Latest news with #Mr.Football
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama to reportedly receive visit from uncommitted 2026 quarterback prospect
Alabama to reportedly receive visit from uncommitted 2026 quarterback prospect According to reports, one of the nation's top uncommitted 2026 quarterback prospects will be visiting the Alabama Crimson Tide in the near future. That quarterback is Matt Ponatoski, a four-star prospect who recently received an offer from the Crimson Tide back in mid-May. The visit to Alabama is reportedly set for June 6-8. According to the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings, Ponatoski is currently considered the nation's No. 278 overall player in the 2026 class, as well as the No. 21 quarterback out of Archbishop Moeller High School in Ohio. There, the four-star signal caller is also ranked the No. 12 overall player in the state where he won Mr. Football in 2024 as a junior. A two-sport athlete, Ponatoski is also a top baseball recruit in the 2026 class, and was also named to compete in the upcoming Elite 11 finals for football. At the moment, Alabama does not have a quarterback committed in its' 2026 class. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Indianapolis Star
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Mark Zackery IV lived for big moments at Ben Davis. But he appreciates the quiet ones too.
Mark Zackery IV's senior season of basketball did not go according to plan. Surgery on his left thumb, stemming from an injury suffered during football season, mostly relegated the two-sport star to a bench role for Ben Davis. Not ideal. It was unlike any previous athletic experience in Zackery's life. 'I learned that certain things are out of my control,' Zackery said. 'And what do you do to better yourself when you are not doing the things you love? From a leader's standpoint, it was having a voice instead of being able to show by action.' Zackery, fresh off winning 2025 IndyStar Indiana Mr. Football, was able to return to the basketball court and play in the sectional for the Giants. Though it was not the finish he envisioned, Zackery believes the experience made him tougher and more appreciative of his hundreds of athletic experiences. He loves the idea of starting at the bottom again as he prepares to get started on his college life – and football career – at Notre Dame. 'I'm feeling pretty good and pretty confident,' Zackery said of the transition from high school to college. 'I have the mindset going there that I'm the worst player in the team. That's my mindset. I've always been a humble guy and it's important that in my head, I want to hit the refresh button and build back that confidence at the next level. I'm appreciative of all the recognition I've gotten in high school, but I know you have to hit the reset button and start over when you are competing with players who are your same ability.' Zackery has at least one more accomplishment to add to his achievements before he departs for South Bend: 2024-25 Marion County Male Athlete of the Year. Zackery was the ultimate winner in high school, helping his basketball team to a Class 4A state championship as a sophomore and his football team several months later, as a junior, to a Class 6A state title. Zackery was the choice for County Male Athlete of the Year from a vote of the county's athletic directors, who had narrowed the finalists to Zackery, Lawrence North football/track standout Davion Chandler and Lutheran three-sport star L.J. Ward. 'I'll remember the people at Ben Davis the most,' Zackery said of his high school experience. 'Just seeing different people every day. With a big school like Ben Davis, you see your friends and people you know but also learn about new people and new walks of life. Everybody is human and personally, I just hopefully was able to treat everybody with respect because you don't always know what somebody is going through in their lives.' His individual accomplishments were numerous, culminating in football with the Mr. Football award after his senior season. As a senior, he caught 58 passes for 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns to finish his four-year career with 119 receptions for 1,924 yards and 21 TDs on offense and 140 tackles, 14 interceptions (eight as a senior), four recovered fumbles and four defensive TDs. On the basketball court, he earned Indiana All-Star honors after helping Ben Davis to two state finals appearances (winning as a sophomore). In his best season, as a junior, Zackery averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals, shooting 39.4% from the 3-point line. But for all of special moments in sports, one of Zackery's favorite people at Ben Davis was completely outside the athletic realm. She wanted it that way, in fact. 