Tucker picks Illini
East. St. Louis defensive lineman Clint Tucker has made a commitment to the Illinois football program.
He will become the latest in a long line of Flyers to play for the Illini, joining current cornerback Terry Hawthorne and past greats Dana Howard, Dennis Stallings, etc.
The 6-2, 285-pound tackle had made an earlier commitment to Kentucky. He also had an offer from Kansas.
TO: Illinois Coaches
Go after this future Illini football player before Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, or others recruit him! Go Illini!!
Sophomore QB to guide attack at McKeesport
By John Santa, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Saturday, August 21, 2010
McKeesport is a subburg of Pittsburgh, PA!
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John Santa is a McKeesport Daily News staff writer and can be reached at 412-664-9161 or via e-mail.
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When Eddie Stockett was playing in the McKeesport Little Tigers youth football program 10 years ago, one of his coaches had a premonition about the then-5-year-old quarterback.
"One of the coaches told me, 'You know, in the future you might be passing,'" said Stockett, who will be a sophomore at McKeesport Area High School this school year. "So we started (throwing) when I was younger. I guess it caught up to me."
When McKeesport opens its 2010 football season against perennial Ohio power Steubenville in the eight-team "Rally at the Wolvarena" showcase on Sept. 4, Stockett is slated be the starting quarterback in Jim Ward's first game as the Tigers' coach.
The 15-year-old Stockett will be smack in the middle of a change in offensive philosophy at McKeesport Area, precipitated by George Smith's resignation last winter after 28 seasons at the helm of the program.
With a 6-foot-4 frame, McKeesport's new quarterback boasts a big arm that will make him a weapon in the new-look offense along with running back Sam Gooden and wide receiver/tight end Branden Jackson.
Under Ward and new offensive coordinator B.J. Pugh, the Tigers have adopted a pro-style, multiple-set offense that will see McKeesport throw the football with regularity.
For the better part of the past two decades under Smith, the Tigers used a flexbone triple-option system that produced one of the most prolific running attacks in the WPIAL.
"I think about it," Stockett said of the change in strategy. "I think it's a good change. I'm ready to come out here and just throw the ball. No one's going to be expecting it. So I'm just going to be ready to come out passing."
While Smith's departure stirred much controversy about the prospect of McKeesport adopting a passing attack, this season may prove to be not much different from the first decade of Smith's tenure with the Tigers.
For much of the 1980s, the Tigers employed Veer and Wing-T formations in a pro-style offense that produced a balanced running and passing attack.
In 1991, offensive assistant Jamie Eckels brought the wishbone option offense to McKeesport. Before the 1997 season, the Tigers switched to the flexbone.
From 1998 through 2007, McKeesport's offense featured a quarterback who rushed for 1,000 yards, but who very rarely passed the ball.
Over the past two seasons, quarterback Ty-Meer Brown, now playing in the University of Connecticut's defensive backfield, accrued 1,489 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground.
In 2009, Brown completed just 13 of 29 passes for 298 yards and seven touchdowns. In his first year as the Tigers starting quarterback in 2008, Brown passed for 180 yards and four scores.
It was an offensive formula that helped McKeesport win WPIAL and PIAA Class AAAA championships in 1994 and 2005.
"That was their foundation in everything they did," Pugh said. "You have to give them credit. They had a lot of success doing it. There's nothing wrong with it and it was very impressive."
But with Stockett's emergence as a viable passing option during preseason training camp, Pugh and the new McKeesport coaching staff are entering their first season a confident bunch.
"I'll bet he's thanking his lucky stars in so many ways just because of his style of play," Pugh said of Stockett. "But at the same time there's going to be some things we're going to ask him to do that he may not be comfortable with. He's got to adapt."
With a 6-foot-4 frame, McKeesport's new quarterback boasts a big arm that will make him a weapon in the new-look offense along with running back Sam Gooden and wide receiver/tight end Branden Jackson.
Stockett's confidence and intelligence, which has allowed him to pick up the Tigers' new offense quickly, also has set him apart this summer.
"Eddie's done such a great job with every test we've put in front of him," Ward said. "I don't feel like we're starting a sophomore. I feel like we're starting a good quarterback. Probably the only thing he lacks right now is game experience."
And that is something Stockett can't wait to add to his resume.
