Brian Poole gets highest rating among recent local football grads

Bucs new running back Doug Martin

Friday's column in the Bradenton Herald sports section referenced Phil Steele's college preview publication and how he evaluated Tampa Bay Bucs first round draft pick and running back Doug Martin when he came out of high school five years ago.

Here is a look at how he rated some local products to come out of Manatee County the  last couple of years.

His highest rating went to 2012 Southeast graduate and University of Florida bound Brian Poole, who is ranked the #7 best defensive back in the country by Steele.

Some other familiar names that received a high rating from Steele in the class of 2011 include Manatee High running back Mike Blakely (#11 ) and Punta Gorda Charlotte standout Mike Bellamy (#5). In the Class of 2010, Steele had Southeast defensive back Jon Dowling at #19.

 

Ironically none of the last three are at the college they attended out of high school. Dowling went from Florida to Western Kentucky, Blakely from Florida to Auburn and after a season at Clemson, Bellamy became an academic casualty and is in junior college.

Dowling and Blakely named to 2012 pre-season All Transfer Team

It's never too early to talk about college football, which might be good news for local standouts Jon Dowling from Southeast and former Manatee High running back Mike Blakely.

Both were selected to the 2012 All-Transfer team released by CollegeFootballNews.Com. Ironically both began their careers at the University of Florida where you might say they stayed long enough to get a quick lunch.

Okay that might be a stretch. But neither was there long enough to finish their freshmen year and both are ready to go in 2012: Dowling at Western Kentucky and Blakely at Auburn.

Dowling, who was rated among the top two or three cornerbacks in the country by some scouting services, figures to be a jack of trades and master of many for the Hilltoppers. WKU head coach Willie Taggart says Dowling will start at DB (either safety or CB) and see time at receiver.

Blakely was rated the 10th best running back by Scout.Com when he signed with Florida, but was unhappy with the new coaching regime and left. He will be battling returnees Onterio McCalebb and Tre Mason to replace Michael Dyer who transferred to Arkansas State.

All three will be vying to fill some big shoes. Dyer was the Tigers leading rusher and first team All SEC pick before he was suspended from the team prior to its bowl game and eventually left transferring to Arkansas State where he will play for new head coach Gus Malzhan, who was his offensive coordinator at Auburn.

Don't ever say college football gets dull! Both of these guys will get a second chance and lets hope everything works out for them this time.

Woodie piling up awards as one of nation's top recruiters

When you are hot you are hot.

That's the best way to describe Ray Woodie, the former Palmetto High and Bayshore head football coach who is piling up honors as an elite recruiter at Western Kentucky.

After getting named the top recruiter in the Sun Belt Conference by ESPN and Scout.com/Fox Sports the Palmetto native was cited by Rivals.Com as one of the top 10 recruiters from the non BCS schools.

Woodie has no fear and is "stealing" kids that coaches from the BCS schools probably thought belonged to them. But no more, Woodie and WKU Willie Taggart are reeling in some of the top talent in the country and it doesn't appear things will slow down.

These two guys are revolutionizing the way recruiting is done. They pitch honesty and success and refuse to take a back seat to anyone.

Poole visits Western Kentucky this weekend; says you never know

Brian Poole, the area's most heavily recruited player, will take an official visit to Western Kentucky this weekend.

The Southeast High defensive back has verbally committed to Florida and Gators head coach Will Muschamp has been telling Poole he can make an impact next season.

This is Poole's second official visit. He visited Notre Dame earlier this season and says he might take all five official visits allowed by the NCAA.

Poole has been speaking with with WKU head coach Ray Woodie, a former Palmetto High head football coach and standout player there, who has close ties to Manatee County players.

"I am still verbally committed to Florida, but you never know. I hope to take all of my visits," Poole said.

Poole is rated among the top cornerbacks in the country and one publication had him the top cornerback. He also played running back, but will play defense for the Gators, who have struggled with their secondary this season.

Taggart appears headed for big season at WKU

Willie Taggart might be a man on the move this season and the destination is upward.

The Western Kentucky skipper was rated the fourth best among the new first year head football coaches last year in the FBS Division (I-A).

It’s a good sign for the former Manatee High quarterback who learned a lot about the game from Hurricanes Hall of Fame coach Joe Kinnan.

Taggart took over a WKU program last season that was a national embarrassment losing all 12 of its games in 2009. He guided the Hilltoppers to a 2-10 record, but there was significant improvement.

