813knight
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Posts posted by 813knight
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When looking at this past weekend’s USF Sling&Shoot 7-on-7 tournament, there were plenty of players who could be considered as MVP possibilities.
But if you gauge the popularity of the players off the field, along with their performances on it, Winter Park WR Dvario Montgomery was hands-down the MVP.
USF makes no bones about Montgomery being high on the Bulls’ recruiting board, and assistant coaches were always watching Winter Park games and chit-chatting here and there with Montgomery, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound specimen who is equally sought by UCF.
The Bulls, on Sunday, even brought out some heavy artillery to give a little push to Montgomery as he was introduced to a former recruit of similar magnitude in ex-Pahokee star WR Chris Dunkley.
Dunkley had originally signed with Florida. The Bulls’ picked him up recently after he was released from his scholarship following an injury-plagued freshman year with the Gators.
Dunkley will have to sit out a transfer season, but he will then be available to play for the Bulls in 2013, according to what he told Montgomery in their conversation.
“He just was telling me about the school and everything else, nothing real big … just informing me about the recruiting process,†Montgomery said.
Dunkley knows a little about that. He was one of the more highly touted players in the state for the class of 2010. Upon entry to UF, however, he injured his hamstring and that lingered for much of this past season. He was eventually given a redshirt season.
So Dunkley still hasn’t played a down of football since the Under Armour All-American game in St. Petersburg in January 2010.
On Sunday, however, he was sharing advice with Montgomery, but the big guy, however, couldn’t chat long. He had a team title to win.
The Wildcats and Montgomery did not disappoint on the field, using a tremendous group effort throughout the tourney’s 15 games, with Montgomery making the big plays in clutch time. Winter Park, for the second straight year, went through the Sling&Shoot tourney unscathed at 15-0.
New QB Asiantii Woulard picked up where Sam Richardson left off last year, guiding the team to a second straight tourney title, making the Wildcats 30-0 in two summer events at USF. The Wildcats’ 7s have lost just once and tied once in two years, out of about 70 games.
Montgomery seemed to be the hands-down, player of the tournament, but no single player in the tourney did more for his team than rising junior DB-WR Vernon Hargreaves III of Tampa Wharton. The first thing you notice about Hargreaves is his leaping ability. He outjumped every player he went up against this past weekend, whether it was for a touchdown catch or for an interception, he won nearly every battle.
Hargreaves is the son of USF assistant coach Vernon II, who came down with Skip Holtz from East Carolina when he took the USF head coaching job last winter.
Both Hargreaves said they have no idea what the youngster's vertical leap is, but it has to be a big number, edging toward 40 inches.
"That's a good question," said Dad. "When you see him out here making plays it certainly looks like he would have a good [vertical]."
When asked if being the son of a USF coach gave the Bulls an inside track, Vernon III said, "I wouldn't say that. There are some other Florida schools I'd like to check out. But we'll see what happens."
The Sling&Shoot II competition on the July 23rd weekend, will have 60 teams.
Check OrlandoSentinel.com/recruiting for a deeper breakdown of the Sling&Shoot I talent.
Chris Hays is the Sentinel's recruiting coverage coordinator and can be reached at chays@tribune.com
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813Knight, you are so cheeky. ;D
Looks like you guys have got a inside line on him with the relationship, and I think you know that.
Thanks for the video clip.
it might actually hurt b/c his cousin Steven Moffit hated Oleary but I think he was looking for someone to blame for not being able to read a defense.
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he's a big dude, video of him at UCF 7 on 7, he also will attend the USF 7 on 7
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pwned
he's not getting forced to Orlando, he had other options..and again they cut the whole interview. He'll make it to Orlando(maybe), probably love it or become a locker room cancer when Godfrey mind fs him in practice and either accept he wont' start right away or be looking elsewhere again in a year but the insinuation that 'UCF is a mistake' is just sour grapes on the talent that is considering our great institution ;D another example
Senior wide receiver Avery Johnson showed why he's the No. 1-ranked pass catcher in the state Saturday at the UCF 7-on-7 tournament. What he does on the field, however, was already a well-known fact about 6-foot-3 the Pompano Beach Blanche Ely star.