'Miss Jessica Breedlove,' Zackery said of his sophomore year geometry honors teacher. 'She never attached me to my sport. I feel like that's the thing I really liked was that she didn't really look at me as an athlete. She looked at me as a regular person and helped me succeed in school.' Breedlove said she always leaned more into basketball due to her roots in hoops-centric Kokomo. She assumed Zackery was a basketball player. But even though Alijah Price, the Giants' star running back, and Zackery were in her class that fall, she did not even realize they played football until deep into the fall semester. Over the next 2 ½ years, Breedlove served as sounding board for Zackery at school. The topics of discussion rarely involved his athletic achievements. 'My approach with Mark is that we don't talk about sports,' Breedlove said. 'I think he's looking forward to being the little fish in the big pond again. It's weird being 18 and people knowing who you are. I think they get a lot of ideas about how they are supposed to act from social media and seeing how other people behave. One of the blessings of being a classroom teacher is you get to see them be their authentic selves. I don't have to also be his coach.' Breedlove would give Zackery knuckles on his way out the door with only three rules as it related to football and basketball: have fun; don't get hurt; and win. In that order. 'I always appreciated that in the offseason I could find him in my room because he would always have to wait around to go pick up his sister from middle school,' Breedlove said. 'So, he'd come and clean the calculators off my desk and kill time and chat for a few minutes. Just a kid.' Breedlove figured those moments outside of playing sports, talking about sports or practicing sports allowed Zackery a needed opportunity to take a deep breath now and then. When Zackery's family asked her to write a letter of recommendation for the Watkins Award, which is presented by the National Alliance of African American Athletes (Zackery was one of six high school athletes to win), she called it 'the easiest recommendation letter I've ever been asked to write.' 'I joked with his mom (Keisha) and him that I would never to get share my two cents,' Breedlove said. Breedlove brought her 9-year-old son to some of Zackery's basketball games. She joked that she gained some cool points in her son's eyes when she introduced them after a game. But the teacher in her just wants to see Zackery be able to enjoy being a kid as long as he can. 'Most of the time, I want to him to feel not like a celebrity,' she said. 'We just kind of do our little nods to let him know I'm there.' It is fun to think about where Zackery could be 5, 10 or 15 years from now. Though he will be 'starting from the bottom' at Notre Dame as a freshman, the coaching staff obviously has high hopes for a four-star prospect who is projected as a cornerback in college. His roommate will be Tampa, Fla., native Dallas Golden, another four-star cornerback prospect. But beyond his hopefully lengthy playing career, Breedlove said she could see Zackery as a coach. 'I've watched him coach his teammates I've had in class through my math course that he will still swear up and down is the hardest class he's had to take,' Breedlove said. 'I'd love for him to be able to experience playing, but I just want him to be safe and healthy and have any bit of normalcy that he wants. But he's so good at speaking and motivating his teammates, older and younger than him, that I could see him coaching. I think he'll figure it out. Either way, I think he'll be mentoring other people. He'd be fantastic at that.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
No. 1 QB Jared Curtis' Massive Commitment Shakes Up Recruiting Rankings
Five-star and the nation's No. 1 quarterback Jared Curtis made his highly-anticipated commitment on Monday, resulting in a shake up in the class of 2026 recruiting rankings It came down to Georgia and Oregon for Curtis, who took home Mr. Football and MaxPreps Tennessee Player of the Year honors after leading Nashville Christian School to a Division II-A state championship as a junior in 2024. Advertisement The 6-foot-4, 225-pound dual-threat passer completed 70.2% of his passes for 2,830 yards with 40 touchdowns to three interceptions. He also racked up 637 rushing yards yards (7.2 yards per carry) with 18 scores on the ground in 13 games. Curtis ultimately chose head coach Kirby Smart's Bulldogs, which previously held a pledge from Curtis before he backed off that commitment in October. