September 21^st and play host to Princeton on Sept 28^th.

 “I am going there as an athlete, but I am going to play the slot,” Braxton-Johnson said. “It’s the best spot for me to get on the field and the coaches said they wanted a slot receiver who had experience playing quarterback. I think my background as a quarterback will help.”

 The 5-11, 185 pound Braxton-Johnson was born in Silver Springs, Maryland, which is less than an hour away from Georgetown and he has always been a fan of the Hoyas. He moved to Florida in the fourth grade.

A top level student with a 4.4 weighted GPA, Braxton-Johnson said he will major in pre-med and hopes to become a doctor. He said a combination of scholarships he has received will pay for his costs.

Braxton-Johnson has a lot of a good memories from his successful career at Southeast where he showed himself to be a cerebral quarterback who was not afraid to run the ball into heavy traffic. He started the past two years and was a backup as a sophomore.

“My fondest memory from Southeast is wining the district title last season at Palmetto. It was huge game for Southeast and for me,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USF football team signs pact to take on Wisconsin and Maryland

TAMPA – University of South Florida football fans have expressed concern that the Bulls future schedules were a little bare of quality opponents.

Those skeptics got a measure of relief Friday when it was announced that USF would play home and home series with Wisconsin and Maryland.

USF will visit Wisconsin, who has appeared in three consecutive Rose Bowls, on Sept. 27, 2014 with the Badgers making a return trip to Tampa on Sept. 16, 2017. The Bulls will host Maryland on Sept. 6, 2014 and travel to play the Terps on Sept. 19, 2015.

The 2014 non-conference schedule consists of home games against Western Carolina (Aug. 30), Maryland (Sept. 6) and N.C. State (Sept. 13) along with the trip to Wisconsin (Sept. 27).

 

“This is the type of schedule we want to have here at USF,” said head coach Willie Taggart. “We want to challenge and prove ourselves against top competition. We think it is important to play these types of non-conference games not only for recruiting, but also to excite our fan base and for the continued growth of our program.” 

Antonio Blakeney earns first team All-State honors

Cardinal Mooney basketball standout Antonio Blakeney has been named to the Class 3A All-State first team selected by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC) and SourceHoops.com

The sophomore averaged 24.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in earning Bradenton Herald Player of The Year honors for the 2012-13 season and leading the Cougars to the region final.


The 6-4 sophomore has scored 1,036 points for his career and is on track to break the school single season record of 2,096 points set by Mick Jordan in 1998.

Poole could be starter at safety after big spring game

Brian Poole should head into the summer feeling good about himself and his chances to get a lot of playing time next season for Florida.

 Playing safety and cornerback in Florida’s version of its spring football game, Poole made the biggest impact among all the defensive backs.

 The Southeast High product, who will be a sophomore next season, recorded two sacks off safety blitzes and picked up a fumbled bad snap for what would’ve been a touchdown in game circumstances.

Poole is being used at cornerback and safety, but figures to see more time at the latter position because of his physical attributes and Florida’s needs. Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin showered him with praise on more than one occasion.

Poole figures to be one of the starters at safety along with Cody Riggs. Some members of the coaching staff are predicting he can be in the same class as last year’s starting safety Matt Elam, who left early and figures to be an NFL first round draft pick this month.

In his senior year at Southeast, Poole was rated the number two cornerback in the country and the 25^th best player in the country. He has the speed to play corner, but coaches like him at safety because of his size (5-10, 210 pounds) and toughness.