What he said off the field following his team's elimination from the tournament was somewhat shocking. He's committed to LSU anjd has been since September of last year. His brother Patrick Peterson also played at LSU until heading into the NFL draft early. The defensive back was selected in the first round of the April draft by the Arizona Cardinals.
Johnson, however, is not as solid with LSU as everyone may think. In fact, his team's trip to UCF on Saturday got him to thinking.
"Not necessarily. Things happen," Johnson said of his commitment being solid. "I actually like UCF right here. They have a beautiful campus. I'm going to take an unofficial trip up here this summer."
Johnson seemed excited about the idea of playing for UCF.
"I think I'm going to like it," he said. "Orlando is a beautiful city and nice place to stay. Things may change."
"I'm going to take the unofficial visit here to UCF, and then I'm going to also get out to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama and then LSU," Johnson added.
Johnson is ranked as the No. 4 player overall in the Sentinel's Florida Top 100.
Chris Hays is the Sentinel's recruiting coverage coordinator and can be reached at chays@tribune.com.
not a conspiracy, recruits are noticing UCF and getting looks from top prospects from CUSA. can USF say the same other than transfers looking to 'start over'?
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keep reaching for blog material.
Were you scared to click on the link or what??
I've probably seen it, like the local news video where they sneak up on him at a middle school graduation like TMZ...the kid is not Dwight Howard, sad bunch up there. also didn't show the whole interview... And everyone agrees he didn't handle this right, nothing groundbreaking
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keep reaching for blog material. if he makes it on campus in a couple weeks I think he'll be fine, place to seem that effect on people
. He has to realize he'll have competition at every D1 program that wants to compete -
just making the postseason is great for the UCF Baseball program, about a month ago I didn't think we would even get in...good to see the program back
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funny the difference between the Louisville paper and Orlando paper version of this story....w/ D. Smith's immaturity and ego I doubt he gets close to beating out Godfrey, he's about to be humbled in a big way.
You're actually happy about having a disgruntled player who'll be sitting behind another player for the next 3 years?
I'm just happy it could upset those loon fans at Louisville
By Iliana Limón, Orlando Sentinel
11:13 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2011
Kentucky star quarterback DaMarcus Smith says he wants to go to UCF instead of Louisville after all, according to his mother.
Smith, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback who shined at Louisville's Seneca High School, has been part of an epic recruiting process. He has changed his mind four times, wavering between the Cardinals and the Knights.
Smith was rated the No. 11 quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class and a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. He passed for 3,227 yards and 32 touchdowns during his senior season, earning first team all-state honors.
"DaMarcus is going to honor his letter of intent and he's going to be a Knight," Smith's mother, Daytonya Ward, told the Orlando Sentinel Thursday night.
Michael Fluellen, Smith's high school teammate who was recruited by Kentucky and Marshall, told the Sentinel Thursday night he also plans to enroll at UCF this summer.
Smith first committed to hometown Louisville in December 2009. Smith planned to enroll at Louisville in January 2010 following his senior season, but he was two classes short of qualifying academically.
He took a recruiting visit to UCF a week before National Signing Day and Ward said he fell in love with the school.
"He wanted to commit right away, but I told him he had to wait and really think about his decision," she said.
Ward said the city of Orlando, the new facilities on UCF's campus, the coaches and his future teammates all made him feel comfortable with the idea of leaving home.
On Feb. 3, Smith held a press conference at his school and announced he had signed a letter of intent to play for UCF.
"Throughout this process, I really haven't given myself a chance to be recruited by anyone else because I've been loyal and committed to the University of Louisville," Smith said during the press conference streamed live online by the Louisville Courier-Journal. "As I gave them an opportunity and I opened up to [uCF], I began to fall in love with this university, with the coaching staff and the environment in Orlando."