WKU was outscored by an average of 19.2 points per game in 2009 and under Taggart the margin dipped to 10.3 points per game, but that only tells part of the story. WKU lost four games by a total of 14 points, including two one-point losses and another defeat by five points.

Traditionally coaches show significant improvement in their second year and there is some talent returning led by running back Bobby Rainey, the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of The Year in 2010, who finished third in the nation in rushing (137.42 yards per game).

Kinnan visits Taggart and Woodie at Western Kentucky

Talk about surprise visits!

Western Kentucky head football coach Willie Taggart and assistant Raymond Woodie were going about their business today on campus when the two Manatee County products received a pleasant surprise.

Joe Kinnan, Manatee High's legendary football coach, unexpectedly showed up on campus unbeknown to Taggart and Woodie.

Kinnan, who once coached at Eastern Kentucky, is currently vacationing in the Bluegrass state. It was a nice reunion for him and Taggart, who played quarterback for Manatee High under him before going on to earn All-American honors at WKU.

"We had no idea he was coming. It was a complete surprise," said Woodie, who played his football at Palmetto High and was an All-American at Bethune-Cookman.

Taggart and Kinnan have stayed in touch since their days together with the Manatee High football team when Taggart led the 'Canes to a state title in 1992 as a junior and to the state championship game his senior year.

Braden River's Casseus gets offer from WKU

Only in America? ___Or perhaps only in Manatee County can a high school football player get a Division I scholarship offer without ever starting a game at the varsity level.

But it can happen, especially when you have two college football coaches who know so much about Manatee County in Western Kentucky's Ray Woodie and head coach Willie Taggart.

And especially if the young man happens to be 6-7, 270 pounds.

That is the situation for Braden River lineman Jeff Casseus, who will be heading into senior season in 2011.

Casseus is more known for exploits on the basketball court, where he helped Braden River win its first boys district title last season. He will likely play offensive line for the Pirates, but could see time on the defensive line.

There doesn't seem to be much debate that his future is a lot brighter in football. And Woodie agreed with that when he offered Casseus a full ride scholarship this year.

Former Bayshore standout Derek Bishop to coach at Bradenton Christian

Derek Bishop, a former standout football player at Bayshore High and then Liberty University has joined the staff at Bradenton Christian.

In his senior season at Bayshore in 2005, Bishop broke the school's single season record for tackles with 129 (80 solos) and finished his high school career with 310 tackles. He was a force to be reckoned with racking up 10 tackles for losses and two sacks with three interceptions.

He was a part-time fullback at Bayshore. He turned that into his full-time job at Liberty where he was known for his blocking and toughness and had a productive career helping one if his teammates Rashad Jennings to rush for 1,500 yards in 2008.

Bishop will coach linebackers at Bradenton Christian. He learned under one of the best at Bayshore, playing for former Bruins coach Ray Woodie, an All-American linebacker in college and now an assistant coach at Western Kentucky.

Donald Campbell withdraws from Western Kentucky

Donald Campbell has left Western Kentucky because of personal reasons.

The wide receiver/kick returner from Palmetto High was used mostly on special teams for the Hilltoppers and appeared in 10 games.

He led WKU in punt return yardage with 54 yards on seven carries (7.7 avg), was third in kickoff returns with 89 yards (29.7 avg) and caught four passes for 44 yards.

Campbell played for Ray Woodie during his last season as the Palmetto High head football coach before taking an assistant’s job at WKU. He was one of Woodie’s first recruits for the Hilltoppers.

Temple targeting Manatee County prospects

With national signing day less than two weeks away (Feb 2^nd)things are starting to get hectic. Recruits are committing and de-committing and coaches are moving into territories that might have seemed like a wasteland in the not too distant past.

Temple under new coach Steve Addazio seems to be targeting Manatee County college football prospects as heavily as Western Kentucky, which has carved a niche for itself here under head coach Willie Taggart and his assistant Ray Woodie, both Manatee County products.

Addazio, the former Florida offensive coordinator, has targeted Southeast linebacker Desmond Blue and has his eyes on running back Jared Williams.

One of Addazio’s assistants is supposed to be at Southeast High today to talk with Blue, the Bradenton Herald’s Defensive Player of The Year, and set up an official visit.

Addazio would like to get Manatee High’s dynamic defensive duo of Quinton and Chris Pompey. WKU is also after those two, but it appears the leaders there are USF and Miami.