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Oregon head coach Dan LanningJoshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK That leaves ex-UGA assistant and current Oregon head coach Dan Lanning with some ground to make up after losing Curtis. The Ducks previously lost four-star quarterback Jonas Williams, who flipped to USC. Georgia's major win on the recruiting trail propelled the program to No. 7 in On3's rankings in the 2026 cycle. On the other hand, it was Oregon who dropped one spot behind the Bulldogs. Advertisement Updated top-10 recruiting rankings via On3: USC Trojans LSU Tigers Ohio State Buckeyes Notre Dame Fighting Irish Texas A&M Aggies Alabama Crimson Tide Georgia Bulldogs Oregon Ducks Clemson Tigers Penn State Nittany Lions Smart and Co. hauled in their ninth consecutive top-five class (No. 2) last cycle while Lanning's Ducks finished at fourth nationally. Georgia and Oregon are the only programs in the 2026 top 10 to have fewer than 10 commitments to date, leaving plenty of room for additions as the cycle heats up. The Bulldogs and Ducks are also in the hunt for five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, who will decide among Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State and Miami on May 13. Related: Projected $1.5 Million Star Reveals College Football Program Recruiting Him 'Hardest' Related: Nation's No. 2 QB Drops Intriguing Recruiting Hint After Four Major Offers
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How DeSean Bishop bet on himself from Tennessee football walk-on to scholarship
DeSean Bishop was given a Tennessee football scholarship two years after joining the Vols as a walk-on running back and under-recruited Knoxville high school star. He could've accepted a scholarship at mid-major schools when he came out of nearby Karns High as a two-time Mr. Football winner. Instead, he bet on himself and came to UT with no promise of ever receiving a scholarship. Advertisement In January, Bishop got the good news that he was going on scholarship. But he talked candidly about it for the first time on Wednesday. 'It was a little bit of relief, that the hard work had paid off,' Bishop said. 'I'm blessed. A lot of kids in Knoxville would love to have the opportunity that I have. Not a lot of people from my city get this opportunity.' Bishop earned his scholarship by steadily climbing the depth chart over the past two seasons. Now he's competing with Peyton Lewis and Duke transfer Star Thomas for a starting job in the 2025 season. 'I ain't gonna lie. I can't even say that I did (expect to be competing to start as a redshirt sophomore),' Bishop said. 'That was especially (true) because of being hurt (in 2023 and 2024) and you've got a lot of good guys in front of you – guys with more stars (in recruit ratings) and stuff like that. Advertisement 'But I just trusted in God, and it deepened my faith. If he didn't think I could handle what's ahead of me this year, then he wouldn't have put me in it.' DeSean Bishop pushed higher-rated backs into transfer portal Bishop took a redshirt in 2023 after suffering a preseason injury. In 2024, he outplayed scholarship players with higher recruit ratings to earn the backup spot behind Dylan Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Bishop rushed for 455 yards and three TDs, missing three games due to injury. And Lewis rushed for 339 yards and three TDs. Their ascension, in part, pushed running backs Cam Seldon and Khalifa Keith into the transfer portal. Advertisement With UT's Orange and White Spring Game on Saturday, it appears Bishop and Lewis are the co-starters at running back. Thomas is in the mix after transferring to UT in January and learning the finer points of the playbook in spring practice. Bishop earned his scholarship, but he intends to keep his underdog edge. 'I know there's an opportunity to be that guy,' Bishop said. 'I feel like I'm embracing that. I feel like I've worked to deserve that spot, but I'm not going to get complacent. I'm living in the moment, and I know I'll reap the benefits when the season comes around.' Running backs coach De'Rail Sims said Bishop is playing like the record-breaking back he was in high school but still working like a walk-on. Advertisement 'You don't just have that production (in high school) if you're not a really good player,' Sims said. 'He always has that chip on his shoulder. He always has a point to prove. But he carries himself where he's not arrogant. He has confidence, but he's still humble.' Bishop ignored advice, choosing Tennessee over scholarships elsewhere Bishop was committed to Coastal Carolina for his entire 2022 senior season. He hoped for a scholarship offer from a Power Four conference school that never came. Bishop had eye-popping stats. He rushed for 8,347 yards and 102 touchdowns in his career at Karns. That ranked second and third, respectively, in Tennessee high school history. Advertisement But college coaches questioned his skill, speed and long-term potential. He was rated a three-star recruit and the No. 36 player in the state of Tennessee by 247Sports Composite. Two weeks before signing day, he decommitted from Coastal Carolina and ultimately announced he'd enroll at Tennessee as a preferred walk-on. 