Shortly after his announcement rumors began to circulate that Smith was having second thoughts about his decision.
UCF coach George O'Leary said Smith visited the school in early March and reaffirmed his commitment to the Knights.
"He left me saying he was 100 percent a Knight," O'Leary said, alluding to rumors dating back to February that Smith was unhappy with his decision and planned to ask to be released from his letter of intent. "But every time he goes back to the Louisville area, it seems to be questionable what's taking place there."
O'Leary said Smith's mother contacted him on March 28 and asked for a release from his letter of intent. O'Leary denied the request.
Ward said Smith filed an appeal with the National Letter of Intent board, which was scheduled to review it in late June. She said she will contact the board Friday to rescind Smith's request. He hopes to enroll at UCF for the second summer session that starts June 23 if his final two high school course credits are approved by the NCAA.
Smith's mother said she is confident this ends a long recruiting process for her son.
"I told DaMarcus if he wants to play next season, he can't change his mind again," she said.
Ward said Smith had the final say on where he attended college and ultimately chose UCF after spending a lot of time thinking about his future.
She said a family illness was one of the big reasons her son wavered on his commitment to UCF. Ward said the health of the relative, who she did not want to identify, has improved and made Smith feel more comfortable with the idea of leaving home.
She said Louisville fans, who were disappointed when Smith chose UCF over the Cardinals, put a lot of pressure on her son.
"They're very passionate about their team and they said some terrible things about me, his mother, and really pushed him," she said. "It was a very difficult process for him."
She stressed quarterback competition at Louisville and UCF had nothing to do with his decision. Ward said current UCF starting quarterback Jeff Godfrey hosted Smith on his official visit and said he looked forward to competing against Smith, pushing each other to get improve.
"DaMarcus is a competitor," she said. "He has played against the best and he would never back down from a challenge."
Smith's recruitment also has been the subject of considerable scrutiny beyond Louisville and Orlando.
Smith was one of three recruits mentioned in articles published by the New York Times and ESPN.com questioning UCF's recruiting practices. The players were recruited by both UCF and Louisville. The media outlets alleged UCF may have been relying on Ken Caldwell and Brandon Bender, two figures potentially tied to professional sports agents, to steer football and basketball players to the school. Caldwell and Bender have denied they did anything that violated NCAA rules.
UCF has been contacted by the NCAA and launched an internal review of its recruiting practices.
Ward said she feels confident about her son's future at UCF, regardless of what Louisville fans and national media outlets report about the school.
"I'm just excited to be part of the UCF family," she said.
ilimon@tribune.com or 407-650-6353. Read Iliana Limón's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/knightsnotepad.
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a final 13, really.....can he have a a final 5 before making a video about it at the orlando sentinel
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Florida should have a lot of good baseball
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"I found out a few hours ago that Mike indeed has chosen Auburn and flew out this afternoon from Tampa. He and coach Kinnan worked it out with coach Muschamp that he would be allowed to transfer to a Sec West team. He told Muschamp he appreciated the opportunity that Florida gave him in an emotional meeting but just felt that with the coaching change, offense change among other things, that he wanted to leave and go to his second choice all along which was Auburn. He really didn't like USF and the other schools that wanted him. I'm not sure if he will have to sit out a year or not. He was back home for a few days staying with Ace's family. Its really a sad situation. Its almost like the blind side story because he had no where to go after he left Florida for awhile because the people he was living with when he was at Manatee were furious with him for leaving UF and wouldnt allow him back. He was making good grades at UF but just didnt fit in. He will be in the "Spread Offense" again and won't have to worry about fittting in. He always stated that AU felt like home to him so we need to move on, wish him the best and hope he finds the grass greener there."
another reason not to take facebook updates seriously, these kids know people are following their every word and play games for attention
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Seems like it is going well thus far. The article implies he plans to make his decision soon if he plans on attending Summer II at the new school.