A standout linebacker, Blue has been ignored by colleges because he is projected as a safety in college and a lot of coaches see him as risk because of a position change. Addazio doesn’t it see things that way and it could land him a prospect who could turn out to be one of the biggest sleepers in the class of 2011.

Former Southeast star Giovani Francois will visit Temple after trips to FIU and Cincinnati

Former Southeast High standout Giovani Francois is headed to Temple this weekend on an official visit.

It will be the third official visit for the defensive lineman, who moved to Maryland to finish out the high school football season and won multiple honors for his play.

The 6-3, 230 pound Francois has visited FIU and most recently Cincinnati. He has said FIU is at the top of his list, but has not committed and is leaving himself open to other schools.

Temple’s new coach Steve Addazio knows about Francois from his years as an assistant at Florida where he was the Gators offensive coordinator last season.

Francois has offers from FIU, Louisville, Temple and Western Kentucky. Florida, USF, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State and Northwestern have also shown interest in Francois, who is projected to play defensive end or linebacker in college.

"Coach Addazio, the old offensive coordinator at Florida offered me,” Francois told Rivals.com. “He told me he believes Florida should have offered me and he gladly wants me to play for him at Temple. He had seen me at camps over the summer and sees that I can rush the passer and stop the run. He thinks I can be an impact player at Temple and play on Sundays.”

Francois played five games for Wise High in Maryland. He finished with 32 tackles seven sacks and three forced fumbles, which got him selected to two post season All-Star games; the Crab Bowl and the inaugural Chesapeake Bowl where he was dubbed a “sack artist.”

McNeal shines in first year at WKU

Western Kentucky freshman Willie McNeal turned in quite a performance in his first year of collegiate football.

The Braden River High graduate was among the team leaders in six offensive categories and led the Hilltoppers in kick return yardage with 968 yards on 44 returns (22.0 avg) and one touchdown.

McNeal was second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,879 yards, which takes into account rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return yardage.

The 5-11, 160 pounder was third in receiving with 360 yards (13.8 avg) and fourth in rushing with 77 yards on 17 attempts.

Taggart gets his second win at WKU

With his second victory at the helm of the Western Kentucky football program, Manatee County legend Willie Taggart has doubled the number of victories the Hilltoppers had last year in a winless season.

Derrius Brooks came up with two interceptions at Arkansas State on Saturday, but it is his dive for the end zone on a two-point conversion that WKU fans may never forget. Brooks took a pitch on a reverse and snuck the ball across the goal like to give the Hilltoppers a 36-35 overtime win over the Red Wolves Saturday afternoon at ASU Stadium.

The conversion capped off a stretch that saw the Hilltoppers (2-8, 2-4 SBC) score on the final play of regulation to force overtime, then gamble with the two-point try to win the contest.

"This was great for our young football team because of all we have been through this season," Taggart said. "I told our guys earlier in the week that all we were missing was a come-from-behind win. Our guys came out and were relentless. They haven't quit all year. I'm of these guys, our coaching staff, and everyone just sticking together and believing in each other."

Taggart almost ends nation's longest losing streak

For Willie Taggart these are the times that test a man’s soul.

The Manatee High legend has known a lot of success, but he couldn’t have been feeling more disappointed than last weekend.

In his first year as head coach at Western Kentucky, Taggart inherited a program that had the longest losing streak in the country at 20 games.

It almost ended last Saturday at 25 when his Hilltoppers led 24-7 in the fourth quarter against Louisiana-Monroe. But then everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong.

ULM scored four touchdowns in the final period to secure a 35-30 victory. A 55-yard interception for a touchdown that pushed its leads to 35-24 was the dagger that sunk into WKU’s heart.

Ironically it was the only turnover for a WKU team that has had ball security problems all season, but it was enough to dash the hopes of Taggart, who wanted to get the victory in front of the WKU home fans.

"We just didn't finish. We were in uncharted waters, but just didn't close the deal," Taggart said after the game. "It's all part of the growing pains we are going through. We made some bad mistakes, but we are going to keep fighting. I told the guys that when you are up, you can't get too high, and you can't get too low when you down.

“We had a game that we were up in, and we didn't handle it well at all. That's part of a growing process for a football team that hasn't won in a while.

The Hilltoppers were able to put together one last drive, going 62 yards in just three plays before Braden River graduate Willie McNeal caught a 13 yard touchdown pass to cut WKU’s deficit to five points. A two-point conversion attempt failed. Then ULM recovered an onsides kick and ran out the clock