'I feel like people were trying to persuade me to go to Coastal (Carolina) and stay there,' Bishop said. 'But there was something in me that always thought I was bigger than that, and that's not taking anything away from Coastal. But I've always thought I could play at this level. 'And I feel like I've been doubted ever since I came here. And people are still doubting me, but it doesn't really bother me.' Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop (25) during a game between Tennessee and Chattanooga, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. 'Now it's time to perform' Granted, Tennessee coaches knew Bishop wasn't a typical walk-on. And, presumably, he received some financial assistance for his name, image and likeness from a collective associated with UT athletes. Advertisement But a scholarship changes Bishop's status on the roster, even if he doesn't dwell on it. 'Obviously, it helps financially. Scholarship or not, I've been proving myself every day and I feel like I've got to earn it every day,' Bishop said. 'I keep remembering (as motivation), 'They just now put you on (scholarship).' 'So I've got to keep going. It's the next step. I earned a scholarship, now it's time to perform.' Where Bishop factors into Tennessee backfield in 2025 Last season, Tennessee featured Sampson, who broke the program's single-season rushing record. Bishop and Lewis took turns as Sampson's sidekick, but rarely in the same game. Advertisement However, the backfield may expand from a duo to a trio in the 2025 season. Bishop and Lewis were already in a close competition. Thomas is a veteran running back and an all-purpose producer with more than 2,500 yards from scrimmage and 22 TDs in his Division I college career, which spans from New Mexico State to Duke. DAVID SANDERS: Why 5-star freshman's success matters to Vols, Glen Elarbee Freshman running backs Daune Morris and Justin Baker also debuted in spring practice as early enrollees. That backfield battle will play out in the fall. But Bishop undoubtedly will be in the mix, which is quite a feat for a former walk-on. Advertisement 'I look around, and it's just crazy that I'm here with an opportunity to start for the Tennessee Volunteers (in) my home city,' Bishop said. 'In high school, I never thought of this at all. I never would think that it would turn out this way, so I'm very blessed to be where I'm at now.' Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How DeSean Bishop went from Tennessee football walk-on to scholarship
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia QB Commit Jared Curtis Sends Clear Message to No. 1 Overall Recruit
It's been an exciting offseason for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. Earlier this week, they landed the top quarterback prospect in the 2026 class — Jared Curtis. The Nashville Christian School star announced his commitment to Georgia and is set to join the Bulldogs after his senior season. But the Bulldogs aren't stopping there. Georgia is now targeting another elite talent in the 2026 class. Advertisement On Tuesday, Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports posted that the Bulldogs could potentially land another piece, and he is also a five-star recruit. "Curtis, the No. 1 QB in '26 committed to UGA earlier today and told me he's targeting No. 1 Recruit Jackson Cantwell the hardest." Curtis responded to the post with a simple but direct message to Cantwell: "Let's do it." Jared Curtis, InstagramJared Curtis, Instagram Curtis becomes the first No. 1 quarterback in the country to commit to Georgia since Matthew Stafford back in 2006. He was named both Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Football in Tennessee after a stellar junior season. The 6-foot-4 signal caller threw for 40 touchdowns and added 18 on the ground. Georgia Bulldogs football head coach Kirby Smart.© Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Cantwell, meanwhile, comes from an athletic family. His parents, Christian Cantwell and Terri Steer, are Olympic shot putters. The 6-foot-8 offensive tackle is also a standout in shot put and plays high school football at Nixa High School in Missouri. Advertisement Looking ahead to the fall, Georgia is once again expected to be among the top teams in the country. The Bulldogs will kick off their 2025 season at home on Aug. 30 against Marshall. Currently, the 2026 Georgia Football schedule is not complete, but they are slated to play Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech in their non-conference action. Related: Jonathan Owens' Behavior Toward Simone Biles at Kentucky Derby Catches Attention Related: Hunter Dickinson Had No Words for Big Kansas Announcement