"I think we should be pretty good," Stockett said. "(We have) good expectations all around. On third down you're not going to see the option anymore. You're going to see us come out in shotgun or something like that. It's going to be pretty cool."
TO: ILLINOIS COACHES
Here is another great article to check out for future football Illini!
OHIO, FLORIDA AND PA CONNECTION
TJ faces big test Saturday against star Florida RB
By John Santa, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Friday, September 3, 2010
Last updated: 7:58 am
About the writer
John Santa is a McKeesport Daily News staff writer and can be reached at 412-664-9161 or via e-mail.
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On the surface, the Thomas Jefferson football team's 2008 season-opening game against Cleveland, Ohio's Glenville High School couldn't have ended more disastrously.
Head coach Bill Cherpak's Jaguars were thoroughly punished in taking a 34-13 loss to Glenville in a game played at the Friends of Coal Classic in Wheeling, W.Va.
After turning in an undefeated 2007 campaign that yielded WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA championships, the loss could have sent TJ into a tailspin.
Instead, the Jaguars would not lose again en route to earning the program's fourth WPIAL and third state crowns.
"We played Glenville the one year and that's the best team we've ever played since I've been coaching high school football," Cherpak said Thursday.
"That was the best thing we ever did because it made us focus on what we needed to do. It gave us a good idea of where we needed to get better and we did."
When TJ opens its 2010 season against two-time defending Florida Class AA state champion Cocoa High School as part of the eight-team "Rally at the Wolvarena" football showcase Saturday at 5 p.m., Cherpak is hoping the game will have a similar effect.
The contest will mark the third straight season that the Jaguars have looked outside the WPIAL to open their season. Last fall, TJ hosted Washington, D.C., power H.D. Woodson in a Week 1 contest the Jaguars won, 38-0.
"We won't face another team as good as this all year," Cherpak said of Cocoa. "So, it gives you an idea of where you are and it just lets you get better. If you play better people you're going to get better. If you play someone that (will go) 0-10 your first game and you kill them you won't get anything out of it. That's why we do these things."
It's a strategy that sixth-year Cocoa coach John Wilkinson can certainly understand. The Tigers opened their season last Friday with a 14-7 victory over Olive Branch, a Class 6-A school from Mississippi.
Following its contest against TJ in Week 2, Cocoa will travel to face Abilene, Texas, for a game played at Desoto High School in Dallas, Texas.
"We're really excited about the opportunity to come up and play in Pennsylvania," Wilkinson said. "A lot of football history up that way and we just kind of want to see how we match up against one of the best Pennsylvania teams."
For the Tigers, that will mean testing one of the best running backs in Florida against one of the toughest defensive units the WPIAL has to offer.
Running back Chevelle Buie is the only returning offensive starter from Cocoa's 2009 team.
The 159-pound senior, who already has committed to Rutgers University, has rushed for 3,353 yards and 37 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
"We're not going to see a running back of this caliber all year," Cherpak said of Buie, who rushed for 86 yards on 20 carries against Olive Branch last Friday.
Over the past two seasons, Cocoa has rushed for 7,686 yards, with each of its ball carriers averaging 7.5 yards per carry out of its Wing-T formation.
With 10 new offensive players around Buie, the emphasis for the Tigers Saturday will be controlling the game and minimizing mistakes against a hard-hitting Jaguars defense.
"We run the football a lot," Wilkinson, who boasts a 56-10 record during his tenure at Cocoa, said. "Last week, that's what we did. We've got a brand new offensive line and we were just trying to get them some game experience and kind of get in a fight a little bit."
Cherpak has been drawing up a similar offensive game plan against Cocoa's highly aggressive 3-5 defensive formation that returns seven starters.
"This team is similar to (Glenville) in that they have the same type of athletes, but Glenville had the massive offensive and defensive linemen," Cherpak said. "This team is a little undersized in that aspect, but they get to the ball so much better. They're just relentless and quick to the ball."
TJ will look to counteract Cocoa's speed with a dosage of hard-nosed football. The Jaguars will look to lean on the three-man running attack of running backs T.J. Matrascia and Ryan Ruffing and fullback Dylan Breisinger.
Managing the flow of the game will be Jaguars senior quarterback Ryan Crouse, who will be making his first career start under center.
"We're not going to hit big plays on a team like this," Cherpak said. "We need to control the ball and make sure that we don't turn it over and run the clock off and keep it out of their hands. The way you do that is running the football."
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