I wonder about the Girlfriend aspect of USF. How close is he to this girl? On one hand, if he is really into her, would he really go to USC or UNC? I would tend to doubt it.
But on the other hand, if he originally was dating someone while at UF.....does he REALLY want to be THAT close by going to the SAME school? Some guys wouldn't care and others would.
That could explain the interest in UCF ...
explain.
And if he is not serious about staying close to home, Lane Kiffin in his crew are really good at persuading kids. The one issue though if he wants to go that far from home, California might as well be another country 4-5 hour flight to see home games.
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isn't Skip's offense a pro set now?
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UNC and UCF his only other visits or is he going to open up his recruitment more?
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Is UCF porno school? I've seen many hot girls on the USF campus.. they just don't take their clothes off for cameras as often.
there is a decent size model industry presence in Orlando, obviously not as big as NYC or LA but it's there. not uncommon to know more than a few students that model part time, might be one of the reasons so much female talent choose to attend UCF ;D
**** 'capristan models'
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so arguments w/ a Louisville fan get moved also? wow it's just the internet. Louisville fans are terrible
nice sweep of UF for the Knights but conference play has to be better
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congrats on accomplishments 20 years ago. we didn't have a serious AD till about 2002, keep focusing on the past and UCF will focus on the present and future. UCF has built up the hard way and is starting to see the results in all sports, great campus, facilities, and atmosphere....high school students know and now recruits are too. Louisville is a great program, enjoy the ride instead of belittling other programs trying to work their way up
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flame on, flame on while UCF works on the best basketball recruiting class in the State of Florida ;D
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Redbird if you read what your fellow Cards have posted about UCF on the Knight boards and elsewhere the last few months and some of the the other extracurricular activities rumored you would see why your fanbase would have a bad reputation. Your fans refuse to believe that an upstart in Florida can actually compete for recruits with Louisville in Football and Basketball. Instead of just congratulating UCF, your idiotic fans are making accusations we are paying players and other idiotic claims. I guess Pitino's in home visit Sunday night couldn't close the deal? I have never seen a more delusional fanbase than Louisville, maybe it's a Kentucky thing but Ware's twitter was filled w/ attacks from Louisville fans. I guess your fans are used to harassing 18 year old kids till they want out of their LOI, bunch of hicks
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Louisville fans have probably had enough of UCF ;D
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how is he speaking out of ignorance when he said he visited UCF's campus a few weeks ago and took a tour?
Not then ... but was when he said this: "The Knights play like a legit big-time program".
Thanks, Trip. Just another example of a UCF fan getting the wrong message and running with it. If he just visited the campus a couple weeks ago, he couldn't have watched an actual game there, could he? :
did you not read the line where I said he probably has spoken to collegues at ESPN that have worked games? what does that matter anyway? UCF averages around 40K a game, same as USF and we actually sell out our student section. The stadium is fine and can be expanded to 65K if its ever needed(would be to 54K first). Only USF fans are obsessed w/ our stadium, it's a great place to watch COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Have a nice weekend 8-)
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LOL at "impressive new on campus stadium." Anyone who goes into that stadium and is impressed must be an infant, or have never attended a football game of any sorts.
I would be very surprised if Feldman actually went to a game there. To say the things he said in his article tells me that he's jumping on a bandwagon that is way off course regarding UCF and the Big East. My guess is he is speaking out of ignorance.
how is he speaking out of ignorance when he said he visited UCF's campus a few weeks ago and took a tour? also sure he has colleagues at ESPN that have worked games at UCF. This is the only place that wants Villanova
. He has to realize he'll have competition at every D1 program that wants to compete
Florida should have a lot of good baseball
D'Vario Montgomery, WR, Winter Park HS, Winter Park, FL
in Prospects & Potential Recruits
Posted
his video diary on the USF 7-7
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videobeta/0f7d3f2f-bffb-4667-86dd-346d0eff40a3/Sports/Life-of-D-vo-in-Video-Week-3